The past is never truly gone; it remains held in the earth. One hundred and forty years after the city of Stara Zagora burned and its people made the ultimate sacrifice, we were called to honor that memory. Not with words, but with presence.

We resurrected the fallen warriors as towering beams of light, piercing the night sky. On the stone monument itself, we projected the living, breathing city of today. It was a visual truth: the present moment, the life we experience now, exists only because of those who stood their ground before us.

Over 30,000 people gathered at the monument. In the presence of the light and the profound soundscape, the crowd fell completely silent. It was no longer an art installation—it became a single, massive, collective prayer. A rare moment where the boundary between the ancestors and the living simply dissolved.

This moment took place on July 31, 2017, at the Defenders of Stara Zagora Monument. Conceived by Iasen Geshev through the Urban Art Foundation, it predates the formal birth of Studio EMPATIA, yet it remains a cornerstone of our journey.

◽Project: PRAYER FOR STARA ZAGORA
◽Concept & Realization: Iasen Geshev | Urban Art Foundation
◽Partners: KVANT, Stagemasters
◽Music: ISIHIA
◽Sound Design: Ivan Shopov (COOH)
◽Premiere: July 31, 2017 | Defenders of Stara Zagora Monument | Stara Zagora, Bulgaria