One day this clay shall be your home
Together we’ll make such good loam
For to plant the seed and bid it grow
Remember us before you go
From ‘Remember Us’, by Karine Polwart, for Glasgow Requiem
The Walk is the latest programme as part of Glasgow Requiem, a journey through the oldest parts of the city of Glasgow, narrated and hosted by Gary Lewis (Billy Elliot, Outlander) and other voices.
Beginning in Townhead and taking in iconic landmarks such as the Royal Infirmary, Cathedral and Necropolis, this captivating audio walk will lead you through some of the city’s most visited places and uncover some of the hidden lives and stories they’re built on.
“You have to look through things sometimes to see the truth”
Whether you know Glasgow like the back of your hand or you’re just visiting, join us for a fresh and unusual glimpse into the city during its 850th anniversary year.
The Walk is narrated and hosted by Gary Lewis with additional voices by Niccoló Besio, Maria Dafnerou, India Hope Deery, Douglas Henshall, Stewart Laing, Katya Lamb, Maria Lamont, Keira Lucchesi, David McKay, Michael Matar, Gabriel Quigley and Christian Roe.
The Walk will launch on 27th April. More information coming soon.
Discover the hidden lives and stories of the city in an immersive audio journey through Glasgow
Credits
Script and direction by Purni Morell
Research and development by Angus Farquhar
Design by James Johnson
Soundtrack by Andrew Knight-Hill
With original songs by Karine Polwart and Siobhan Miller
Photography and film by Chris Leslie and Alaisdair Smith
October 2024
A Living Memorial at Glasgow’s Necropolis
The Necropolis - Glasgow's great silent 'City of the Dead' contains over 50,000 burials, it is well known for the grand memorials to the richer residents of the city, built from 1836 onwards. Less well known is that the cemetery contains 21,000 common or unmarked graves, where people were buried as their families or friends could not afford the price of a headstone or lair.
The Necropolis is split up into compartments named after the Greek alphabet, one named Eta, a small unassuming triangle of grass, contains 8,000 common burials.
In September 2024, 230 participants helped to plant thousands of bulbs which will become a living memorial to those buried in the 21,000 common or unmarked graves in the Eta Compartment. The event was part of Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival.
Thanks to our partners Scouse Flowerhouse, musicians Sequoia and Fiona Hunter whose performances accompanied the planting, Ruby Flowers, who produced the beautiful flower sculpture live on site, and Michael Matar and Gerrie and Susan Douglas-Scott for their poignant words. Special thanks also to Mercedes Richardson and her students at Glasgow Clyde College English as a Second Language course, who wrote a poem about their experiences as New Glaswegians, which was recited live at the event by Mohammed Ibrahim, Musab Kater and Abdulhameed Afte.
We closed the event with shared food cooked by students from the college and Ibrahim Alissi, from Kitchen Glasgow, using potatoes grown by young unaccompanied asylum seekers and refugees from Anniesland College.
The flower memorial will remember and celebrate the lives of those who lived, worked, and died in Glasgow at a time of great change, irrespective of wealth or status.
The Glasgow Necropolis Flower Memorial is a partnership between Aproxima Arts, Scouse Flowerhouse and the National Wildflower Centre. Glasgow Requiem and the establishment of a permanent Glasgow Necropolis Flower Memorial has been made possible through the kind support of:
The Caram Trust
The Levenseat Trust
Creative Scotland
The Mushroom Trust
The Finnis Scott Foundation
The Postcode Lottery
The Hugh Fraser Foundation
The Stafford Trust
Glasgow Life
The National Lottery Community Fund
and with core support from the William Grant Foundation.
Please contribute to the Just Giving donation page if you can, so we have a small budget to keep the maintenance of the garden going over the coming years.
Flower Memorial Night Installation
Photograph by Alaisdair Smith
Film by Chris Leslie
