Latest Updates from the Govanhill Open Museum Project
Community engagement is right at the centre of what we’re doing with Govanhill Open Museum – after all, it’s a project FOR the people, BY the people. The ideas, stories and memories that are shared with us will help to shape the neighbourhood heritage trail that celebrates the diversity, history and character of Govanhill as seen through the eyes of its residents.
We’ve had a busy summer meeting with different groups in Govanhill to make sure we’re getting a broad range of voices. We launched the project at the beginning of June with a fascinating talk by Ken MacDougall, who reflected on his 40 years of experience in housing-led community-based regeneration in Govanhill.
Shaping Govanhill Open Museum
At the end of June, we held our first focus group session, which was open to anyone with a connection to Govanhill. We worked together to share ideas about how Govanhill Open Museum could be of benefit to the most people, as well as sharing cherished memories of the neighbourhood. From shop window displays to postcards to sheep bananas (!), the group had some amazing ideas about how to carry Govanhill Open Museum forward and make it accessible to all.
Govanhill Community Garden group
In early August, we made the most of the good weather to meet a very creative group of green-fingered volunteers and local people at Govanhill Community Garden to ask them what they wanted to see as part of Govanhill Open Museum. Everyone agreed that, in order to make the project a success, it would need to involve a broad range of people to reflect Govanhill’s unique diversity.
Roma Women’s group
Towards the end of August, some of our team met up with a group of local Roma women to explore ideas for the upcoming heritage mural and the wider Govanhill Open Museum project. There was talk about music, food, family, and gossiping on street corners. The overriding theme that emerged was ‘Don’t judge the book by its cover’, and many of the women there said they would love to see it written in different languages as a reminder to respect each other regardless of our race. You can listen to their conversation and see some photographs from the event HERE.
Street interviews with Govanhill residents from Romania
Our colleague Iulia from Community Renewal spoke to people in the streets asking them what they liked about Govanhill and their ideas for the mural. Listen to what they had to say here: ROMANIAN RESIDENTS’ IDEAS.
ESOL session 1
At the beginning of September, we met with an amazing group of Govanhill residents who represented 8 different countries of origin. Together, we swapped ideas for the heritage mural in the neighbourhood. To hear what they had to say in their own words, watch the video HERE.
Thanks to Loraine and Claire from Govanhill Community Development Trust for a great collaboration around this session!
Stories from Govanhill
Mid September, we held a storytelling session where we heard from a variety of residents. What an exchange that was! The stories ranged from the olden days Govanhill when residents decided on its name to personal takes on local housing, garden life, abundance of helpful services, partying, cafe lifestyle, single-end family life, and everything in between. We loved hearing such diverse stories that highlight our shared appreciation of our neighbourhood, and we are looking forward to publishing their recordings soon.