Image credit Andrew Sikorski
'Maintain, Rest, Value' is a dance series which sees Ade Suharto and Alison Currie respond to people’s life work (interviews, photographs, artwork) and a collection of sites (room, building, park) through crafted performance.
The artists invite audiences and communities to feel a sense of ownership, lineage, responsibility, and care through their offerings. Ade and Alison aim to distil the essence of each interaction to create site-responsive experiences to behold connection to place and to one another.
We began collaborating on a shared practice in 2021 which has led to our ongoing performance season 2023 onwards.
‘Maintain, Rest, Value’ has been supported by Insite Arts, Arts SA, Restless Dance Theatre, OSCA, inSPACE and Adelaide Festival Centre, Dance Hub SA, Ainsley and Gorman Arts Centres Canberra, QL2 Dance, and City of Prospect.
‘Maintain, Rest, Value: Caked’, was our first public engagement of the series, it took place at Dance Hub SA in the site of the Fowler’s Lion Flour Factory, now Lion Arts. An act of maintenance in this space was to wash one of the windows during our performance, being on North Tce in the CBD the window is always caked with dirt and cleaning it let the sunshine in!
Finding rest in this space with a history of labor, originally used for packing Fowler’s Lion brand flour, followed by arts labor since the 1970s including 20 plus years of dance action (and at a time when Dance Hub SA was facing imminent closure) was an important first public-facing moment for ‘Maintain, Rest, Value’.
Collaboration with George Andric including recorded interview as soundtrack.
‘Maintain, Rest, Value: Bread and Roses’ was performed as part of Adhocracy 2023 at Vitalstatistix. A response to the building, history and people of the area along with Yerta Bulti being the place of sleep it was a fitting next location to practice maintaining, resting and valuing. Responding to Emma Webb’s essay ‘Crying through our Singing’ we looked into the call for ‘Bread and Roses’ and how art and culture is/can be maintained and valued in community life.
This also led us to explore the history of how the Waterside Workers Federation assisted in Indonesia’s pursuit of independence and including Indonesia calling — Joris Ivens within our performance response.
Image courtesy of Arts South Australia The Ruby Awards
‘Maintain, Rest, Value: 50 Years’ was created in response to the 50th anniversary of the Adelaide Festival Centre and performed as part of the 2023 Ruby awards ceremony. The performance took place in the auditorium of the Festival Theatre with the audience seated on stage. An interview between the artists and Di White, an employee of the Adelaide Festival Centre for 48 years, made up the soundtrack.
Collaborators: Sascha Budimski, Di White, Zoë Dunwoodie, Alix Kuijpers, Stephen Noonan, Cinzia Schincariol, Kunyi Wu.
Thank you Sarah Bleby, Sara Zuidland and Françoise Piron
Image credit Tim Standing
An inSPACE residency allowed us to engage with the site of the Adelaide Festival Centre particularly the rehearsal room where we were based, connecting to people who have past and current connections there. Ade and I were joined by the following people:
Dancers and Choreographic Collaborators: Tammy Arjona, Georgia Goodwin (secondment), Jasmine Williamson-Gray, Rachel McKenna (secondment), Abbey Harby (Week 1 secondment), Kála Melegh-Higginson (Week 1 secondment)
Interviews: George Andric, Heather Blewett, Peter Kelly, Agnes Love, Di White Artwork: Agnes Love, 'Wauwe - Female Kangaroo' (1998)
Photo Negatives: Heather Blewett
Writing: Aushaf Widisto
Sound Recordings: Sascha Budimski
Videos:
• 'Maintain, Rest, Value: 50 Years' at Ruby Awards 2023, footage provided courtesy of Channel 44, Arts South Australia and the Adelaide Festival Centre.
Dancers & Choreographic Collaborators (50 years): Zoë Dunwoodie, Alix Kuijpers, Stephen Noonan, Cinzia Schincariol, Kunyi Wu
'Maintain, Rest, Value: Bread and Roses' at Adhocracy 2023 Vitalstatistix, footage by Heath Britton and Jennifer Greer Holmes
'Maintain, Rest, Value: Caked' at Dance Hub SA, footage by Sam Roberts Producers: Seb Calabretto and Penelope Leishman, Insite Arts
Supported by: Arts SA, Vitalstatistix, OSCA, Ainslie & Gorman Arts Centres, QL2, Dance Hub SA, Restless Dance Theatre, City of Prospect, Ray Harris, BRINK, Jeeva Yoga Studio, inSPACE and Insite Arts. Thank you to Callan Fleming Merrispring, Françoise Piron and Sara Zuidland for hosting us during inSPACE.