An Unconventional Performance for Official Display in Public Spaces

From August 8 to 28, “L’Art¿ fleurit Genève” takes center stage in large format.

What if we tried turning the system of knowledge—about art—on its head, just to see what happens? At a time when we’re questioning our audiences, actress and performer Marie-Aude Guignard attempts a counterintuitive approach, in two acts. Following the premiere in La Chaux-de-Fonds and Renens (2024), the artist invited 213 children from Geneva, ages 7 to 12, to create—in 90 minutes—a joyful collective performance to (re)define “art”! She then composed a poetic manifesto, in a global format, for the public space, drawn from their stories. It takes over the official billboard space and is displayed for a fleeting period throughout the city. You might stumble upon it by chance while walking the streets, or choose to explore it, page by page, on foot or by bike, upside down or right side up, as you wander through the city. A spontaneous performance that comes to life through encounters with children, offering new collective narratives about art by repurposing official billboards as a space for intervention to address everyone in the public sphere.

Day and night, 24 hours a day, posters for the performance L'Art¿ take over public spaces and pop up around street corners, at bus stops, and on official walls. A massive, ephemeral open-air installation that hijacks everyday life with the words of 213 children from Geneva and transforms the entire city into a poetic playground.

Join us on August 8 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., as well as on August 9 at 2 p.m., for a whimsical stroll led by and featuring Marie-Aude Guignard between the MAH and the TO!, through the streets of Geneva and past its repurposed posters—with a few treats waiting at the end of the journey.

And for the closing event, a final stroll on August 28 at 5 p.m., between the MAH, the FMAC, the POCHE, and the TO!

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Actress, performer, director, and playwright Marie-Aude Guignard (she/her, 1976) trained at the Lausanne Conservatory in the professional drama program. She rounded out her education with a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Cultural Mediation (HETSL Lausanne, 2013) and later in Dramaturgy and Text Performance (UNIL-HETSR, 2021). Her artistic practice has developed at the intersection of the performing and visual arts, often taking place outside traditional venues, always in situ, and in (very) close connection with the city. She is interested in the perception of reality and the subversion of norms and conventions, and views her projects—which are often socially engaged—as ecosystems that include the audience, within which the boundaries between fiction and reality, and between aesthetic and everyday experience, are blurred or even erased. And the audience, regardless of its level of involvement, takes action. Her work has been featured in the programs of theaters, festivals, museums, and art spaces, including the Festival de la Cité, the Lausanne Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts, Plateforme 10, Circuit Contemporary Art Center, Théâtre Échandole, Usine à Gaz, Far°, the Ariana Museum, and CCHAR—the Swiss Center for Street Arts. She is presenting her artistic research as part of the “Philosophy of the Spectator” workshop organized by the Faculty of Arts at the University of Lausanne (2021).

Bonsoir la Compagnie was founded in 2012 and produces stage works across various forms of contemporary artistic expression. All share a site-specific nature, often taking place off-site and closely connected to the city. Most have a socially engaged dimension and address issues of cultural mediation and participation, which are an integral part of the artistic exploration. This work has led Bonsoir la Compagnie to build bridges and partnerships with the social and scientific sectors. Bonsoir la Compagnie is a member of the umbrella organization Les Compagnies Vaudoises (LCV) and the Swiss Street Arts Federation (FARS).

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Site-Specific Production
Written and directed by Marie-Aude Guignard
Featuring 213 children from Geneva aged 7 to 12

Concept, performance, dramaturgy: Marie-Aude Guignard

Performance: the 213 children from Geneva

Graphic design and collaboration on dramaturgy: Studio Madame Paris

Administration and production assistance: Tiago Branquino

Production: Bonsoir la Compagnie

Co-production: CCHAR - Swiss Center for Street Arts Creation, TO!-Théâtre de l’Orangerie

And a huge thank you to the City of Geneva, the Republic and Canton of Geneva, Le Poche, the MAH, the FMAC, and the MdQ Eaux-Vives!
As well as the Renens-Est Elementary School, the Museum of Fine Arts in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the after-school programs La Charrière, Crêtet, and Beau-Temps in La Chaux-de-Fonds, La Ferme des Tilleuls, the Canton of Vaud, the City of Renens, the City of La Chaux-de-Fonds, SAMBA—Society of Friends of the Museum of Fine Arts in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and SSA—Swiss Society of Authors.