Fabio Cherstich on the boundaries of art and theater
Theater director Fabio Cherstich speaks with designboom about blurring the lines between viewers, performers, and his Louis Vuitton Dolomites Classic Run project.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Fabio Cherstich is an Italian theater director and multidisciplinary artist.
- Notable projects include Operacamion and the Louis Vuitton Dolomites Classic Run.
- He explores the fluidity between spectators, performers, and staging.
- Reflecting on the challenge of defining his multifaceted career on a website.
Fabio Cherstich is a theater director who operates far beyond traditional stages, bringing productions into the piazzas of Rome via semi-trucks or forming spectacles around vintage cars racing from Venice through the Dolomites for the Louis Vuitton Classic Run. Chatting with designboom in his Milan home-studio, Cherstich discussed art on and off the stage, his collection of Alessi moka pots, and the challenge of condensing his diverse career into a single website.
As his projects span painting, film, and performing arts, the traditional label of theater director feels restrictive. On his website in progress, a blank page with sans-serif font begins with "a note instead of a website" and concludes his list of opera, theater, and film with "and other territories that are not always easy to name."
Cherstich's struggle to define his professional identity highlights how contemporary creators often transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. Collaborating across architecture, design, and performance allows artists to reshape how audiences experience live art in a digital age.
Sitting in his Milan apartment, Cherstich reflected on the two-year journey with his psychotherapist trying to formulate his portfolio. He noted that while he works as a director, that defines his job rather than his core identity. His studio is filled with items representing friendships and career milestones, including a portrait painted by his friend Sofia Silva.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Making coffee with La cupola, a moka pot designed by Aldo Rossi for Alessi, Cherstich explained that storytelling has been crucial since his youth, with theater always centering around an audience.
"The problem for me is how I define myself... I work as a director, but this is the definition of my job, it's not the definition of myself."
Fabio Cherstich
This fluidity between viewer and performer defines his work, such as the 2016 Operacamion project for Teatro dell’opera di Roma, which staged operas inside a truck container on city streets. The project has since become a Harvard case study and was recently cited by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as an example of reaching new audiences.
Concluding his thoughts on the digital media ecosystem, Cherstich emphasized the necessity of live performance and shared responsibility. Whether on stage or in the audience, participants must own their physical presence and vulnerability.
Source: designboom
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