GIFTS
Progress preview screening and book launch
followed by Q & A with Clare Whistler and Nichola Bruce
Tuesday 7th June 2016
20:00
Cinema, Horsebridge Arts Centre
Gifts, a ten year project (2005-2015) was made with the gift economy (i.e. no exchange of money) by artist Clare Whistler about eight gifts that were traditionally given to a new child – Egg for Life, Coal for Heat, Evergreen for Eternity, Salt for Health, Candle for Light, Bread for Food, Coin for Wealth and a Silver Ring for Love throughout Life. Made in collaborations with other artists, these ‘gifts’ were offered and received in intimate, invited events in unusual locations. Nichola Bruce has interpreted the film footage of the eight events shot over the years by different filmmakers. The weather, gestures, places and the participants combine in a strange series of journeys unearthing what these objects, offered as a gift, may hold. Clare Whistler has also created a book, Gifts, a record of the Gift Project alongside essays about gifts, ritual, utopian ideals and the gift economy. The film was financed by Arts Council England and Hastings Borough Council.