For two weeks, nine households in Trenčín will become homes to international artists from seven countries. The Altofest Trenčín 2026 – For One Another festival will take place from 14 to 18 October, bringing 30 performances directly into private homes from 15 October onwards. This special edition of the award-winning Neapolitan festival has been created for Trenčín 2026, the European Capital of Culture. Admission to the performances is free, subject to prior booking.
From 5 October, residents of Trenčín will be hosting nine international artists and ensembles in their homes. The artists will live and create directly within these homes, drawing inspiration from the spaces, objects and personal stories of the residents. They will thus adapt their works to the unique atmosphere of each home. From 15 to 18 October, the public will wander from house to house, from the city centre all the way to Istebník, discovering living art in the familiar corners of their own city.
A festival that connects people and their stories
Altofest was founded in Naples in 2011 by the Teatringestazione group. Over the course of 18 editions, the festival has taken place in more than 30 cities across three countries. The European Festivals Association awarded it the EFFE Award 2017–2018 as one of the six best festivals in Europe. The festival has created special editions for the European Capitals of Culture Valletta 2018 and Matera 2019. Trenčín is its third European Capital of Culture.
This year’s edition is entitled ‘For One Another’. “It speaks of the need to stay together as a community, because everyone’s fate is intertwined with that of others,” say artistic directors Anna Gesualdi and Giovanni Trono.
The programme conceives of the city as a circulatory system in which every house is a node and every visit a thread that carries something elsewhere. Dramaturg Loretta Mesiti approaches it “not with the idea that we should be connected, but with the suspicion that we are already connected – intertwined, yet we behave as if we were not”. For a few days, established roles are thus reversed: the home is no longer merely a private space, the artwork does not belong solely to the artist, and the visitor is not merely a spectator.
Nine art projects from seven countries
The programme brings together nine artists and ensembles based in Lebanon, Belgium, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Germany: Bassam Abou Diab, Mignolo Dance, Charles Koroneho / Te Toki Haruru, Valeria Polorena and Sebastian Morell, Amalia Franco, Francesca Sproccati / Collettivo Treppenwitz, Compañía X, Enzo Mirone and Polina Fenko.
Their works explore inherited memory, care, chance and transience – that which passes through bodies and is passed down from generation to generation.
“Altofest shows what participation can mean: the residents of Trenčín are not just an audience; they are an integral part of the event. Nine families have opened their doors, and we invite everyone to come in,” says Lenka Abaffyová, project manager of the Participation and Inclusion section at Trenčín 2026.
Five days of performances, meetings and discussions
Altofest Trenčín 2026 will begin on 14 October at 6.30 pm with Agora, a public gathering of residents and artists at the Buniek na Looke venue. The festival will culminate on 18 October with a closing party at the same venue.
From 15 to 18 October, a total of 30 performances will take place across nine venues. Every day, the programme also includes a communal PicNic and Voice Over in the Átrium space beneath the Town Tower. Voice Over is a public discussion with artists, led by Co.R – the festival’s research community. The interviews are broadcast live on Radio Leib (radioleib.com), with students from the Jozef Branecký Piarist Grammar School in Trenčín also contributing to the editorial team.
Admission is free, but booking is compulsory
Admission to all performances is free. As individual households can only accommodate a limited number of audience members, advance booking is required via WhatsApp on +39 320 030 4861 or by email atinfo@altofest.net . When booking, please state your name, the title of the performance, the date, the time and the number of people.
The full festival programme and the venues for each performance are available at teatringestazione.com/altofest/Trencin2026.
About the project
Altofest Trenčín 2026 was commissioned by Trenčín 2026 – European Capital of Culture and is organised by Teatringestazione.
Trenčín 2026 is financially supported by the City of Trenčín, the Trenčín Self-Governing Region and the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. The project is supported by the European Union.
