Creative Communities: Pollokshields (2020-2022)
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As part of Creative Communities: Artists in Residence, funded by Glasgow City Council and delivered by Glasgow Life.
In 2021, Martin O’Connor was been appointed Artist in Residence for Ward 6: Pollokshields, and is working with groups and individuals in the area on new poetry projects, and celebrating the many languages spoken in the area. Creative Communities: Artists in Residence is an ongoing Glasgow-wide initiative placing 23 artists and organisations into the 23 wards of the city. In 2021, a new series of residencies were launched, which will see arts activity continue across Glasgow until March 2022. 2022: O Dhoras gu Doras A Gaelic poetry trail inspired by the house names throughout Pollokshields West. Please see here for more info. 2021: The Pollokshields Pantoum The Pollokshields Pantoum is a series of short poems in the form of Pantoums - a Malaysian verse form that has been adopted throughout Europe. The structure is made up of a series of verses, where two lines from each verse are repeated in the next verse and so on. This gave the opportunity to translate the lines in repetition into the four languages that are spoken in the area - English, Punjabi, Urdu and Scottish Gaelic. Martin worked with four groups to create the poems: The Pollokshields Bowling Green, The Hidden Gardens, The Pollokshields Community Food Point and Bunsgoil Ghàidhlig Ghleann Dail. "When I think of Pollokshields I think of the many languages that are spoken here and the personal histories relating to place, identity, and home. I thought that the Pantoum would be an ideal structure to hold the voices of the people I met, with an exciting opportunity to play with different languages. This is a way for the languages to exist together, on the page, as one community voice.. I wanted to celebrate the diversity of language without hierarchy, allowing each and every person to contribute in their own way, their own language, and their own version of what Pollokshields means to them." Martin O'Connor, Artist Introduction. If you are interested in participating in any aspect of the project, please email Martin on mail.martinoconnor@gmail.com.
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