The Free University Project, Glasgow 1987 – 199?
The Free University started in early 1987 and emerged out of various events across the areas of education, art, politics and literature. It proposed an inter-disciplinary approach to learning not based on vocational skills, and to challenge the loss of community and neighbourhood. It intersected with many projects and gave rise to more specific, semi independent interest groups. The FU dispersed in the early nineties. Some of the original members involved in independent publishing and autonomous art projects at the time including Here & Now, Variant, Edinburgh Review, the Saltoun Art Project, and others – will attempt some observations on the continuities across the two decades. All welcome. Audio Short explanation
Street Level Photoworks 48 King Street
Coffee with the riff-raff (Strolls archive)
RESISTING REGENICIDE : STRUGGLES IN THE CITY
“Our relationship to the built environment is perhaps the most crucial element to the quality of community life.”
The Forum : ACE, 17 West Montgomery Place, Edinburgh, EH7 5HA
http://forumcollective.wordpress.com
Eastwards Ho! A New Urban Frontier?
The study brings together interviews with a number of the
participants and an archive of photographic material from the campaign.
This material is currently being edited and is scheduled for publication
in 2013.
‘Given to the People’ (2008)
Given To The People is a study of the Pollok Free State. The Free State was initiated by the actions of local resident, Colin Macleod, who began a tree top protest against the building of the M77 motorway through public woodlands in Pollok, Glasgow, in the early 1990s. Over several years this grew into a series of camps across Pollok. It sought not only to block an unwanted motorway cutting through one of Europe’s largest inner city public commons, land that had been gifted to the people of Glasgow, but also raised issues over the rights of local people to determine the use and development of public space. It was part of a bigger ‘No M77’ protest across Glasgow that included many groups, including Earth First!, Glasgow For People and Scottish Militant Labour, as well as attracting support internationally.
‘The London Particular: The Occupation’ (2001) & ‘The London Particular’ (2004). The sordid reconfiguration – through gentriication – of life, death, and work on the fringe of the city of London.
thelondonparticular.org/items/video.html
‘Five Ring Circus’ (2007). Scathing documentary about the false promises of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and the social, economic and environmental impacts of the event.
www.thefiveringcircus.com
‘Polly 2: Plan for a Revolution in Docklands’ (2006), Anja Kirchner and David Panos. Mixing popular forms (Brecht, the Western), Kirchner and Panos pursue a dramatic canvas for their critical take on regeneration.
www.anjakirschner.com/polly2/main.html
‘The Spectacle’. A series of community based films challenging the rhetoric of regeneration in the east end of London.
www.spectacle.co.uk
Organised by Variant collective
Common Good News
from around the burghs. Post updates on Common Good progress. The good the bad and the ugly – country wide. Be a common good detective. Need inspired look here.
The Independent Republic of the Canongate
The common Good in Scotland Film
Scottish land reform researcher Andy Wightman explaining the basics of Common Good assets in Scotland. Common Good are land, buildings and artefacts that have been given to the people of a burgh or town as common property and for benefit of their common wellbeing. For more information see: http://www.scottishcommons.org
Peripheractions A project exploring sense of place (Drumchapel)
Around the world, the neo-liberal city pushes active citizenship to the margins; questions of citizens’ rights to make use of urban space are now an issue on the agenda of public discourse.
Say NO To Plastic
Of the estimated 17 billion bags given away in the UK each year, most are only used once and then thrown away. On average we use a plastic bag for 12 minutes before discarding it. The Environment Agency estimate that if everyone in the UK stopped using plastic bags and switched to using reusable bags, we would save enough plastic bags to tie around the earth 103 times!
This is the Olympics the West wanted:
games where the grandest prize is not a gold medal but a glittering entree to China’s seemingly endless army of potential consumers.
Universal Football Club is a truly multicultural club based in Glasgow… …It was set up to challenge and combat racism in football throughout Glasgow’s communities by bringing multi-racial groups together to play the sport without having to worry about race, religion or cultural differences.
FC United
is different to the vast majority of other football clubs in England because it is owned by its members – a principle enshrined in its constitution
The Olympics Scam
Iain Sinclair (LRB) This is East London, four years short of that 17-day corporate extravaganza…
Variant Reply
Please find below and attached Variant’s reply to the “inaccuracies or defamatory statements” alleged by James Doherty, Media Manager, Culture and Sport Glasgow (and current president of the NUJ), to be in the article ‘The New Bohemia’ by Rebecca Gordon Nesbitt, Variant issue 32, Summer 2008. Of the 20 points Doherty raises, we maintain that there are merely 4 insignificant errors — which we are happy to correct — and hardly grounds on which to deny the public the right to be informed. We can confirm that this issue of Variant has been removed from all CSG venues. Readers might be concerned to find out what has happened to these copies and when they will be made available to the public.
Leigh French co-editor, Variant
“The arts & culture magazine ‘Variant’ has been banned from Tramway…
…the private company set up to take over the running of culture and sport from Glasgow City Council, has issued an order banning Variant magazine from Tramway. “Wonder why? See below.
The New Bohemia
“The referendum on Scottish devolution on September 11th 1997 was a historic moment for our country. But the ‘Yes Yes’ result was not a mandate for politicians, civil servants, local government officers or any other public sector officials to take on extra powers ‘on behalf of the people’.” Bridget McConnell, 1997 “A year ago, Variant asserted that “one of Glasgow’s proud boasts is that of the free access to museums. How long will that last if the Trust gets into financial difficulties?” Somewhat predictably, it has just been announced that the feted Kelvingrove Museum will be introducing admission charges. It would seem to be an appropriate moment to take a closer look at the formation of Culture and Sport Glasgow,”