Special exhibition at The Center for Fiction

Photographs by Beowulf Sheehan - Words by Rebecca Donner

On October 24th, from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, please join us for the opening of Beowulf Sheehan and Rebecca Donner’s exhibition ‘Fair Dancin’ Mad: A Scottish Town’s Ten-Year Fight with Donald Trump.’  RSVP to Rosie Clarke: rosie@centerforfiction.org

The Center For Fiction, 17 East 47th Street, 2nd Floor Reading Room. Free and open to the public. 

In 2006, Donald Trump bought a 1,400-acre estate in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, a village on the coast of Northeast Scotland. The estate included a majestic stretch of sand dunes designated by the Scottish government as a site of Special Scientific Interest. Home to 22 endangered species of wildlife, the sand dunes were protected from development until 2009, when Trump bulldozed it to build Trump International Golf Links Scotland, a luxury golf resort he declared would be “the world’s greatest.”

Trump sought to expand his acreage by purchasing land from Aberdeenshire residents, but many refused to sell their property.  When Trump’s attempt to seize their land through eminent domain failed, he tried to force residents from their homes by cutting off their electricity, water, and phone lines. A salmon fisherman found his access to the sea permanently blocked. A retired couple discovered a massive wall of dirt around the cottage they’ve lived in for 35 years, enshrouding them in darkness. Trump continues to bully, harass, and threaten the residents of Aberdeenshire who won’t sell their homes to him. This community of farmers, shepherds and fishermen has been fighting Trump for a decade, and they’re not giving up.

Comprising photographs by Beowulf Sheehan and an accompanying 5,000-word essay by Rebecca Donner, this exhibition charts the effects of Donald Trump’s aggressive and ongoing acquisition of land for a golf course and luxury resort in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire.

About the artists:

Beowulf Sheehan is a portrait photographer working in the arts, entertainment, and humanities. His work has been published in Esquire, The New Yorker, Stern, Vanity Fair, and others and been exhibited internationally. Visit him at beowulfsheehan.com

Rebecca Donner is the author of the novel Sunset Terrace, the graphic novel Burnout, and two forthcoming works of fiction and narrative nonfiction. Educated at the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University, she has published essays and criticism in the New York Times, The Believer, Guernica, The Rumpus, and Bookforum. Visit her at rebeccadonner.com

The prints in this exhibition are available to purchase from the artist, with proceeds supporting Anthony Baxter's documentary "You've Been Trumped, Too."