Giving in to Gift: Present in Public
Date uploaded: September 14, 2011
Giving in to Gift: Present in Public
As a meeting point between artists, their peers and the public, Giving in to Gift begins a conversation around ideas of generosity and reciprocation and how such themes manifest.
It is an examination of the contradictions present in the giving of gifts, with a particular emphasis on how they may interact with the changing economic landscape, whilst at the same time providing an opportunity for differing modes of collaboration to be explored.
Taking place throughout the city of Liverpool, Present in Public, the first element of the project, will offer six artists the opportunity to work together towards the development of a series of new public works/interventions; each artist maintaining responsibility for their own work whilst simultaneously contributing to the development and thinking of the others. These works will be shown throughout the city of Liverpool as a part of Giving in to Gift on 12th November.
An exploration of the intricacies of gift from a number of different angles, Present in Public proposes an interrogation that continually shifts focus between the common conception of gift as an altruistic act of generosity and the darker undercurrents within the concept – the feelings of indebtedness, the demand for a culturally coded ‘correct’ response, the potential for the abuse of generosity by individuals, institutions and the state.
Over the course of the project, participating artists will be expected to share their process and feed into the work of others; ‘gifting’ a perspective that would perhaps elude an artist working alone.
A second strand, The Really Big Society will be announced shortly.
Giving in to Gift is funded by Arts Council England and supported by the Bluecoat in Liverpool.
