Govan Shopping Centre Site

Visual Art Workshop

The Macleod Hall Vestibule is booked for next Wednesday afternoon (30th June - 2-4) for an art workshop. I'll be working with colleague, Stewart Ennis, to make pictures and also interviews for the Facebook page (and/or any other pages I can work out how to use.)

I handed out around twenty laminated A4 posters this afternoon to advertise the workshop - it took a lot less time than I anticipated as people were helpful on the whole and we chatted. Phoned the primary schools yesterday to introduce myself, and to mention the workshop, but the schools are off on holiday very soon and it's a really busy time of year - any children who can make it along will be a bonus.

Stewart and I will be interviewing people in the morning of the 30th, before the workshop, beginning with Lisa MacAlinden at the shopping centre and three volunteers from the Govan Care project....

Planning the Future of the Past

Did I say last week there was a sense of urgency? Well, there is and there isn't. I went to meet Tony Traynor, site manager, at the Shopping Centre site this morning and he said that they have been held up for the last couple of weeks because of a delay in the supply of stone, some of which comes from China. Frustrating.

But it was good to meet Tony and make a decision about where and what size the stones for the engravings will be. It seemed sensible that the shopping centre stones will be in a square format, same as the ones across the road at the Square.

And I spoke with Norrie at the Pearce Institute: the first art workshop will be in the Macleod Hall Vestibule on Wednesday 30th from 2-4 pm. It sounds from what Norrie was saying as though a lot of really interesting projects have been taking place over the past year or so in Govan, to "plan the future of our past", as Norrie put it.

Govan Cross Art

Hello,

I've recently been appointed as artist to design a series of new artworks at Govan Cross and Langlands Path.

This is my first week in post and it has already been very full-on. By the time I had finished the interview and been appointed the whole of the Square at Govan Cross had been dug up! It looked totally different from when I had been there the previous week. Now you get a much better view all the way over to the Riverside Museum on the north bank of the river.

The building works certainly made me realise how urgent the work is to be done. There are only around two to three months to design paving engravings which will go on site at the Underground, in front of the Shopping Centre and at the Square.

As much as possible I want to involve the people who will be living with, and using, the art that is made in its development and creation. That's the reason for this Blog - to explain what's going on. There are Facebook pages at 'Govan X Art' and 'Govan Timeline'.

The Govan Timeline will be about the story of Govan from earliest times to the present and into the future...Highlights from the story will be engraved into the pavement or the road at Langlands Path.

I'll post more as I go along and update on progress.