HAVE you ever looked around your house and wondered "where did all this stuff come from?".
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Charlestown artist Suzanne Bancroft did.
Instead of organising a massive garage sale, Bancroft decided to turn her collection into an installation piece, to form part of this year's Crack Theatre Festival.
Bancroft has catalogued and boxed up 500 items she will bring along to the Hunter Street Mall this week.
She's inviting everyone to bring along their own personal artifact, reflect on it and trade it for something of hers.
"I was inspired by my 50th birthday - I looked around at the huge amount of things I had accumulated," she said.
Among the treasures were old knickknacks, unwanted gifts and family heirlooms.
"Some of the pieces I inherited. You don't get to 50 and not have people in your life pass away."
Bancroft will bring along 16 boxes full of items to swap with people, including books, home decor items, jewellery and photographs.
She said people could expect an intimate experience, where she will ask about the history of the item and its significance to someone's life.
Bancroft will try to match the items with something of her own in some way, such as its sentimental value or actual street value.
■ Artifact will be located on the mezzanine level, Market Square, in the Hunter Street Mall, Newcastle, October 2 to 4, from noon to 5pm each day.