Behind the walls and fences of private land lies the truth - enclosure of common land, exploitation of resources and dispossession of people and public rights in exchange for profit.* What does trespass mean to you?

Whilst many argue that there isn’t enough space in England for immigrants and new arrivals and as we struggle to find enough land to build new houses on to alleviate the housing crisis or house Gypsy, Romany & Traveller [GRT] communities, the reality is that the vast majority of the country is entirely unknown to us because by law of trespass. We are excluded from 92 per cent of the land and 97 per cent of its waterways, blocked by walls whose legitimacy is rarely questioned **

The exploitation and enclosure have included not only land, but the bodies of human beings in England and stolen territories of the British Empire; especially the working class, women, GRT communities and enslaved/descendants of enslaved people.

In a religious context, to trespass is to go beyond the boundaries that God has set. In other words, it is sin, but, alongside the British Royal Family the Church of England is one of England's major landowners which has reinforced the Church’s influence on society.

Communities who still work together, living on and sensitively managing common land live sustainable lives, rarely take more than they need or damage the natural resources around them. But where land is bought, exploited and enclosed the ecology and natural balance has been lost.

If we could reclaim land for common use how would it affect our combined future as humanity? If we could reclaim our bodies what would it mean to us? Is the invention of land ownership the root of racial & social inequality and the climate crisis?

What does trespass mean to you?

The co-curators would like to invite you to consider how you respond to the theme of trespass through any artform.

Co-curated by Simbah Pilé and Stacey Pottinger

Simbah Pilé is a contemporary Barbadian artist living and working in the UK. She graduated from Barbados Community College with a Fine Art Degree in 2009 and she curated her first exhibition in 2011 focusing on Contemporary Illustrations in Barbados. Later that year she represented the Caribbean and in the Wasanii International Artist Workshop “In Conversation”. Her work includes painting, murals, collages, drawing, mixed media, printmaking, video, illustrations, and digital art. She has exhibited in Africa, Europe and the Caribbean.

Stacey Pottinger is a spoken word & page poet and an accidental visual artist who lives in a small village in the North East Somerset Coalfields. She graduated with a first-class degree in Film and Drama from University of Reading in 2001 with a focus on political, feminist and physical theatre. Her work explores contemporary politics, social inequality, motherhood and mental illness.

*Paraphrased from The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines that Divide Us by Nick Hayes

** Direct quote from The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines that Divide Us by Nick Hayes

If selected, we ask artists for a £20 contribution (like crowdfunding) and/or to give some of their time, as we are all volunteers. 

Fringe Arts Bath

Fringe Arts Bath (FaB) Festival provides a platform for early-career and emerging Curators & Artists to test ideas beyond the gallery-based arts scene. There are 17 other exhibition call-outs forming the FaB Festival programme, coming to Bath, UK, from 26th May to 11th June 2023. Discover them all here:

www.fringeartsbath.co.uk

https://www.fringeartsbath.co.uk/trespass 

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