Marcello Pisu is a cultural entrepreneur, experience and place-maker based in Lisbon, with over two decades of experience across cultural programming, curation, communications and the creation of spaces that bring people together. He studied Performing Arts Management in Milan through a joint programme offered by Bocconi University and Teatro alla Scala.
He began his career in arts marketing and public relations, working with the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York, the Sundance Film Festival and the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto. He later became a columnist covering art and technology for the Italian financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
In Berlin, Marcello led digital media and contributed to the scientific co-curation of Falling Walls, one of Europe’s leading interdisciplinary forums for science and innovation. His curatorial work has included a digital project featuring Ai Weiwei and Olafur Eliasson, exhibited at Tate Modern in London; Lexus Hybrid Art at Red Square and the Strelka Institute in Moscow; and MAXA Camp at Burning Man.
His approach subsequently expanded from curating experiences to cultural placemaking. He contributed to the development of Monopol in Berlin, Supra in Mexico City and The Loom in Oakland, in the San Francisco Bay Area—projects that explored how art, culture and community can activate spaces and shape new forms of collective life.
Marcello is now the founder and creative director of Those Who Dance, a 1,000-square-metre hybrid space and ecosystem in Lisbon dedicated to dance culture. Bringing together nightlife, contemporary dance, performance, music, wellbeing and community, Those Who Dance represents the convergence of his work as a cultural entrepreneur, curator and place-maker. It was created with the mission of unleashing the transformative power of dance culture and establishing it as a driver of connection, freedom and urban transformation.
EDUCATION
Marketing BA at Universitá degli Studi di Cagliari
Master in performing arts management at SDA Bocconi Milan and Accademia del Teatro alla Scala
Digital Strategy Professional Certificate at New York University
Power yoga teacher training with Bryan Kest
COLLABORATIONS
Film Society of Lincoln Center, NYC
Sundance Film Festival, Park City
Festival of Two Worlds, Spoleto
Falling Walls, Berlin
Ai Weiwei Studio, Berlin
Olafur Eliasson Studio, Berlin
Strelka Institute for Urban Innovation, Moscow
Lexus Hybrid Arts Festival, Moscow
Soho House, Berlin and Los Angeles
Faena Arts Center, Buenos Aires
Supra, Mexico City
Maxa Camp, Burning Man
Creators Project, NYC
Il Sole 24 Ore, Milan
The Monopol, Berlin
Venn, Berlin
The Loom, Oakland
Those Who Dance, Lisbon