The Shilling Ground
A new public artwork as part of a series of engagement programmes connecting people to an ever-changing place
Our commissioned public art intervention for the site aims to connect the people of Pollokshaws to the history of their built environment, providing information about local heritage landmarks.
New artwork designed in conversation with local heritage groups identifying the scale and entrance of the demolished high flats
We worked for Wheatley Homes (GHA) delivering a series of community engagement programmes across Pollokshaws from 2012-2014. This included a suite of outcomes:
intergenerational workshops to co-design and fabricate artworks and landscape objects celebrating the identity of the neighbourhood
animation workshops with local school pupils to tell their stories, and;
a Halloween carnival, including film screenings
Young people designing a new animated film based on the stories of local heritage groups and residents of the neighbouring care home
Halloween carnival and youth engagement
All of this work culminated in The Shilling Ground, a new heritage artwork.
We worked with the local schools to develop a new narrative for the site, focussing on the local story around the five trees on the site. These are said to represent the five Provosts of Glasgow and date back to when Pollokshaws was an independent town from the city. This is not (strictly) accurate. Inviting young people to build their own story for the five trees opened up conversations around history, place and connection as well as left-of—field suggestions around their representation on pop stars!
The Shilling Ground is a compass which directs to the remaining built heritage, an important piece creating connections between disparate remaining landmarks in this ever changing neighbourhood. Fabricated with a local blacksmith and with support from Turner & Co, the piece demonstrates historic craft as well as its physical reminders of the local nearby sites to see.
Client: Wheatley Group (Glasgow Housing Association)
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Completion: 2013
Collaborators: Turner & Co, Africa in Motion Film Festival, Pollokshaws Heritage Group, Tinto Primary School, St Conval’s Primary School