godshed
Throughout history, gods and goddesses have been important shapers and reflectors of how a society defines its values, pleasures, fears and defining narratives. So, who are the gods who have shaped our capitalist driven, consumerist, climate crisis world and who might be the ‘counter’ gods we need now for these difficult times?
Larks and Ravens are a research collaboration between visual artist and curator Kirsty Claxton and experimental psychologist Alison Kidd. We create lifesize ‘gods of our time’ to bring attention to the powerful concepts which shape or distort our thinking, values, politics and everyday culture. Our panoply includes Luck, Growth, Convenience, Meritocracy and Nuance.
In a series of events, we invite multi disciplinary practitioners to participate in creating gods of our time to challenge and bring alive the concepts which shape our thinking and culture animating them through improvising new conversations and narratives with and between them.
The Curator would like to share these artworks as examples to illustrate their thinking:
Kirsty Claxton & Alison Kidd, “Gods of our time”: Death, Meritocracy and Lady Luck.
Curated by Kirsty Claxton & Alison Kidd
Kirsty Claxton is a visual artist/curator and Alison Kidd is an experimental psychologist. For the past 10 years, they have collaborated as ‘Larks & Ravens’ combining their different practices and perspectives through drawing, making, metaphor, language and cognition. This enables them to explore and reveal the strangeness of our world and create physical and symbolic contexts which stimulate conversations and fresh thinking about the socio-political and environmental issues of our day.
They are currently creating cardboard ‘gods of our time’ to bring to attention the powerful concepts which shape or distort our country;s thinking, values, politics and everyday culture and stimulate conversations around them. Gods such as Death, Justice, Luck, Growth, Nuance and Convenience have featured in godshed suppers, a 3 day godshed workshop for artists, thinkers and creative practitioners and an exhibition at Wales’ Wellbeing Economy Cymru Event.
How to apply
Fringe Arts Bath Festival will take place 22 May to 6 June 2026
Submission deadline: Friday 10th April 2026 at 23h59 GMT
Media accepted: All
Free submission. All are welcome to apply, of any age, status, and from anywhere in the world.
If selected, we ask Artists for a £25 contribution (like crowdfunding) and to give some of their time, as we are all volunteers.
Please read our FAQs here to find out more.See all 17 projects open to submissions on our home page: fringeartsbath.co.uk
To submit your work: please email the curator godshed@fringeartsbath.co.uk including:
NB: please include the exhibition / project name in the email title.
max 200 words about your work and how it fits the call-out (written, audio file, video or another way to suit you).
some images of the work, or links to video / performance work (or existing work if it hasn’t been made yet).
any relevant links, if you have them (though it’s not a requirement and Curators might not have the capacity to visit them all).
of course please include any questions you have.
you might not hear back from Curators until after the deadline, thank you for your patience.