PICTOPLASMA x Balkans 2026

CONFERENCE & FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY CHARACTER DESIGN AND ART

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18 – 20 September 2026

Varna, BULGARIA

PICTOPLASMA x Balkans is a conference and festival for contemporary art, design, illustration and animation with a focus on creating visual stories with characters.

By bringing the experience of the world’s largest platform for character design PICTOPLASMA, we are creating a space and time for artists, designers and animators from Eastern Europe to showcase their works, exchange ideas and build a Balkan community around their love for characters. Together, we push forward an interdisciplinary discussion and a new visual vocabulary – from illustration to animation, game to interactive design, urban to graphic arts.

PICTOPLASMA x Balkans is organized by StandArt, with the support of PICTOPLASMA.

Tickets

Get your ticket and gain access to PICTOPLASMA’s lectures, workshops, party, screening and exhibitions.

Artists

WORKSHOPS

Anything you can draw on with Srdja Dragovic

18 September, 14:00 – 17:00

Forget the perfect white page and turn receipts, tickets, packaging, pebbles, textiles, and other everyday surfaces into unexpected places to draw. Read more

Sculpting with textile with Nevena Ekimova

18 September, 14:00 – 17:00

Give old clothes and discarded materials a second life by transforming fabric, cardboard, styrofoam, and more into playful three-dimensional art objects. Read more

Make your own tiny keychain with Odsanyu

18 September, 14:00 – 17:00

Draw, shrink, and transform your artwork into a tiny one-of-a-kind charm ready to follow you wherever you go. Read more

Fragmented exploration with Stefko

18 September, 14:00 – 17:00

Design a character from unexpected prompts, swap its pieces with fellow participants, and discover what happens when different creative worlds collide. Read more

Draw something in 100 ways with Gosia Herba

19 September, 14:00 – 17:00

Draw one subject again and again using different tools and techniques to break habits, experiment freely, and discover unexpected ways of seeing. Read more

Polymer parade: A replacement animation workshop with Fokion Xenos

19 September, 14:00 – 17:00

Sculpt your own polymer-clay character in multiple poses, then bring it to life in a collaborative stop-motion parade. Read more

All-you-can-draw buffet: a collective drawing feast with Klarxy

19 September, 14:00 – 17:00

Take your place at one enormous shared drawing surface and turn surreal dishes, runaway characters, and creative chaos into one gloriously unpredictable collective feast. Read more

What is beautiful art, anyway? with Lea Rasovszky

19 September, 14:00 – 17:00

Forget everything you learned about drawing “properly” and embrace strange tools, spontaneous lines, and the wonderfully imperfect side of making art. Read more

FESTIVAL

OPENING EXHIBITION & PARTY: CHARACTERS COOKING AND EATING

17 September, 18:00 – 20:30

ReBonkers, 4 Baruten pogreb str., Varna, Bulgaria

Free entrance

A feast of characters, from the kitchen to the table, featuring the official selection from our call for entries, works by visiting lecturers and invited artists. Music and drinks – always!

ANIMATION SCREENING: BEST OF BALKAN ANIMATION 2026

17 September, 20:30 – 21:30

ReBonkers, 4 Baruten pogreb str., Varna, Bulgaria

Free entrance

A selection of standout animated films from the Balkans, curated by our friends from TAF Thessaloniki Animation Festival (Greece), WFAF World Festival of Animated Film Varna (Bulgaria), Animest International Animation Film Festival (Romania).

OPENING EXHIBITION & PARTY: 4 YEARS PICTOPLASMA X BALKANS

Drazki street

Free entrance

A pop-up exhibition celebrating four years of creative energy, showcasing past and present visiting artists, with drinks and music.

PECHA KUCHA

18 &19 September, 18:00 – 19:00

BANKATA 1925
Gabrovo 2 str., Varna, Bulgaria

Registered participants only

Big (character) ideas, told in just 6 minutes 40 seconds.

IKEA LOUNGE ZONE

18 &19 September, all day

Drazki street

Free entrance

Relax, recharge and get inspired by our 4 years Pictoplasma x Balkans pop-up exhibition.

PARTY WITH JULIETA INTERGALACTICA

19 September, 22:00 – 01:00

Cubo Ribarski, Kraybrezhna aleya Varna, Bulgaria

Free entrance

Party, party

DESIGN MARKET

20 September, 12:00 – 19:00

Archaeological Museum
41 Maria Luiza Blvd, Varna, Bulgaria

Free entrance

Discover bold ideas, unique finds and inspiring design all in one place. Also – kids zone by IKEA, music, drinks and food.

ANIMATION SCREENING: BEST OF PICTOPLASMA 2026

20 September, 20:00 – 21:00

Archaeological Museum
41 Maria Luiza Blvd, Varna, Bulgaria

Registered participants only

Hand-picked animated short films coming directly from Pictoplasma Berlin 2026.

ANIMATION SCREENING: BEST OF PICTOPLASMA 2026

The best of Pictoplasma’s official 2026 animation selection presents hand-picked short films featuring the latest and freshest generation of characters in motion, from narrative shorts and music visuals to experimental animation and anything in between.