Salvatore Iaconesi on cancer, voice loss, and art as a tool for healing

Italian artist and researcher Salvatore Iaconesi recounts his experience with brain cancer and its impact on his voice and ability to communicate. Diagnosed in 2013 with a tumor in Broca's area, he relearned to write but lost his signature. In 2020, a recurrence affected deeper brain tissues, causing severe speech difficulties. Despite these challenges, Iaconesi uses art, technology, and data to explore new forms of expression. He co-founded Art is Open Source and HER: She Loves Data with his wife Oriana Persico. His recent performances include a data-driven reading on global poverty. Iaconesi advocates for integrating art, science, and technology to create sensitive, non-extractive models of innovation. He draws inspiration from Sardinian Canto a Tenore, envisioning a future performance merging data with polyphonic singing, possibly involving AI or non-human entities. The article was published on Artribune in August 2020.