Nico Vascellari. „Alessio“

On Fri, 26.7.24, the performance Alessio (2023–24) will take place at Haus der Kunst, an homage to 26-year-old Alessio from Rome. Alessio visits the bar across from artist Nico Vascellari's studio every day. Alessio’s way of perceiving the world is shaped by his autism spectrum: he communicates without words, using a mix of movement and sounds. Alessio’s cadence inspired Vascellari to explore communication beyond words. In the performance that emerged from their encounter, an ensemble moves together and apart, telling a collective story about the universal desire to understand and be understood.

The performance at Haus der Kunst starts with the soundscape created by Nico Vascellari and a few individual performers connecting with Alessio’s body language. By and by, 15 performers from Munich and Italy will join in and contribute their own dialect of non-verbal language. The choreography expands from the Mittelhalle at Haus der Kunst to the Terrassensaal and the English Garden, the connectedness of the ensemble creating a shared story.

After the performance concludes, Alessio's soundscape will continue to enliven the Terrassensaal until 4.8.24. The open doors to the terrace will form a connection between the building and the public space outside. The project invites visitors to reflect on their own unique means of communication and come together, during a polyphony of nonverbal languages, within the spaces of Haus der Kunst.

Nico Vascellari (born in 1976) is a musician and performance artist. He lives between Rome and Vittorio Veneto, Italy. “Allessio” was developed in collaboration with Nico Vascellari, the curatorial team and the team for education and participation at Haus der Kunst (Andrea Lissoni, Lydia Antoniou, Camille Latreille).

The performance Alessio at Haus der Kunst is supported by Giorgio Armani and Armani/Silos. The project is supported by the Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture under the Italian Council program (2023). The project is organized in collaboration with Comune di Firenze and Museo Novecento in Florence, Italy.

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Portrait of Nico Vascellari

Photo: Mattia Zoppellaro
Courtesy Studio Nico Vascellari