Fuoricontesto

A festival taking live performance beyond traditional circuits

Fuoricontesto was born in 2025 in Rome, in the Lazio region, with a clear vision: to move contemporary performing arts out of the historic center and institutional theaters, bringing them into the eastern suburbs of the capital. The festival takes place between Collatino and Pietralata, in Municipio IV, in two venues that are already community hubs: the Hacienda on Via dei Cluniacensi and the DAF - Dance Arts Faculty headquarters on Via di Pietralata.

The event is promoted by DAF - Dance Arts Faculty, a Roman center for choreographic training and production, under the artistic direction of Felicia Lo Mele. Fuoricontesto won the Roma Creativa 365. Cultura tutto l'anno public call, promoted by Roma Capitale - Department of Culture in collaboration with Zètema Progetto Cultura: a grant that has made the entire program completely free.

Contemporary dance, music, and installations

The program is intentionally multidisciplinary. Alongside contemporary dance creations, which remain the heart of the project given the DAF's choreographic background, there are concerts, experimental music projects, visual and video installations, as well as creative workshops open to both adults and children. It is a formula that allows those who do not usually attend dance theater to engage with these languages in an informal and welcoming setting.

• Contemporary dance: site-specific performances and creations in the unconventional spaces of Municipio IV
• Live music: piano concerts, electronic projects, and sound experiments
• Installations: visual and video art interventions created by Roman collectives
• Workshops: free creative activities for adults and local children

Cultural inclusion as a method

The theme of inclusion is not just a label but the core criterion by which the festival is built. The chosen venues are accessible to people with mobility issues, admission is always free with mandatory online booking, and the programming is designed to reach the local neighborhood audience, not just specialized spectators traveling from across the city. The enhancement of intangible cultural heritage and the relationship with the local community are declared from the very title: putting art «out of context» (fuori contesto) means giving it a new context—that of the daily life of the neighborhoods.

Collatino and Pietralata, two neighborhoods in transformation

Rome's Municipio IV is an area that has seen the birth of several independent cultural experiences in recent years. Collatino and Pietralata, historically working-class neighborhoods that grew around the Tiburtina railway yard, are now well-connected to the rest of the city and host hybrid spaces that function as clubs, cultural centers, and art studios. Fuoricontesto fits into this fabric, positioning itself as one of the less institutional autumn appointments on the Roman performing arts scene.

A first edition to build upon

The inaugural edition took place between October 17 and November 27, 2025, spreading events over several weeks rather than concentrating them into a few days: a choice that allowed for building a continuous relationship with the neighborhood audience. The festival relied on a network of local partners, including Viteculture for event production, Wegoo for shared mobility, and the video artist collective Studio Clichè.