The Brief

To work with local communties to create a public artwork to support community relationships and make connections to the new bridge and community park. As part of the first community art commissions for the Stockingfield Bridge Park, the 'Many Hands Mosaic' for Scottish Canals was originally proposed by Louise Nolan and subsequently developed and delivered in partnership with Ruth Impey in 2021. It was the catalyst that brought Louise and Ruth together to create Make it Glasgow. 

What we did

Created tiles with local communities to make five mosaic benches and the base of the Bridge supporting cone, we connected with our local neighbours, friends, voluntary organisations, and those building the bridge. It was a way to foster a dialogue about the emerging vision for the area and support the process of change and transition with the community. It was still a time of social distancing and restriction due to covid, so we found ways to connect with people through community gala days, holding workshops with community groups, youth clubs, care homes, making and dropping off packs of tiles to whole schools. We made a lot of tiles… 

The images on the cone reflect the area’s history where ceramic manufacturing and heavy engineering dominated, and its social history of the Rubber works, Bryant and Mays, Maryhill Barracks, Lochburn House and the Magdalene Laundry. You’ll find identifying marks from Glasgow potteries scattered throughout the mosaics, connecting us to our rich industrial ceramic heritage which we are building on. There are also some images of famous local people and loved ones that were submitted by the public to be included in the work. Louise’s dad is in there as a tribute…

Local people also asked for wildlife and plant life connected to the site to be reflected in the brief. You’ll find tiles with animals and plants that make the Stockingfield canal bank home. Keep an eye out for the kingfishers, foxes, otters, deer, bees, butterflies, hawthorns and thistles while you’re out exploring.

We hope that our approach to making with people can be transformational, inclusive, and promotes personal and collective wellbeing. We know connection, belonging and a sense of ownership are integral to how safe and well we feel in our lives and how we move through our neighbourhoods. When we centre “making” by with and for people at the heart of our practice, we can create meaningful work in communities that foster all those qualities for everyone. It is important to us that “Many Hands” are represented in the making of the benches and Spire at Stockingfield Bridge and that people can say, “I helped to build this”, and their mark is left permanently in the landscape.

What we made

• over 4000 hadmade tiles  

• the design for the cone base of the spire

• 5 community benches

• connected people to the history and heritage of the local area focusing on the historic ceramic industry