The Performance of the Gift (2014–2015) – Art and Reciprocity

After twenty-five years of artistic practice, marking a symbolic quarter-century of work, Beatriz Millar initiated a relational performance centered on the act of giving. The project emerged from the desire to acknowledge the community that sustains her life—both professionally and personally—through everyday presence and service.

Over the course of one year, the artist invited individuals from her daily environment into her studio: her hairdresser, neighbors, the newsstand vendor, a computer technician, her yoga teacher, her singing teacher, a supermarket manager, her doctor, and close friends living in the area. Though their roles differ, they share a common function: providing service, care, or continuity within the community they inhabit.

Millar presented a selection of works spanning different periods of her career. Each participant was free to choose the work that resonated most strongly, without guidance or restriction. The act of selection became an intuitive and personal gesture, establishing a dialogue between the history of the artwork and the experience of the individual.

The encounter was then documented through photography, transforming the exchange into a shared image. The emphasis lies not on ownership but on relational exchange; not on transaction but on encounter.

In its structural clarity, the performance articulates art as reciprocity and acknowledgment. Community is framed not as abstraction, but as an active network of daily exchanges sustained through presence and mutual recognition.