A young woman with long brown hair, wearing a black pullover, black pants, and black shoes, sitting on the steps in front of a large wooden door with a distressed appearance, on a concrete sidewalk.

Nela Fletcher
(b. 1980, full name Cornelia Lüthi Fletcher) is a Swiss artist based in Hangzhou, China.

Nela begins with her body. It is her tool, often her subject, and frequently her way of thinking. Whether she is squeezing into public spaces, reworking private ones, or navigating the interiors of memory and emotions, the body leads the charge.

A former professional dancer and choreographer, Fletcher has not so much left movement behind as taken it sideways. These days, she works across drawing, photography, and film, exploring how bodies relate to space. Not just the kind with walls and footpaths, but the less visible ones too — personal, psychological, and medical. Her practice mimics, resists, and rewires familiar environments, turning them into something more curious, more human, and occasionally a little absurd.

Her works often begin with physical interventions, which are documented, then transformed into visual narratives. The result is work that feels choreographic even when it stands still. Fletcher enjoys using humour to open up difficult conversations, especially when exploring themes around illness, care, and the structures we live inside.

Nela's work is held in private and public collections, including the Invercargill Public Art Gallery (IPAG) and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington.

upcoming
2026 Group exhibition | Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, NZ
2026 Victoria | exhibition with Adrienne Martyn | He Waka Tuia, Waihōpai, NZ

award
2024 Merit Award | Parkin Drawing Prize | Wellington, NZ
2022 Second Prize 2022 Annual Spring Exhibition | He Waka Tuia, NZ
2021 Supreme Award | ILT Art Awards, NZ
2010 Prize awarded by the Mediathek Tanz, CH
2008 Prize awarded by the city of Zurich, category contemporary dance, CH

artist in residence
2023 COIN South, Waihōpai, NZ
2011 Tanz Tendenz & Schwere Reiter, Munich, DE
2010 Rote Fabrik Zurich, CH

dance & performance
2012 WILD THING | for Laura Kalauz, Gessnerallee Zurich, CH
2012 Die Kopfstandinsel | for die Kulturtage Halbinsel Au, CH
2011 I Did Not Take the Pepsi Challenge... | for Cie. Kihossi, Roxy Basel, CH
2010 Gmoeffel | for Company Zwaergfaell, Theatre Stadelhofen Zurich, CH
2009 Not (t)here | for Daria Gusberti, Dampfzentrale Bern, CH
2008 Rote Asche | for Mischa Kaeser, Theatre Rigiblick Zurich, CH
2008 Rock and Roll ist hier zum stehn | for Kumpane, Rote Fabrik Zurich, CH
2008 Catulli Carmina | for Markus Gerber, Aarauer Vokalisten, KUK Aarau, CH
2007 Swiss & Sexy | for Oona Project, Gessnerallee Zurich, CH
2007 Patience Camp | for Thom Luz, Kaserne Basel CH, Theaterformen Hannover DE
2007 Friday Fishday | for Cie. Urto, Rote Fabrik Zurich, CH
2006 Did I shave my legs for that? | for Kumpane, Rote Fabrik Zurich, CH
2006 Ich wanderte... | for Tanztheater Fumi Matsuda, Tanzhaus Zurich, CH
2005 Mercy 45 | for Denise Lampart, Museum für Gestaltung Zurich, CH
2001 - 2005 Company member | for Philipp Egli, Dance Company Theatre St.Gallen, CH

choreography
2014 Mein Herz ist ein Dealer | for Jonas Knecht, Gessnerallee Zurich, CH
2011 Das siebente Siegel | for Peter Kastenmüller, Theatre Basel, CH
2011 HYDE The Rock Opera | for Kollektiv MYDRIASIS, Tojo Theatre Bern, CH
2010 Vrenelis Gaertli | for Theaterkonstellationen, Theater Chur, CH
2010 autsch | for halsundbeinbruch, Tanzhaus Zurich, CH
2009 Kim Jong Il, Der ewige Sohn | for Manuel Buergin, , Kaserne Basel, CH
2009 chirp | for halsundbeinbruch, Tanzhaus Zurich CH + tour through Switzerland
2008 monototal | for halsundbeinbruch, Tanzhaus Zurich, Bern, Lausanne, CH
2006 verschroben | for 12Min.Max., Tanzhaus Zurich, CH

education
2020 Master of Arts in Fine Arts, Zurich University of the Arts, CH
2018 Foundation Course, Zurich University of the Arts, CH
2000 Diploma in Dance, SBBS Zurich, CH