We spoke to two of the most brilliant minds of art, performance and culture — artist Goshka Macuga and theatre and opera director Fabio Cherstich — on how they brought this immersive art experience to life.

Following its acclaimed presentation in Shanghai, Miu Miu's Tales &amp; Tellers reaffirmed the House's singular ability to dissolve the boundaries between fashion, film, theatre and contemporary art. Curated by interdisciplinary artist Goshka Macuga and brought to life through the theatrical direction of Fabio Cherstich, the immersive project transformed the Shanghai Exhibition Center into a living stage, where cinematic characters stepped into reality and every visitor was invited to chart their own path. 
Following the exhibition, we spoke with the creative duo about fashion as a storytelling language, the evolution of Tales &amp; Tellers across cities, and why Shanghai became its most expansive and layered chapter to date.

Miu Miu has long blurred the boundaries between fashion and contemporary culture, but Tales &amp; Tellers feels especially immersive and emotionally charged. How do you see fashion functioning here — as costume, narrative device, or even a character in itself?
GOSHCKA: When it comes to art and fashion, I don't like to define myself by a single discipline or professional identity. I'm interested in exploring the possibilities of being an artist, a curator, or even working in theatre or opera, collaborating with other people.
For me, the value of creativity lies, first and foremost, in its ability to allow critical thinking while giving me access to a diverse community of creatives with whom I can be in dialogue with. In this instance, when Miuccia Prada invited me to be part of this project, she gave me a complete open invitation to do whatever I wanted to do. She understood that my interest would be in creating a multilayered experience rather than something that could be reduced to a single idea or one-liner.
Ultimately, I see art, fashion, and cinema as tools for critical thinking. They are mediums through which we can use visual culture and experiences to comment on what we see in the world around us.
FABIO: I feel fashion is a tool to connect a story to the audience. I’ll give an example. When we rehearse the scenes without costumes, and when they put on the costumes, you can feel how the costumes strengthen the characters.&nbsp;
My job is to create… to think from the audience’s point of view and to connect feelings to the audience: whether it is energy, surprise or joy.&nbsp;

Your work often examines systems of power, memory and cultural narratives. How did Tales &amp;Tellers allow you to explore those ideas through the lens of femininity and fashion?
GOSHCKA: Of course, most of the characters here are women, and geographically, they sort of represent different struggles of women in different parts of the world. I guess I was hoping that the audience would look at the films, have some kind of knowledge or at least the elements that are embedded in them, to then potentially see how I played a little bit with the idea of bridging all the different topics by connecting some characters with each other and building the community of women on a grander scale.
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How would you recommend the visitors explore the Tales &amp; Tellers space?&nbsp;
GOSHCKA: I like it when people have the freedom to take their own journey because I think that it's the best way, rather than being told that if you choose to come and watch the films first, and see the performance or vice versa. I think that everybody should take their own trip here and see how they feel and what they find. Some people have told me that they have been here in this building many times, but never seen it in the way we presented it. So, it's also about the building and the architecture and the self-discovery because the films are about that too.

How has the exhibition being showcased in Shanghai changed the way it is presented, compared to the past exhibits in Paris and New York?
GOSHCKA: I think that this is the most elaborate exhibition of this project we've ever had because we have dedicated space for the films on the mezzanine. We've got the big performance, we've got the entrance hall, and we've got the promenade with the fountain, where we have our silhouettes. So I guess it's about expanding the boundaries and growing this project to a limit. Shanghai has certainly allowed us to add a little bit more.&nbsp;
FABIO: For example, the singers we use at the door, we present the city’s voice into the experience. So the singers and the sound we bring become the voice of Shanghai. The building itself and its architecture also influence how we set up the equipment in the main hall to create a dialogue between us and the city
We combine everything together. We don’t want to offer just one layer, one story. We want to use contemporary and traditional energy at the same time to create many layers and many possibilities to how the story is being told.

Out of all the films and the characters that were created, which would be the one that resonates with you the most?
GOSHCKA: So there are several ones here, and one of them is also made in Poland because I come originally from Warsaw.&nbsp;
But I think, at the moment, I'm very close to “Fragments For Venus”, one of the two latest films, which has a performance with a bed and two dancers. There is also the final reading performance, which i think is a very powerful statement and I feel emotional listening to it. Maybe it is because it's a collective performance with all the characters.
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FABIO: I don’t have a favourite character, because I must be neutral as a director. I really do think the main performance is when everyone joins together. So that is also one of the characters, which is the community of women when they are together. That is my favourite moment because it has everything. It’s like a step forward compared with the films, because on the screen we see, each character exists by himself or herself, but here they are together, interacting and engaging, and that is extraordinary.

Miuccia Prada has always championed intellectual storytelling within fashion. What do you think collaborations like this reveal about the future relationship between fashion and contemporary art?
GOSHCKA: My observation is that in art, to create very big projects like this, it's quite hard. You'll rarely have an opportunity to work on this kind of scale. I think that it's so important for the private sectors like Prada Foundation or other art foundations, to give a voice to people beyond any limitation in a way. I know that in the heart of the Prada interactions with artists or producers of culture, there is a great generosity in giving people freedom to work and to talk about what interests them.&nbsp;

Interview: Exploring Miu Miu Tales & Tellers Shanghai with Goshcka and Fabio

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