Claire Cunningham, one of the UK's most important disabled artists, as guest at Gessnerallee

Dear visitors to Gessnerallee, dear artists

Internationally acclaimed Scottish performer and choreographer Claire Cunningham will be appearing at Gessnerallee on 7 and 8 November with her new work, Songs of the Wayfarer.

Cunningham works across genres, from intimate solo performances to large-scale ensemble pieces, using interviews, music, sculptures and movement to renegotiate the relationship between body, belief, disability and identity. For her, her crutches are a physical extension, part of her body, her everyday life, her profession.

In ‘Songs of the Wayfarer’, the artist asks what it means to wander and strive for great heights. ‘It's a piece about letting go, about mourning, but also about laughter,’ says Cunningham in conversation with author and journalist Anna Miller, who wrote a portrait (only in German) of her for the fifth edition of the ‘Gessnerallee Zeitung’.

Among other things, the article also addresses a recurring theme in Cunningham's work: the idea that every person needs their own rhythm and simply time to master their life and manage their energy. ‘None of us have endless resources. The experience of disability makes this process visible.’ This gives rise to a different kind of knowledge: about time, about space, about one's own pace.

‘Songs of the Wayfarer’ is a touching piece, but also one with a lot of humour. Equipped with a multifunctional jacket and hiking boots, Cunningham conquers mountains of crutches and projected hiking images. She has four pieces from Gustav Mahler's song collection ‘Songs of a Wayfarer’ and lots of hiking equipment in her luggage. Through the lens of Crip* expertise, Cunningham invites us to pay closer attention to how we move in the physical world while learning to cope with profound losses and changes in our lives.

For Cunningham, this is not only physical, but also political. "Society wants us to function. But what if we don't? What if the body doesn't cooperate? What if the day doesn't go as planned?" Living with a disability, she says, brings with it a special kind of knowledge – the ability to constantly readjust, from everyday routines to profound life decisions. And also: to learn what to hold on to – and what is better to take lightly or let go of.

* Crip is a political and cultural identity used by some disabled people as a positive self-designation.

Get your ticket for ‘Songs of the Wayfarer’ now!

Now for our weekly overview of the programme, newspaper articles, news and everything else we want to share with you:

Programme

29 October to 1 November

‘25th ZURICH JAZZNOJAZZ FESTIVAL 2025’ by AllBlues Konzert AG

As every year, we are delighted to be able to rent out our premises to the ‘JAZZNOJAZZ FESTIVAL’. You can look forward to four varied concert nights with the fresh sound of up-and-coming newcomers and the style-defining sounds of stars and legends from jazz and jazz-related genres. More information about the programme can be found at: jazznojazz.ch

5 November, 7.30 pm

‘A thousand billion in responsibility – the balancing act between pensions and a world to live in. A contradiction?’ by the WAV research collective and ‘Tsüri.ch’

The new series of talks at Gessnerallee in cooperation with editorial teams: once a month, an editorial team selects a key journalistic topic and shares it live with the audience. This time, the topic is how our pension fund investments affect us. Tickets

7 and 8 November, 8 pm each night

‘Songs of the Wayfarer’ by Claire Cunningham

Guided by her life experience as a disabled person, her memories of her training as a classical singer, knowledge from the world of mountaineering and Gustav Mahler's ‘Songs of a Wayfarer’, Claire Cunningham sets out to traverse familiar and unfamiliar landscapes. Tickets

You can find an overview of the 2025/26 programme on our website.

Newspaper

‘Rest is also a form of movement’ (only in German)

At the beginning of her career, artist Claire Cunningham began exploring her own language of movement. In an article in our newspaper, she says: ‘I found that my time was better spent exploring my own movements within my own reality. And asking myself: How do I move? How do I see the world?’ Read the article

Furthermore

Buy our newspaper together with your ticket

Since the start of last season, we have been publishing four editions of our newspaper per season. Our aim is to bring urgent social debates, exciting personalities, interesting ideas and sometimes just pure entertainment to the public. You can now combine the purchase of the Gessnerallee Zeitung with your ticket purchase directly on our website. You can find an overview of the printed editions here.

Open call for Pain Lab

From 27 January to 1 February 2026, Lyn Bentschik's Pain Lab will take place at the Gessnerallee. This offers eight artists the opportunity to explore the creative and political potential of chronic pain together.

Participation is free of charge. Interested parties can apply by email to lbproductions.verein@gmail.com by 31 October 2025. All information about the application process can be found on our website.

Apartment wanted

The Kursk group's production ‘Raskrsnice’ is looking for an apartment for a mother with a one-and-a-half-year-old child from Serbia for January 2026. What: One- or two-room apartment for temporary rent. Period: at least from 1 to 18 January, or the entire month. Please contact Timo Krstin at timokrstin@gmail.com.

Dance enthusiasts of all ages wanted

ZÜRICH TANZT and the PR·SMA collective invite people of all generations to help shape the piece ‘FAMILY MATTERS’ – together with family members, chosen relatives, friends or solo. With choreographer Elena Morena Weber, participants will explore what family is or can be through improvisational tasks and play. People with or without dance experience are welcome, and all physical abilities are welcome. More information and registration can be found here.

We wish you a pleasant second half of the week.

The Gessnerallee team