Season start 2025/26 – (Un)gentle Learning

«Sleight of Hand (in German spoken language)»
Jo Bannon

Jo Bannon’s tactile installation invites curious fingers and unbelieving eyes.

  • Fri 09/19 5:00 – 9:00 PM

    Halle

Copyright: Jo Bannon

«Sleight of Hand» is an intimate 60-minute performance for five people at a time. Fascinated by the eponymic carefully choreographed magic tricks and the ways blind and visually impaired people like herself navigate the world, Jo Bannon created a tactile installation for curious fingers and unbelieving eyes. Subverting the format of a touch tour, this sumptuous work invites audiences to participate in a series of touch encounters with unknown objects, materials and matter.

Integrating audio description, tactile design, choreography and an immersive ASMR soundscape, «Sleight of Hand» explores what we can discover if we loosen our grip on the known visual world and let our senses wander.

As always, Jo Bannon’s work is guided by her offbeat humour and her ongoing fascination with objects, visual perception and how strange the ordinary world really is.

Information on accessibility and language

  • The performance will take place in groups of five people. It lasts 60 minutes with time slots starting every 15 minutes. 

  • All time slots on 19.09. will take place in German spoken language.

  • This participatory installation is designed for both blind and visually impaired as well as sighted audiences with integrated audio description. (Please note that a touch tour is only possible before the first slot of each day.)

  • The show is participatory and will require you to take part in the work, touching items and using your senses. You will not be asked to interact with other audience members.

  • Accessible seating options (such as beanbags, sofas or cushions) are available in different parts of the installation. Please approach our staff at the Access Info Point on the day of the performance or write an email to barrierefreiheit@gessnerallee.ch, so we can provide you with more information and find the right option for you.

  • Please note that due to the highly auditive nature of the work, most parts are not accessible for Deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

About the artist

Credits

Supported by

Copyright: Jo Bannon

Copyright: Jo Bannon

Copyright: Jo Bannon

Copyright: Jo Bannon

Gessnerallee season start 2025/26

The (Un)gentle Learning festival will take place at Gessnerallee from 11 to 21 September to mark the start of the season. The festival will explore processes of transition, mourning and learning.

«Stars Are Never Sleeping, Dead Ones and the Living»

Theres Indermaur und Stephanie Müller
09/11 - 09/14
09/18 - 09/21
(Installation)

«Fourth Eye, 4.40 AM»
Ceylan Öztrük
09/11, 09/13, 09/14, 09/15
(Performance)

«PAS MOI»
Diana Anselmo
09/12, 09/13,
(Lecture-Performance)

«Muskeln aus Plastik - eine crip-queere Lesung»
Kay Matter
09/14
(Reading)

«Neutralitätstheater – Mythos Schweiz auf dem Tisch!»
Hannan Salamat und Fatima Moumouni
09/18
(Talk, Performance)

«Sleight of Hand (In deutscher Lautsprache)»
Jo Bannon
09/19
(Installation, Performance)

«Sleight of Hand (In englischer Lautsprache)»
Jo Bannon
09/20
(Installation, Performance)

«When the calabash breaks»
Tiran Willemse und Melika Ngombe Kolongo (Nkisi)
09/20, 09/21
(Performance, Dance)

«KOMMANDO AJAX»
Cemile Sahin
09/21
(Reading)

Back to top