NothingAboutUs - discussed

The dust is beginning to settle after the intense effort of my project with ts Beall (and another 20 or so artists, community groups, organisations and institutions) for the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art. The project was called Nothing About Us Without Us Is For Us - there is extensive work-in-progress coverage of this multifaceted project at our blog - here. More than 1000 people took part in the project in one form or another and we have had great feedback from people - just yesterday I met an academic colleague who had come to our main event on 28th April - she remarked that everyone who she encountered in Govan that day felt that it was 'their project'.

Crossing The Clyde - Nothing About Us Without Us Is For Us  photo Tom Manley

The catalyst for this blogpost was  Glasgow writer and photographer Tom Manley writing a very thoughtful and perceptive piece about GI and Glasgow (for Artists Newsletter) - he uses NothingAboutUs and Jeremy Deller's Sacrilege as a means to discuss the wider role of an art festival within the city. Link to the article is - here

We were taken aback and really heartened by the media coverage of NothingAboutUs generally - you can find a selection of the coverage - here

  

Often some of the most remarkable results come from the most unexpected sources - it looks as if one of the enduring legacies from NothingAboutUs may come in form of a popular movement against the Glasgow City Council plan to place a carpark at Water Row - right in the centre of historic Govan. This movement began during the course of our film evening 'Some Questions About Govan ....In Honour of George Wyllie' - more here. Things are moving apace on this front now - watch this space and the Glorious Govan facebook page

Nothing About Us Without Us Is For Us

All been a bit quiet on this blog recently - because this project has rather taken over my life....please do come along if you can, it is shaping to to quite something I think. 

Everything you need to know and an extraordinary wealth of work-in-progress material on the project website AboutUsWithoutUs

Govan Parliament

On Saturday 31st March about 100 folk gathered on a mound by the Clyde at Govan to honour this  ancient place of assembly. More than 2000 years ago people built a giant earthwork (known as Doomster Hill) by the river - a hill that was to become the parliament hill of the kingdom of Strathclyde for 200 years around the year 1000AD.

The ceremony was part of the Govan Together event 'Seeds for the Future'. It was conceived and led by Matt Baker and Tam McGarvey and the 2000 year timeline read on the mound was written by Tim Clarkson and Matt Baker.  (this timeline is available as a series of posts on the AboutUsWithoutUs blog)

Event management was by Fablevision Studios on behalf of Govan Together

Processing from the Pearce Institute to the mound in the Riverside Housing Scheme (far right is John 'Jack' Sweeney - former Trades Union activist and carrier of the Govan stone for the Scottish Democracy Cairn )

Marchers arrive at the mound and the firebasket lit by the GalGael - Riverside Museum and Tallship in the background

Assembled around the fire

The public gallery - Riverside housing

Reading the timeline - centre (holding paper) Tam McGarvey and Brian McQuade (eminent Govan historian and 2012 Olympic torch bearer), also holding paper = Gehan MacLeod and on her left Allan and Ricco of the GalGael

Enjoying the fire

photos by Ben Rush

Assembly on Doomster Hill

Myself and t s Beall will be part of this public event on 31st March at the Pearce Institute in Govan. Tim Clarkson and I have co-written a timeline of the last 2000 years of activity on the site of Doomster Hill - this will be performed on Saturday as part of a torchlit gathering by the river before the day finishes with a Ceilidh.

During the afternoon we will be holding the first public boatbuilding workshop of our project for Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art 'NothingAboutUs'

Do join us if you can