Visioni del corpo 2025
Visioni del corpo returns to Fonderia in Reggio Emilia! A series of events running from April 29 to November 4, 2025, that will create a fresh fusion between contemporary art and dance, focusing on the shared elements of visual imagery and the human body.
Four sessions on contemporary art, led by Nicolas Ballario, will combine his insights with dance through performative interventions connected to the artworks presented. Each session will be divided into six segments, in which Ballario will introduce six works—either monographic pieces by a single artist or works by different artists united by a common theme—exploring the work and lives of major contemporary figures familiar even to general audiences.
Each session will be entrusted to a choreographer who will bring to life the themes through dance. Over the course of the series, participants will build a small “dancing encyclopedia” of contemporary art, investigating how renowned artists have approached the theme of the body.
There has always been a prejudice—often justified by the elitist attitude of insiders—against contemporary art: that it is distant from people. In recent years, however, this is changing, and the audience for contemporary art is expanding. The project Visioni del Corpo aims precisely at this: to introduce, in a simple (but never simplistic) way, the language of some of the greatest contemporary artists.
We won’t provide explanations, because art cannot be explained; rather, we will present the context to suggest an approach. Dance will serve as the punctuation of this narrative, which is why the theme is the body—the common denominator of these two disciplines. Both ask a fundamental question: can art reclaim the representation of the human being from the banality of mass communication?
We will explore this through six themes, six artists, and six works that address the major issues of contemporary society.
Nicolas Ballario, born in 1984, works in contemporary art applied to media. After completing his studies at a photography academy, he joined Oliviero Toscani’s creative hub “La Sterpaia,” where he later became cultural director. He has collaborated with major artistic institutions and numerous publications, and in 2016, he became the youngest ever recipient of the Bassani Prize, one of the most prestigious awards for journalists distinguished in cultural and environmental fields.
He is currently the author and host of contemporary art programs on Radio Uno Rai and contributes to L’Espresso (where he writes a weekly column), Living by Corriere della Sera, Il Post, and Il Giornale dell’Arte. In 2019, he hosted the photography show Camera Oscura on LA7, and since 2020 he has hosted the programs Io ti vedo, tu mi senti?, Italia Contemporanea, and The Square on Sky Arte.
He directs the newly founded exhibition production company “Piuma” and is founder and president of Cucù, a communication studio dedicated to culture. He curates exhibitions and catalogs. The magazine Artribune included him in its ‘Best of’ list of art world excellence for two consecutive years: in 2019 for radio and in 2020 for television projects.
Putting the body at the center of the human experience, Visioni del corpo activates connections between the arts, movement, and pressing contemporary themes: the feminine, illness, sex, the sea, the city, capitalism… universal issues explored through an experimental cultural medium. It is a multidisciplinary platform designed to intersect audiences and aesthetics from diverse cultural realities.
Visioni del corpo serves as a bridge between the Centro Coreografico Nazionale and broader social themes beyond dance. It also offers an intimate window into the body and movement, accessible even to those unfamiliar with the performing arts. Each evening, six works of art will be paired with a commissioned dance piece by prominent Italian artists: Francesco Marilungo, Antonella Bertoni, Sofia Nappi, and Manfredi Perego. Together with Ballario, they will bring body and words to the audience, engaging spectators and fostering connections with other cultural communities.
The themes of the six individual sessions will include: Art and Sex, Women in Photography, and Maurizio Cattelan.
