This
generous project conceived for Glasgow 2018 is a collaboration between
artist Alec Finlay, The Walking Library (Dee Heddon and Misha Myers),
and poet Ken Cockburn. Alec Finlay will encourage place-awareness
through place-names, translations and community maps, and create a new
publication. The Walking Library walks will explore wild nature in the
city and collect suggestions for a new ‘Walking Library’ which will be
given a permanent home in Glasgow. Ken Cockburn and Kate McAllan will share walkshops with young people, exploring sense of place and experiences of wildness, devising names and creating a manifesto for wildness. Wild City’s ambitious program of participative walks, public readings,
and workshops, will culminate in a book and blog mapping new walks
through rewilded streets.
The Walking Library is a reflective blend of walking and books, wandering from the forceful flower of the Clyde to the reedy river of the Kelvin. Every book in the library has been suggested – you are welcome to contribute – as a guide to the wild nature that thrives in the urban landscape, identifying sleekit creatures on the willow-haugh of Sauchiehall Street and in the wee grove of Partick. As we walk we will devise place-names and create maps that reveal the true wild side of the green howe of Glasgow. Our shared mappings will include Gaelic and many of the other languages of contemporary Glasgow, such as Roma, Urdu and Polish. Wild City will be working with a number of partners, including the hidden gardens, Govanhill Baths and RSPB.
Supported by Festival 2018
