MArteLive 2026, over a thousand artists in Rome for eleven days of shows (October 1-11)

From October 1 to 11, 2026, the Biennale MArteLive returns to Rome, the vast artistic and cultural ecosystem that reshapes the city into a diffuse network of places, languages and creative communities. It is precisely in its ability to connect places, languages and creative communities that the Biennale MArteLive – with over a thousand artists from all over the world, 12 Miscellaneous Projects and a program spanning music, theatre, dance, circus, cinema, literature, visual arts and new forms of expression – finds its fullest expression. Within this framework sit Lo Spettacolo Totale and Immersiva, running from October 1 to 3, at the Lanificio and the adjacent Atelier Montez respectively. The Biennale thus develops two complementary projects with distinct characters, each exploring a different facet of its identity: Lo Spettacolo Totale as the beating heart of its multidisciplinary dimension, and Immersiva as a multisensory space devoted to contemporary music. MArteLive continues to be a suspended bridge between past and future, between established practices and emerging experimentation, putting the national and international scene in dialogue with tomorrow's talents. A vocation it has carried forward since it first took shape in 2001.

With SU:ggestiva, by contrast, the music moves into venues with their own history and a strong sense of place. The Ex Cartiera Latina, Villa di Massenzio and the project's other spaces, all the way to Gaeta, host artists such as Gigi Masin, Micah P. Hinson, Ana Roxanne, Alberto Ferrari (Verdena), Dobrawa Czocher, Jozef van Wissem, Sarah Neufeld of Arcade Fire, Mombao and Mauro Ermanno Giovanardi.
For the new international music scenes there's #ALTRNTV, which moves through clubs and independent spaces with Babyshambles, Heartworms and RBSN, alongside the Elektro Stage with a dj set by Venerus and the Four Flies Showcase with Banda Maje, fabric and Chiarè, with Calibro 35 at Fusolab on 22 October. On 9 October Fusolab hosts Uragano Revue, with Omar Souleyman, Nickodemus, Ko Shin Moon, The Rebel and Funk Pope.
An important part of the Biennale, however, also concerns what happens outside the traditional venues of performance.
In Centocelle, Centocelle Buskers brings contemporary circus, music and street theatre. Danza in Levare and Danza Battente, meanwhile, work on the relationship between contemporary dance and public space, while Open Gallery connects galleries and exhibition spaces in a network, with particular attention to research and emerging artists.
The programme also includes a series of projects that address the relationship between art, place and participation. PerFormAzione Sociale uses theatre and performance in peripheral contexts; L'Arte non ha sbarre develops participatory artistic practices, including inside Rebibbia prison; Lullaby Ninne per animali experiments with a different way of understanding listening, bringing music, environment and the animal world into relation, with animals themselves as the audience. LAB:Biennale rounds out this path with workshops, masterclasses and meetings dedicated to artists, young people and cultural workers.
For eleven days, then, Rome becomes an open journey, where a concert can lead to an exhibition, a square can turn into a stage, and a historic site can become a space for contemporary music.

Program, schedule and tickets:
biennalemartelive.it | martelive.it

THE PROGRAM
LO SPETTACOLO TOTALE
Thursday, October 1
Umarel
MòN
Opus Kink
The finalists of the MArteLive Competition
Friday, October 2
SBTRKT
Shigeto
Niños Du Brasil
Whitemary
Collettivo Reveris
The finalists of the MArteLive Competition
Saturday, October 3
Fresh Mula
Satantango
Zara Colombo
Delicatoni
Circolo dei Cerchi & Blaze
The finalists of the MArteLive Competition

IMMERSIVA
Thursday, October 1 – from 8:00 pm
Alessandro Baris
Francesca Palamidessi
Abul Mogard
Friday, October 2 – from 9:00 pm
re_derma – Work in Competition, Sculpture and Installations section, MArteLive Competition 2026
Romare
Saturday, October 3 – from 8:30 pm
Samuel Cyma and Federico D'Angelo
Atabasca "Immersion", the project by Colin Newman and Malka Spigel
Collettivo Blivet
Andrea Pesce

4 October | Uova & Bassi – Acid Brunch Kultur: Barbarella Le Mariage + Circolo dei Cerchi & LunaRossaSound crew, Oasi Cestia, 12:00 (free entry)                       

7 October | Babyshambles + Lowinsky, Orion, 20:00

8 October | Heartworms + Kyoto, Alcazar, 21:30                  

9 ottobre | Omar Souleyman + Nickodemus + Ko Shin Moon + Funk Pope (dj set) + The Rebel (dj set), Fusolab, 21:30    

9 October | Rbsn + Bea, Largo Venue, 21:30   

10 October | Satori (live) + dj set by: Glauco Di Mambro, Filippo Borini + crew resident djs by: Iris, Odisset live set + dj set, Spazio Cavea, 22:00

10 October | Venerus b2b Amanda Lean + Brent b2b Sano + Luca Viola b2b Paride + Prest b2b Donny Goliger + Sobryo b2b Santospirito // Tickie (visual), TAG – Tevere Art Gallery, 18:30         

10 October | Four Flies Showcase: Banda Maje + Chiaré + Fabric, Palazzo San Lorenzo, 21:00

22 October | Calibro 35, Fusolab, 21:30 – BIENNALE PLUS

23 October | Super Jet Kinoko, Largo Venue, 21:30 – BIENNALE PLUS
12 December | C'mon Tigre, Largo Venue, 21:30 – BIENNALE PLUS

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google