Varna is the third-largest city in Bulgaria, located on the Black Sea coast — a place where geography, history, and cultural life are closely intertwined. Although traditionally associated with summer tourism, the city sustains an active cultural scene and a dynamic social environment throughout the year and hosts more than 50 festivals across different fields of the arts. The city brings together rich cultural heritage and a layered contemporary context: more than ten museums, extensive Roman archaeological remains, active thermal mineral springs, and a wide range of possibilities for working and living outdoors. The Sea Garden — a linear urban park stretching over 5 km — forms a natural connection between the city and the sea.

Historically, Varna is not only one of the oldest colonies in the history of the world (a former colony of Ancient Greece dating back to the 6th century BCE), but also occupies a central place in the development of contemporary art in Bulgaria. The public space of the Sea Garden preserves some of the earliest manifestations of contemporary artistic practices in the country, establishing the city as an early context for artistic experimentation. The urban structure allows for easy pedestrian movement, supported by public transport and shared mobility systems. As a tourist city, Varna operates within a multilingual environment and maintains long-standing traditions of hospitality.

The relationship with the Black Sea is fundamental to the city’s identity and appears as a horizontal thematic line within the BUNA Forum — a point of departure for artistic, research-based, historical, and cultural interpretations of the sea as a space of encounters, memory, and exchange.