Biography

Miriam Schmid studied education and educational sciences and was trained in theater pedagogy. She is active as a freelance performer, director and theater maker in Graz and Vienna. In 2014 she won the cabaret competition Grazer Kleinkunstvogel and co-founded the performance collective Das Planetenparty Prinzip in 2015. She was awarded the startup fellowship for performing arts of Bundeskanzleramt Österreich in 2020. After curating the performance section, she has been leading the cross-disciplinary art association Forum Stadtpark together with Robin Klengel and Markus Gönitzer, since 2021. She received the Günther Rühle Prize for acting in 2023 in the performance Aufmarschieren. In 2024, she got the Artist in Residence Scholarship of the Province of Styria and worked in Tirana for two months. Her artistic focus is on developing concepts for performances (live or video) that explore the boundaries of reality and fiction.

Artistic project

MONEYBEE MAIN SOUVENIR SHOP is a satirical, interactive project exploring the legacy of silent colonialism—the subtle but lasting influence of former Central European empires. Using humor, exaggeration, and participation, it questions how current economic involvement—often framed as “development aid”—can continue patterns of dominance.

At the center is the Moneybee, a cheerful mascot who proudly collects places, stories, and objects (like collecting nectar and bringing it back to the hive) —revealing a larger picture of post-imperial entanglement. Her design also references “Sumsi,” the mascot of a major Austrian bank active in Southeastern Europe—a symbol of economic expansion in a smiling disguise.

Interactive Exhibition

The shop displays souvenir-like objects that reflect local histories of dependency and power. Playful yet critical, the installation adapts to its setting—either as a nostalgic store or minimalist pop-up. Visitors explore each object and uncover layered narratives of memory, economy, and influence.

Performative Workshop

Alongside the exhibition, a public workshop invites participants to “create souvenirs.” What begins playfully shifts into a subtle performance about complicity, and control. These sessions offer not just reflection, but lived experience.

The souvenirs don’t offer clear answers—they provoke. Each one invites open dialogue about histories too complex to be right or wrong. The project grows with each site, adding new stories, contradictions, and voices.

Format: interactive Installation & Performative Workshop

Size of audience: two different settings - interactive installation for a walk-in audience and workshop setting for 10 - 15  people maximum

Specific location: busy place in the city like a crowded square, a shopping street or bus terminal

Timing / duration: permanent installation daily open for around 6h, performative workshop 45min