Time Is A Virus: Mobilisation #3

Abstract

This ‘art walk’ looks at the notion of pilgrimage and combines various different narratives of Glasgow, inviting participants to re-think and re-see their city through the guided tour. It re- presents Glasgow as a water-city and follows a small section of the River Kelvin (the river that made Glasgow a city of importance in the late medieval and early modern period) to its confluence with the River Clyde (the river that made it a powerhouse of the industrial age). As such, it combines elements pastoral and industrial heritage of the city and asks us to rethink how it is presented, and what its ‘true’ identity is. The walk is led by artist Anthony Schrag. In 2015, Schrag walked 2638 km from the north of Scotland to the Venice Biennale in Italy in a ‘contemporary pilgrimage’ which explored the role of art within the public realm. This tour extends the notion of ‘walking art’ to be context specific to the city while drawing in concepts of travel, pilgrimage and journeying. It is part of GI - the largest art festival in Glasgow - and the projects asks us to consider what the function of art within the public realm is, as it links Glasgow’s most visited cultural hub (Kelvingrove) with Scotland's oldest public museum (The Hunterian Art Gallery).