Recipes for the Future
Concept and text: Eleonora Edreva, Elena Balabanska, and Izabela Markova
Graphic design: Izabela Markova
Year of publication: 2025
Published by: Urban Storytelling School and the Nine Elephants Festival
“Recipes for the Future” gathers the hopes, beliefs, and ideas of young people along Sofia’s tram No. 10 through surveys conducted at tram stops and workshops held in schools along the route. The project reflects a shared desire for a future shaped by understanding, peace, and connection, alongside a sense of uncertainty about whether such a future is within reach. Drawing on food as a universal language, the publication translates these reflections into three speculative “recipes” — simple, symbolic actions that bridge the gap between expectation and possibility. Through gestures like sharing, tasting, and gathering, the zine proposes small, embodied ways of imagining and enacting connection.
The project is part of the Urban Storytelling School, an Erasmus+ partnership program by the Center for Social Vision (Sofia) and C*SPACE (Berlin), which uses storytelling as a participatory tool to engage young people in shaping and reimagining their urban environments.
Eleonora Edreva is a transdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator with a BA in English Literature from the University of Chicago and an MFA in Art & Ecology from the University of New Mexico. Her work spans visual media and socially engaged practices.
Elena Balabanska is an architect and urban designer based in Sofia and Copenhagen, trained in participatory planning and design, with international experience in urban assessments, neighbourhood plans, and exhibition design.
Izabela Markova is a Sofia-based artist and graphic designer working across branding, illustration, event design, and printmaking techniques such as linocut, silkscreen, and risoprinting.
More information on the project here
Follow Recipes for the Future on instagram: @recipes.forthefuture