GOWKTHRAPPLE SIGNAGE, INTERPRETATION + ARTS FRAMEWORK
framework proposals - interpretation
interpretation Interpretation projects in Gowkthrapple should have the following broad aims: • • • •
to engage local residents in the regeneration programme; to encourage local residents to see the area as a good place to live; to strengthen their sense of belonging to the place; to help develop an identity for Gowkthrapple.
Media such as panels, leaflets and exhibitions will not be relevant here. Instead, interpretation will need to concentrate on events that encourage residents to take an interest in the place, meet each other, and help to shape proposed developments. Examples of projects in which the community might be involved, and that could take the area’s character and history as inspirations, include: •
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A school-based project looking at the cuckoo as the basis of the village’s name, and as a symbol of spring and re-birth. The project should cross several curriculum areas, and could involve pupils in producing artwork to decorate the school, developing writing and images to be posted on a website, and devising music and performance events. Community-based events that give people an opportunity to meet each other and to explore the local network of paths. Small-scale events might take place at times such as Easter or Hallowe’en; depending on their success an annual event similar to a gala day could be developed. This might take the form of a picnic called ‘The Gowk’s Feast’. Arts projects that would explore the area’s heritage, and use it as an inspiration for decorations in the Hub community centre, or for short texts to be incorporated in plaques or carved lettering on seating and shelters.
Interpretation as process, not product The most important aspects of interpretation work in Gowkthrapple will be the process through which the community is involved, and the intangible benefits of community engagement and identity. Actual physical outputs are less important.
Urban Design Futures
May 2009
It is also vital that community involvement should evolve gradually, so that local residents feel genuinely engaged and empowered. For this to happen, any interpretation work should be linked to a community engagement plan developed in partnership with the Council’s Community Engagement Team. Work with the wider community is likely to be a relatively slow process that will need skilled facilitators, and that should begin without any preconceptions about its outcomes. Starting on wider community engagement by providing a list of things of interest about Gowkthrapple, and expecting people to immediately share an enthusiasm for them, is likely to be counterproductive. Instead, initial meetings might ask for people’s views on what is good about Gowkthrapple, and may well need to cope with negative responses before discussions can be developed into more positive territory. School-based projects should be planned as part of this programme, and should integrate with work in the wider community. There are already positive precedents for projects at Castlehill Primary School, where pupils developed murals inspired by their perspectives on Gowkthrapple. The Head Teacher is enthusiastic about future possibilities.
Potential work stages It is not possible to give definite project proposals or schedules for such a fluid process, but a tentative outline of community engagement work might include: 1. Initial open meeting, with specific invitations to existing community groups. This meeting might include: • Asking for opinions about what people value about Gowkthrapple. • Presenting the existing regeneration proposals, and explaining what will be happening. • Introducing opportunities for community input to aspects of the regeneration work.
fig 54 Kintra signets Arts projects that interpret the area’s heritage and are based on local consultation can provide inspiration for structures and motifs within regeneration works. These ‘signets’ provide badges for individual tenements in Govan. Project by artist Matt Baker.
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