creating interactive mapping installations that weave virtual and physical worlds. With an experimental approach and bold imagination, he embraces emerging technologies to craft impactful, future-facing experiences.
Official opening ceremony of Eleusis 2023 - European Capital of Culture
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Petko Tanchev is a media artist and scenographer based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He creates works for the stage and public spaces, exploring the intersections of technology, space, and perception. His projects have received numerous awards and have been presented as part of European cultural programmes and international festivals.
He began his artistic career in 2008, participating in stage productions and exhibitions. He made his debut with “Four Rooms” at Sofia Theatre, a production that received two Ikar Awards for scenography and technical execution. He subsequently developed his own installation projects.
Self-portrait captured with a Kinect sensor
Tanchev is a co-founder of the collectives Melformator (2013) and SenseLab (2019). With Melformator, he organises audiovisual events incorporating spatial interventions in urban settings, while at SenseLab he develops interactive installations for advertising campaigns by global brands.
In the performing arts, he specialises in virtual scenography and projection mapping. He works with a range of creative teams on theatre and opera productions across Bulgaria, seeking a distinctive visual approach to each work and experimenting with the possibilities of the technologies he uses.
Audiovisual exhibition 2019 Synergy of the Future, author project by Petko Tanchev, part of the program Legacy of Foundation Plovdiv 2019 - European Capital of Culture, photo Boris Urumov, 2022
Scenography & projection design for Madame Butterfly, performance by State Opera Plovdiv, director Nina Naydenova, photo Alexander Bogdan Thompson, 2018
Interactive installation Conquer the Future, project by Petko Tanchev and Senselab studio for creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi and Renault Bulgaria, 2018
Interactive projection mapping CNNCTR, author project by Petko Tanchev and Melformator collective for One Design Week, photo Maritsa Kolcheva, 2015
Projection mapping by Petko Tanchev for the International Light Art Festival in Chongqing, China, 2023
Interactive visuals for Arc, dance performance by Aerial Cirque, Culture Night Dublin, photo Rick Larkin, Ireland, 2018
Interactive projection design for Odysseus, performance by Drama Theater Plovdiv, director Diana Dobreva, photo Alexander Bogdan Thompson, 2019
Interactive projection mapping for Doors of Dream, performance by State Opera Plovdiv, photo Alexander Bogdan Thompson, 2021
Scenography & projection design for The Addams Family, performance by State Opera Plovdiv, director Petar Odazhiev, photo Zdravka Kokalova, 2023
Tanchev’s international practice spans festivals, exhibitions, forums, and cultural events. He has presented his own projection mapping projects at light art festivals and competitions in Chongqing and Yifeng, China. One of his interactive installations has been shown at NAB Show in Las Vegas and MPTS in London. He worked on the lighting installation for the water spectacle Valletta Pageant of the Seas and created interactive projection mapping for performances by Aerial Cirque at Culture Night in Dublin.
He has created visual environments for stage productions and public events within the programmes of three European Capitals of Culture: Plovdiv 2019 in Bulgaria, Novi Sad 2022 in Serbia, and Eleusis 2023 in Greece. His contributions include the opening of the Tesla Light Festival in Novi Sad and the official opening ceremony in Eleusis.
Petko Tanchev is currently a scenographer at State Opera Plovdiv and an associate professor at the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts in Plovdiv. He also teaches at the National Academy of Art in Sofia, where he defended his doctoral dissertation in Digital Arts in 2023. In 2026, he published “Visual Programming”, a book that combines academic research with practical experience.