‘Govan: Shipshape’ by Tom Manley Winter issue, 2011/12, of Urban Realm Magazine

We're honoured to be mentioned in this fantastic article by Tom Manley in the current issue of Urban Realm – below are excerpts, but you can read the full article here, along with beautiful images (also by Tom):

"...With creative partnerships bubbling under the surface in Govan, an opportunity exists to sustain a culturally planned future where the considerations of all groups within the community are respected and channeled into its development. 

Echoing this belief, artist Matt Baker recognizes Govan's inherent assets and resources. Drawing on a tangible link with everything positive about old Govan’s unique story, and what made it prosper, he is collaborating with fellow artist t s Beall, on a commission by Glasgow Housing Association to work with community members of Govan’s Riverside estate.  Their art practice aims to improve the environment, reawaken connections to the soul of the place and support local people to be part of the wider changes in the area. 

To the East of the Riverside estate lies an urban wilderness. The mysterious landscape of the derelict Graving Docks, stirs in the wind. “It reverberates as a silent anchor to Govan’s industrial memories’’ Matt Baker told me. The stone dry docks offer a glimpse of the immense activity that once occurred here. I can’t help thinking this should be the public gateway into Govan." 

"...Nothing about us without us is for us is a phrase being used for a unique collaboration between artists Matt Baker and t s Beall, for The Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art 2012..."

Tom Manley is an urban and architectural photographer with a background in architectural practice.

Urban Realm Magazine
Tom Manley Photography