The story of ‘Art On The Hill’.
In January 2012 I set up a Facebook group called Glasgow Independent Artists, with the long-term goal of having enough members to stage a big artist-run art show in part as a possible replacement to The Glasgow Art Fair previously held in George Sq through the ’90s until 2010.
At least a show that would encompass my desire to present art in a more accessible fashion without the barriers that both the artists and the public face.
In late summer 2013, I got the chance to see my intended venue in the flesh, having only previously seen 1 photo. I met with the owners in January 2014 and secured the date, deciding to run the event during the Southside Fringe Festival, in May 2014.
Art On The Hill showcases 95 artists, I wanted 100 but to ensure a good mix of style and standard of work I called it at 95. We have over 370 images in the room along with sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, and stained glass. I would say as an initial run, with essentially zero budget and no funding or assistance this sets the template for future shows and hopefully, this is the start of a new movement where the artists collectively work together to showcase their work and create a better art scene.
Here is a short film made by Summerhall Tv where I was interviewed about the show.
http://vimeo.com/95301745
Peter Gillies : Art On The Hill from arts-news on Vimeo.
The show runs until the 31st of May. Venue ‘Church On The Hill’ which is located in the Southside of Glasgow in Langside/Battlefield.
This is a video I made of my artist talk I gave during the show. It was a last-minute thought to tape it on my phone so the audio is not 100% but it’s listenable.
The full essay I was generally basing this on can be read on my other blog here and I used this essay as my base for this talk. It was nice to expand on certain areas but its such a wide cross-direction multi-layered set of ideas it’s hard to make it flow in complete order, so I tend to jump around and come back to things. But I have edited that essay over the last few years to work as best as I can make it.
Artist-Talk-Peter-Gillies from pete gillies on Vimeo.
Photo collection from the show. Taken by myself and various participating artists.