A "Chit-Chat" at the Bolzano Bus Station

They came to South Tyrol to work because they are urgently needed: foreign bus drivers – who make up more than a third of the local company SASA – bear the responsibility for their passengers on board. They are at the center of a “performative research” project conducted by artist Maria Walcher and researcher Verena Wisthaler as part of exCHANGE, a project by the Center for Advanced Studies at Eurac Research and the South Tyrolean Artists' Association Südtiroler Künstlerbund. What makes a good bus driver, and what are the general thoughts about foreign workers in South Tyrol – these are the topics the artist and the researcher discussed with interested participants at the Bolzano bus station. Everyone who had the time and inclination to have a “chit-chat” with them could take a seat on the blue seating arrangement.

On Wednesday, August 7th, it was easy to spot at the Bolzano bus station: an ensemble of brightly blue seating elements – a work by Maria Walcher, inspired by the working life of a Sicilian shoeshiner – marked the place where the conversations took place. It was up to the participants themselves to decide whether to sit in a higher or lower position and whether to share their own opinion or simply listen to what the researcher and the artist had to say. The art installation represents the project's theme: inequality. “We are specifically dealing with inequalities in the South Tyrolean labor market from the perspective of bus drivers, as they combine several challenges that we currently face not only in South Tyrol but throughout Western Europe: the need for foreign workers, paired with prominent negative attitudes towards people from abroad and their discrimination in general participation in society,” explains Verena Wisthaler, head of the Center for Migration and Diversity at Eurac Research. Being on the move, mobility, and cultural exchange are recurring themes in Maria Walcher’s artistic works and projects. “In recent years, I have focused on the importance of work and the value of people who perform certain professions. Collaborating with bus drivers results in an exciting exploration on very different levels,” emphasizes Walcher. The conversations at the bus station will be incorporated into an installation that will be exhibited in the fall at the premises of the Artists Association.

Supported by the transport company SASA, Wisthaler and Walcher have already conducted interviews with SASA representatives and bus drivers for the project. The collected experiences and opinions will be incorporated into an installation and a publication on the subject.

The performative research is part of one of the six tandems within the exCHANGE project by Eurac Research and the South Tyrolean Artists Association, where research and art jointly address the theme of inequality. Inequalities surrounding motherhood, climate change, or access to water are being explored, archaeological findings are reinterpreted, and playgrounds are observed as border spaces. The aim of exCHANGE is to showcase alternatives to classical research practices and new possibilities for artistic engagement, contributing to a broader societal discourse and actions for a fairer world.

The results of these collaborations will be presented in an exhibition at the South Tyrolean Artists Association headquarters in Bolzano. The opening reception will take place on October 10, 2024.