Bureau d’Exchange is an immersive and entertaining cross-disciplinary art work set in a shop like installation. Here, the performers are shopkeepers engaging with the public through interactive story telling.
Participants are presented with an odd assortment of items. Similar to the idea of the readymade, this work takes commonplace objects and elevates them to the status of valuable commodities. The audience is invited into the ‘shop’ to browse, followed by a thought-provoking and enjoyable experience of exchange. The valuing and exchanging of goods is guided through the emotional attachment and associated narratives to the objects, posing questions about economic structure and the relationship to possessions.
About the artists:
Cynthia Schwertsik’s art practice is diverse, including visual art and contemporary performance, with a focus on activating public space. She works preferably in collaborations to investigate the oxymorons found in the wake of contemporary life. Absurdity and humour are central to Cynthia’s cross-disciplinary art-solutions
Cynthia has exhibited and performed throughout Europe, South Africa and Australia, been recipient of grants and residencies from Austrian and Australian government bodies. She has completed commissions for Australian councils, including the City of Sydney, City of Unley, and City of Port Adelaide Enfield.
Schwertsik holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts and a Dance Diploma.
Emma Beech graduated from Flinders Drama Centre in 2000, and works across theatre and screen. She has established a practice developing theatre shows from meaningful conversations with strangers.
Emma has worked with The Last Tuesday Society, Real TV, Bron Batten, Patch, Monkey Baa, Playwriting Australia, Arts House, Open Space Contemporary Arts, STC, SA Museum, The Rabble and Vitalstatistix,
Along with theatre director, Tessa Leong, and visual artist. James Dodd, Emma founded the Australian Bureau of Worthiness, a residency model that creates theatre from interviews conducted with people on the street. She spent a two-year residency with immersive theatre company Carte Blanche in Denmark.
