Tania El Khoury: Cultural Exchange Rate

The cruellest of borders are invisible to the eye and present in everyday life. The death traps set within a moving body of water and the concealed militarisation of faraway border villages.

Cultural Exchange Rate is an interactive live art project in which artist Tania El Khoury shares her family memoirs of life in a border village between Lebanon and Syria. One marked by war survival, valueless currency collection, brief migration to Mexico, and a river that disregards the colonial and national borders.

The audience is invited to immerse their heads into one family’s secret boxes to explore the sounds, images, and textures of traces of more than a century of border crossings.

Cultural Exchange Rate is based on the artist’s recorded interviews with her late grandmother, oral histories collected in her village in Akkar, the discovery of lost relatives in Mexico City, and the family’s attempt to secure dual citizenship.

Accessibility

This is an interactive artwork and self-led experience for ten people at a time.

There is one wheelchair accessible / lower-height route, which can be reserved at point of booking.

Participation includes: exchanging currency, unlocking cabinets, handling artefacts, watching and listening to video and audio, and reading in English. FOH guides are available to support with tasks requiring fine motor skills if required (eg unlocking cabinets and handling artefacts).

SENSORY NOTES

Scents & Fragrance (Natural & Chemical)

Nut Allergen (Almonds)

Small particle dust (Baby Powder)

Tactile Artwork

Audience Participation (Interactive Installation)

CONTENT NOTES

Themes of war, displacement and migration


Mention of death and loss

Language: Arabic & English with English Subtitles