The Glasgow Effect was a multi-layered ‘research project‘, which took place in 2016. Its central provocation was that Harrison would refuse to travel beyond Glasgow’s city limits, or use any vehicles except her bike, for a whole calendar year (1 January – 31 December 2016). On 8 January 2017, she gave a talk about the work at the Glasgow Film Theatre. On 4 November 2019, she published a book providing the complete context for her thinking and action.
Part psychological experiment, part protest, part strike, The Glasgow Effect was initiated by Harrison in summer 2015, in order to explore the relationships (both constructive and destructive) between the individual and the:
– institutional structures (the family, higher education, ‘the artworld’, the media),
– communities (offline and online), and,
– economies (local and global), within which they are forced to operate.
To trace the development of The Glasgow Effect project, see the media coverage archived on this page, as well as the chronological list of ‘outputs’ below:
- 11 November 2015: Presentation at ‘Culture & Sustainability’ at The Tetley, Leeds
- 5 January 2016: Creative Scotland Statement
- 5 January 2016: Artist’s Statement
- Original funding application for ‘Think Global, Act Local! (working title)‘
- 7 January 2016: Artist’s Interview with CommonSpace
- 1 February 2016: Article in Art Monthly
- 3 February 2016: ‘The Glasgow Effect: A Discussion’ at the Glad Cafe, Glasgow
- Public Survey: Question 1 & Question 2
- 24 February 2016: Presentation at ‘Centre for Environmental Change & Human Resilience’, Dundee
- 1 March 2016: Presentation at ‘Cross-Party Group on Culture’ at The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh
- Autoresponder available via e.harrison@dundee.ac.uk (1 March – 31 December 2016)
- 11 March 2016: Artist’s Newsletter: “The Glasgow Effect”
- 30 April 2016: Practising what we Preach – text exploring the many problems within the Higher Education system, which were the project’s initial impetus
- 1 May 2016: Screening of “This Changes Everything” as part of Radical Home Cinema at the Radical Film Network festival
- 24 March – 23 May 2016: View from studio window
- 27 May 2016: Presentation at ‘White Wood Forum’ at Deveron Arts, Huntly
- 23 – 24 July 2016: Presentation at ‘The RRAAF Founding Symposium’ at the Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow
- 4 August 2016: Presentation at ‘International Teaching Artist Conference’, Edinburgh
- 15 September 2016: Presentation at the inaugural ‘Get Glasgow Moving!’ meeting at Renfield St. Stephen’s, Glasgow
- 22 September 2016: Artist’s Newsletter: “The Sustainability of a Sustainable Lifestyle”
- 22 September 2016: Presentation at the Scottish Artists’ Union AGM at South Block, Glasgow
- 27 September 2016: Screening of “Reclaim the Streets” organised by Cinema Up Collective as part of Scalarama festival
- 26 November 2016: Presentation at the ‘Youth Climate Summit’ at University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
- 30 November 2016: Presentation at ‘People Powered Money’ at Glasgow City Chambers
- 31 December 2016: Annual Reading List
- 1 January 2017: Annual Heat Map
- 6 January 2017: Artist’s Interview on BBC Radio Scotland
- 8 January 2017: The Glasgow Effect: A talk by Ellie Harrison, Glasgow
- 10 February 2017: Artist’s Newsletter: “The Glasgow Effect”
- 23 February 2017: Universal Basic Income, For Fika Sake, Glasgow
- 5 May 2018: ‘Art, Activism & the Absurdities of Economic Growth‘ TEDx Southampton
- 4 November 2019: ‘The Glasgow Effect: A Tale of Class, Capitalism & Carbon Footprint‘, published by Luath Press
- 18 May 2020: ‘Artist as Active Citizen‘, a-n The Artist Information Company
- 8 October 2021: ‘City as Social Sculpture‘, Live Art Development Agency
5 January 2016: The Glasgow Effect debate
Scotland 2016, BBC Two
5 January 2016: The Glasgow Effect phone-in
The Kaye Adams Programme, BBC Radio Scotland
6 January 2016: The Glasgow Effect discussion
The Janice Forsyth Show, BBC Radio Scotland
6 January 2017: The Glasgow Effect interview with Ellie Harrison
The Stephen Jardine Programme, BBC Radio Scotland
The Glasgow Effect was funded by Creative Scotland through the Open Project Funding Programme.
