Rajni Shah has spent the past year and a half exploring the role of gift in our society, using discreet and playful methods to offer alternative perspectives to people through works in public spaces. In February 2007, she gave away her hair, clothes, words and voice as offerings to a festival audience whilst meditating; in return she asked that they leave something of themselves, and as they arranged gifts around her she became a kind of quiet altar in the hurly burly of the festival. Later that year, she spent three days in Lancaster offering cups of tea and gifts to passers-by. Most recently, in Colchester, she left 100 gifts for people to receive in her absence; writing letters to strangers, and leaving empty gift boxes in shops, at bus stops and at the cinema, she invited people to explore gifting in their own way, using her gifts as catalysts. Each performance is made as a response to patterns of movement and interaction in public spaces such as shopping centres, churches, hallways and parks. In each case the responses have been varied and personal, fascinating and heart-warming, and have revealed new questions about how we might relate to each other.

Rajni has been creating original performance work since 1999. Her work ranges from large-scale performance installations made through an in-depth collaborative process to small solo interventions in public spaces. She has performed in the UK, Europe and USA, including the National Review of Live Art, Alternate ROOTS, Tanzquartier Wien, Arnolfini Bristol, Nuffield Lancaster, Chisenhale Dance Space and the Chelsea Theatre. Ongoing collaborators include Lucille Acevedo-Jones, Lucy Cash and Manuel Vason.

Sheila originally trained in contemporary dance, and worked as a choreographer, dancer and teacher for several years before making the crossover into Live Art/Performance.

Her solo practice addresses ideas that stem from notions of mixing and 'being mixed'. Informed by her own experience of being mixed heritage (half Indian and half English), she is interested in hybridity, crossings, blood, skins, skinning, carefully controlled experiments, well-oiled machinery, colour, genetics and love.

Sheila also works collaboratively and is a longstanding member of Pacitti Company and a Blast Theory Associate artist. She has toured and performed nationally and internationally for both companies and regularly lead artists' workshops for Pacitti Company in the UK, and abroad. She also teaches in Academic contexts.

Ilana Mitchell is a serial collaborator, and multi-hat wearing artist-producer type, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Recent / Upcoming projects include:
Cooking with Herman - East Street Arts, Leeds (May 08)
One of the collective building / running the Star and Shadow cinema in Newcastle.
Camden Communality at Camden Arts Centre, London
Making films on film with Film Bee, Newcastle
Hosting events and people in her flat under the name Starboard Home

Commissioned by Futuresonic and the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster

www.rajnishah.com

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