The gift must always move

Are creativity and art products or works, or gifts? Is there always a fixed commercial value one can place on artistic inspiration and creativity? Lewis Hyde, in his seminal work — The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World — argues that we should “keep some parts of our social, cultural, and spiritual life out of the marketplace”. He believes that the rise of capitalism has brought great confusion to the economy of the creative spirit.

We have all been blessed with gifts. It’s human nature to want to share those gifts with others (and a complete waste of our gifts not to). The poet Walt Whitman made sure he gave back to the world that had enriched him artistically and spiritually, either in his poetry or through charitable works (teaching illiterate children to read and nursing Civil War soldiers). It’s also possible to destroy and de-value your own gifts. Salvador Dali famously signed thousands of blank sheets of paper, and the resulting forgeries sabotaged his own gift.

Christmas is imminent. The retail sector has been reminding us for months that we need to buy the perfect gifts for our friends and family, and many of us will be exchanging presents at family gatherings or parties with friends. We are all liable to forget what a gift really means — anything that is transferred to another person voluntarily and without compensation. In our modern society, bestowing gifts — gifts to which we have attached a monetary value — on those who do not reciprocate is practically unheard of.

It’s high time, we think, to restore the creative spirit to our capitalist-driven society, by refusing to attach a market value to everything we create. And so we have come up with Gift Day, a day where we make it a point to share our gifts with those around us.

When you register for Gift Day, you are making an explicit promise to share your gifts on 15 December. The first 100 people to register for Gift Day will also receive a copy of The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World. It will change your life.

Do send us your creative gift ideas using the form below when you register!

They've registered for Gift Day:

  1. Joseph
  2. dovegreyreader
  3. Jenni Fagan
  4. Angela Young
  5. Sarah Cuthbertson
  6. Penelope Siraj
  7. Maureen Nixon
  8. Kaitlyn Opie
  9. Simon Thomas
  10. daphne sayed
  11. Sarah Revell
  12. herschelian
  13. Sam J
  14. Tripta
  15. denise see
  16. Law Kian Yan
  17. Jerry Lim
  18. J Salyers
  19. nicole alley
  20. Conni Togel
  21. Rachel Chan
  22. How Ethical?
  23. Rebecca Thomas
  24. Saz
  25. gareth pahl
  26. Cassandra
  27. Chris Jones
  28. katy kelly
  29. peggy hughes
  30. Katie Stevenson
  31. Paul Medley
  32. Rowena Feilden
  33. Leonie
  34. Sheila Wallace
  35. Loraine Birkenstock
  36. Elizabeth Zang
  37. Rachel Heck
  38. Lynne O'Shea
  39. Woodstock Taylor
  40. Becky Blackham
  41. Megan
  42. LeishaCamden
  43. Claire Massey
  44. clare nicolson
  45. Josie McKay
  46. bruno zolotar
  47. Jo Bartlett
  48. Steph Little
  49. Maria
  50. Muthamma Prasad
  51. Evelyn Rodriguez
  52. Tara Hunt
  53. Marilyn
  54. Matt Charron
  55. Serenity
  56. J Hamata
  57. Alex de Carvalho
  58. Helen Keegan
  59. Patricia Less
  60. Heath Row
  61. Tracy Lee Carroll
  62. Carlos Granier-Phelps
  63. Anderson
  64. Michael Galpert
  65. Jim Haw, Jr.
  66. Fernanda Ibarra
  67. Mojohito Tchudi
  68. Peter McArthur
  69. Nadine Warner
  70. Pepukai Makoni
  71. kat taylor
  72. Lizzy
  73. Lianne Raymond
  74. Mo
  75. Keren J Carr
  76. Rachana Pandey
  77. paul erne
  78. lizzy cliff
  79. Ken Wade
  80. patrick
  81. siuling bisogno
  82. milan hau
  83. Rodrigo navarro
  84. Connie Larry
  85. Siona
  86. Laurel Kilgour
  87. Andy Kaufman
  88. Pamela Deans
  89. Kristina
  90. Joan LoCicero
  91. Michele Deller
  92. Christina Arrington
  93. Tim Fitzgerald
  94. Drew Buddie
  95. Hugh
  96. Brue Richardson
  97. Tom
  98. Eve P.
  99. Brian Inglis
  100. Carmen
  101. Guilherme Cury

If you happen to have arrived here after 15 December, remember that we can share our gifts any day of the year.

To register for Gift Day, please fill out the form below.





Note: Your mailing address will not be revealed on this site. We will only use your mailing and email address in direct relation to the Gift Day project.

The code to link to Gift Day is: <a href="http://www.giftday.org.uk/"><img src="http://www.giftday.org.uk/spread/giftday.png" alt="gift day is 15 december"></a>

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Gift Day is 15 December
 
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