Barrowland Ballads Artist Talk

Wednesday 18th September 2019 | 6pm | 54 Bell Street

To accompany our forthcoming Barrowland Ballads exhibition, the artists Recollective (Chris Leslie, Alison Irvine and Mitch Miller) will be speaking to us about their Barrowland Ballad year-long project and book. Behind the blinking neon, at the very back of backstage, the artists of Recollective engaged with the untold stories of Glasgow’s iconic Barrowland Ballroom.

Bringing together photography, text and graphic art, the award winning trio collaborated closely with the venue, the east end community that surrounds it, and more widely, the gig-goers, dancers and musicians whose experiences are woven into the very fabric of the building.

Barrowland Ballads (also available as a book, published in July 2019 by Graphical House) conveys the sweat-drenched, electric atmosphere of the venue. Musicians, stewards, cleaners, bar tenders, cloakroom staff, maintenance men, kids at their first gig and veterans who have lost count contribute to this unique behind-the-scenes portrait of one of Glasgow’s most beloved institutions.

The Barrowland Ballads project and exhibition was grant-aided by a Heritage Grant from Glasgow City Heritage Trust.