small gifts

give what you can, take what you need - Wunderbar festival, Newcastle

rajni — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:10:16 +0000

give what you can, take what you need - Wunderbar festival, Newcastle rajni Sat, 7 Nov 2009, 11:10am

give what you can, take what you need - St Nicholas' Arcade, Lancaster

rajni — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:26:32 +0000

give what you can, take what you need - St Nicholas' Arcade, Lancaster rajni Wed, 26 Nov 2008, 11:26am

give what you can, take what you need

rajni — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:53:56 +0000

give what you can, take what you need

2008

2009

rajni Sun, 5 Oct 2008, 9:53am

performances

small gifts

other collaborations

give what you can, take what you need is a playful exploration of notions of community and conversation through gift exchange.

Drawing on Rajni's research projects into gift-giving as intervention in public space, this interactive performance is designed to take place in busy communal areas. Passers-by are greeted by a large dinner table, where various other members of the public may be seated at any time. Newcomers are invited to take part by accepting a gift, entering into a relationship with the gathering for as long or as short a time as they choose.

give what you can, take what you need was originally commissioned by Futuresonic 2008 and the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster, and toured in 2008-2009 alongside Dinner with America.

Tour:

Wunderbar festival, Newcastle (Eldon Square, 2009)
Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster (St Nicholas Arcades, 2008)
Futuresonic festival, Manchester (Piccadilly Gardens, 2008)

supported by Futuresonic Festival and the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster

Altars of us all / speaking to strangers (Fribourg, Switzerland)

rajni — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:39:39 +0000

Altars of us all / speaking to strangers (Fribourg, Switzerland) rajni Tue, 24 Jun 2008, 12:39pm

small gifts: tea - London

rajni — Sun, 04 May 2008 10:41:20 +0000

small gifts: tea - London rajni Sun, 4 May 2008, 12:41pm

give what you can, take what you need - Manchester

rajni — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:36:45 +0000

give what you can, take what you need - Manchester rajni Fri, 2 May 2008, 12:36pm

Altars of us all / speaking to strangers

rajni — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:34:34 +0000

Altars of us all / speaking to strangers

2008

rajni Tue, 25 Mar 2008, 8:34pm

performances

small gifts

I was curious. What stops me from talking to strangers? What draws me to trust one person, to invite one person into my family and not the other? How can we re-find a way to talk? What would you say to a stranger?

Continuing research begun in her series, small gifts, Rajni ran a series of creative workshops as part of the Belluard Bollwerk International festival inviting members of the public to make letters and gifts to be left at a series of altars in the town. Alluding to the Catholic history of Fribourg, Rajni then worked with each workshop group to create a series of altars in public spaces chosen by the group. Like the lighting of a candle at an altar, but with the aim of guiding prayers across the earth to another person, this project encourages us to think about the connections we might have with strangers and the role that gifting and exchange can take in modern society. Part of UK-based group Wrights and Sites 'mis-guides' series.

Related materials

Watch an interview with Rajni and other 'mis-guides' artists at art-tv.ch

small gifts: tea

rajni — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:57:45 +0000

small gifts: tea rajni Sun, 3 Feb 2008, 3:57pm

small gifts

research

During 2008 Rajni ran a series of workshops exploring gifting for an NHS harm reduction service for women who sell sex from the streets of London. This was continuation of the research series small gifts in which Rajni explored the potential role of gifting in opening up new conversations and perspectives in society.

For the Sacred 2008 season at the Chelsea Theatre, Rajni hosted a two hour tea party in the Chelsea theatre foyer during which audience members were invited to enjoy a meditative space where they could find out more about Rajni’s research and engage in conversations related to the season.

Commissioned by the Chelsea Theatre

small gifts

rajni — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 13:43:17 +0000

small gifts

2006

2007

rajni Sun, 16 Dec 2007, 2:43pm

The initial small gifts intervention series took place throughout 2006 and 2007, exploring the role of gift and conversation in public spaces. This research was funded by the Live Art Development Agency through their One to One Bursary scheme, and supported by the Nuffield Theatre in Lancaster, the Colchester Arts Centre and Alternate ROOTS. Continuations of this research included a commission from the Nuffield Theatre in Lancaster in association with Futuresonic, and a commission from The Chelsea Theatre in London. Scroll to the bottom of the page for PDFs related to this research. Watch a slightly random section from small gifts: glasgow here (you need to register and login to this site).

Performing_Meditation.pdf

programme_notes_smallgifts07.pdf

small gifts

give what you can, take what you need - Wunderbar festival, Newcastle

give what you can, take what you need - St Nicholas' Arcade, Lancaster

give what you can, take what you need

Altars of us all / speaking to strangers (Fribourg, Switzerland)

small gifts: tea - London

give what you can, take what you need - Manchester

Altars of us all / speaking to strangers

Read more about each altar by clicking on the images below:

Related materials

small gifts: tea

small gifts