Piersandra Di Matteo appointed new director of Short Theatre festival

Piersandra Di Matteo, a curator and scholar known for her dramaturgical collaborations with Romeo Castellucci and her work on the Atlas Of Transitions project, has been appointed as the new director of Short Theatre, the performing arts festival held at Teatro India and Pelanda in Rome since 2006. This marks the first time an external figure has been chosen to lead the festival since its founding. Di Matteo will assume autonomous curatorial authority from 2022, while for the 2021 edition she will work alongside Francesca Corona, a co-founder with Fabrizio Arcuri and curator of recent editions. The appointment is part of a renewal process accelerated by the pandemic, described by the founding association Area06 as a radical rethinking of artistic direction itself. Di Matteo's background includes roles as head of the theater section at Artribune and her involvement with the Creative Europe-funded Atlas Of Transitions, which concluded successfully in Bologna. Her curatorial approach emphasizes intersections between artistic narratives and contemporary issues, social activism, and dialogue with international artists such as Argentine director Lola Arias.