This Is Your Dalmarnock

In late 2019, West Boathouse volunteer Tam McCann passed on a copy of a film he'd been given a decade earlier of footage taken around Dalmarnock in the 1960s. The film captured Dalmarnock on the cusp of change - a bustling, kid-filled community with new tower blocks and maisonettes rising behind the canyons of tenements. It was called 'This Is Your Parish' and was filmed by the Rev Gordon Strachan of Dalmarnock Parish Church, along with two members of the congregation, Jim Mackay and Jim Brown.

A young child with a lollypop. West Boathouse

A high rise block of flats, and a tenement building in the foregeround. West Boathouse

Newspaper clipping of a man painting. West Boathouse

A street with a church and a phonebox in the foreground. West Boathouse

The archive film inspired a documentary project with P7 pupils from Riverbank Primary School, exploring what it takes to make a community. The Dalmarnock of today is almost unrecognisable from the footage shot in the 1960s and is once again rebuilding after a period of intense upheaval.

Through a series of creative heritage workshops, the children explored the roots of Dalmarnock from its early medieval origins to its time as a textile and heavy industry powerhouse and the impact of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

We discussed their hopes for a future Dalmarnock and imagined what we could do with the many brownfield sites around the new school. We designed and printed flags with artist Fiona Fleming and created a performance with Karen McGrady-Parker.

We also got to hang out at the fantastic Baltic Street Adventure Playground - one of the few amenities for kids in the area. Baltic Street Adventure Playground has led the way in child-led play, developing resilient, confident kids. We even spotted the original playground in the archive film!

Glasgow Kelvin College music composition students were tasked with scoring the archive film, which had no audio track. Armin Radnia created a beautiful, evocative original music score, set here to the original film: http://shorturl.at/sFGI6

A group of people, including a baby stand in front a projector screen. West Boathouse

A group of schoolchildren. West Boathouse

Children reading posters. West Boathouse

A group of people watching a film. West Boathouse

Premiere

We premiered the film in August 2022 at French Street in Dalmarnock, along with an exhibition on Dalmarnock. The evening premiere was attended by over 100 people from the local area, along with the Rev Strachan's wife and family.

Film Credits

Written and Narrated by Ingrid Shearer (Glasgow Building Preservation Trust)
Produced by Ingrid Shearer and Stephen Sheriff (Glasgow Building Preservation Trust)
Directed and Edited by Bash Khan (Bash Art Creative)
Featuring Ingrid Shearer, Tam McCann, Elspeth Strachan, Alistair McCall (Baltic Street Adventure Playground), and Riverbank Primary School Primary 7 Class of 2022
Artist Facilitators Karen McGrady-Parker and Fiona Fleming
Original music composed and performed by Armin Radnia
The West Boathouse Project and Doors Open Days Festival are grateful to Glasgow City Council (Education Dept), Glasgow Life, National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland, Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, Glasgow Kelvin College (Music Dept staff and students), Clyde Gateway, Baltic Street Adventure Playground, National Library of Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland and, of course, the staff and students at Riverbank Primary School, for help and support.

With thanks to: Mr Hynes, Mrs Lovick, Ms Stewart and Mr Silver (Riverbank Primary School), Clare Ferry (Clyde Gateway), Mari Binnie (Glasgow Life), Ross Campbell (Glasgow Kelvin College), Andrea Reid (Glasgow City Council), Baltic Street Adventure Playground, Peter Mortimer.

Historic maps courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. Historic images courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland and the University of Glasgow Archives and Special Collections.