Ellie Harrison

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Tag Archives: public services

  • Performance / Events
    Bus Regulation: The Musical staged at CCA Glasgow on 24 April 2022

    Bus Regulation: The Musical (Strathclyde)

    The second iteration of Harrison’s Bus Regulation: The Musical – inspired by the 1980s hit musical ‘Starlight Express’ – re-enacts the history of public transport provision in the Strathclyde region from the post-war period to the present day… on roller skates!

  • Writing

    Artist as Active Citizen

    Harrison reflects on The Glasgow Effect for this new text commissioned to launch a-n‘s year-long research project with AirSpace Gallery: Artists Make Change (May 2020 – May 2021). It is published alongside a new text by Dave Beech reflecting on the history of political art, to provoke discussion about artists’ roles in affecting social change. (Word count: 1,540)

  • Writing

    The Glasgow Effect: A Tale of Class, Capitalism & Carbon Footprint

    On 4 November 2019, Luath Press published Harrison’s first book. Inspired by her 2016 ‘durational performance’ The Glasgow Effect – for which she refused to travel beyond Glasgow’s city limits, or use any vehicles except her bike, for the whole calendar year – the book provides the complete context for her thinking and action. (Word count: 119,000)

  • Performance / Events
    Bus Regulation: The Musical staged at Manchester Art Gallery on 28 September 2019

    Bus Regulation: The Musical

    Inspired by the 1980s hit musical ‘Starlight Express’, this performance / event re-enacts the history of public transport provision in Greater Manchester from the post-war period to the present day… on roller skates!

  • Political Campaigns, Writing

    Power For The People!

    In this comment piece for The Ecologist, Harrison details how her concerns about climate change led her to start campaigning for the public ownership of our essential services and infrastructure with Bring Back British Rail and Power For The People. (Word count: 766)

  • Political Campaigns

    Power For The People

    Harrison launched Bring Back British Rail’s ‘sister campaign’ Power for the People in October 2013 in order to popularise the idea of returning the UK’s energy production and supply to public ownership. Together the campaigns aim to ‘join the dots’ between our most carbon-intensive industries and services to make evident the need to remove the profit-motive from all of them in order to meet the challenges of climate change.
    Campaign website

  • Installations
    The Redistribution of Wealth installed at Tate Britain in 2012

    The Redistribution of Wealth

    Installed in Tate Britain’s Historic Collection Room, this piece retells the history of UK government spending on the arts from the birth of the ‘Council for the Encouragement of Music & the Arts’ in 1940, right up to the present day climate of cutbacks.

  • Political Campaigns, Writing

    Bring Back British Rail

    As founder of the Bring Back British Rail campaign, Harrison was invited to write about the public ownership of our railways for the Green Party of England & Wales’s The New Home Front II (p.41-42) in 2012, which looks to the post-war period for lessons on how to tackle climate change now. (Word count: 709)

  • Installations
    Installation view at Castlefield Gallery

    Austerity & Anarchy

    An installation which employs a spotlight and smoke machine to visualise and explore the correlation between cuts in public spending and instances of mass rioting on the UK’s streets.

  • Installations
    A Brief History of Privatisation installed at Watermans in 2011

    A Brief History of Privatisation

    An installation in which the oscillations in UK public service policy over the last century are re-enacted by an inner circle of electric massage chairs under the seedy glow of red, and then blue, neon.

  • Political Campaigns

    Bring Back British Rail

    In 2009, Harrison – the self-professed ‘Che Guevara of trainspotters’ – founded the national Bring Back British Rail campaign to popularise the idea of re-nationalising our public transport system. Now with more than 150,000 supporters across Facebook, Twitter, Riseup and its online petitions, Harrison continues to coordinate the campaign with the help of a small network of volunteers around the UK.
    Campaign website

News

Ellie Harrison is an artist & activist based in Glasgow (UK). On Sunday 24 April 2022 she staged Bus Regulation: The Musical at the CCA Glasgow.
In autumn 2021, a new and updated edition of Harrison’s book The Glasgow Effect: A Tale of Class, Capitalism & Carbon Footprint was launched at the UN Habitat’s Innovate4Cities conference to mark the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Her Early Warning Signs were also exhibited at Glasgow’s Mitchell Library during COP26 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the project. Harrison’s Vending Machine continues to feature in the 😹 LMAO exhibition exploring humour in data visualisation at the Open Data Institute in London.

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Photos from Bus Regulation: The Musical by Ellie Harrison at CCA Glasgow on 24 April 2022 🚍🎵🛼🌈🎉 Find out more and watch the short film at: ellieharrison.com/strathclyde 📸 Erika Stevenson

Photos from Bus Regulation: The Musical by Ellie Harrison at CCA Glasgow on 24 April 2022 🚍🎵🛼🌈🎉 Find out more and watch the short film at: ellieharrison.com/strathclyde 📸 Erika Stevenson ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago
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  • Likes: 30
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Fabulous!💪🥳

Woah Ellie this looks amazing! Congratulations xx

So proud to know you!! Xx

♥️

It's a pity that most people are struggling through intense hardship due to the high costs of living, taxes and inflation in our great nation. I'm just glad that Hector Manuel Rivera is assisting me alongside numerous chaps benefit from the Crypto market. I've been earning decent quids lately

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PlayBus Regulation: The Musical on BBC Reporting Scotland

Hands up who spotted Bus Regulation: The Musical on BBC Scotland News last night? 🚍🎵🛼 ... See MoreSee Less

3 weeks ago
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Missed the show? You can now watch the short film about Bus Regulation: The Musical here 👇 www.facebook.com/blatantselfpromotion/videos/455569263012255

Did you hear a clip from Bus Regulation: The Musical on BBC Radio Scotland this morning? 📻 You can listen again here 👇 ... See MoreSee Less

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03 May 2022: Bus Regulation: The Musical (Strathclyde) on Good Morning Scotland

www.mixcloud.com

3 weeks ago
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Missed the show? You can now watch the short film about Bus Regulation: The Musical here 👇 www.facebook.com/blatantselfpromotion/videos/455569263012255

PlayBus Regulation: The Musical (Strathclyde)

A short film of Bus Regulation: The Musical by Ellie Harrison staged at CCA Glasgow on 24 April 2022 in collaboration with the local Get Glasgow Moving public transport campaign 🚍🎵🛼 ... See MoreSee Less

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3 weeks ago
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Ellie, is it possible to get more stickers? I've nearly used all the ones that I got at the CCA. Thanks in advance (I was the one with the bus hoodie and bus tattoo!).

Paul Jones Alistair Mather Adam Reid

Public transport policy is worth making a song and dance about! 🚍🎉🎶 A great review of Bus Regulation: The Musical at CCA Glasgow in todays The National Newspaper. Thanks to everyone who came along on Sunday! Please join the Get Glasgow Moving campaign ✊

Public transport policy is worth making a song and dance about! 🚍🎉🎶 A great review of Bus Regulation: The Musical at CCA Glasgow in today's The National Newspaper. Thanks to everyone who came along on Sunday! Please join the Get Glasgow Moving campaign ✊ ... See MoreSee Less

4 weeks ago
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Missed the show? You can now watch the short film about Bus Regulation: The Musical here 👇 www.facebook.com/blatantselfpromotion/videos/455569263012255

Question for Ellie Harrison. See the old 1930 Monopoly boundary, that existed in Glasgow pre 1982? Did the same rules apply to outside operators, when entering Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen also?? Something else I wonder if you are aware of?? Did you know that the old monopoly boundary in Glasgow, wasn’t actually, at the official city council boundary?? It was much further in. E.G. coming in from Bishopbriggs on a bus. The monopoly boundary was at Hawthorn street /Springburn rd Police station., and not at Colston road, where the actual City Boundary is today. (Hence the old Boundary Bar being situated there, before it was demolished in the 1970s to make way for the Springburn bypass.) Reason for this discrepancy, was this was where the original boundary was in 1930, when the system was established. As Glasgow grew, the monopoly boundary didn’t. Hence Scottish Midland buses, serving Drumchapel, and Eastern buses serving Easterhouse. And Not Corporation/PTE buses. Hopefully, we can talk them into bringing that back in too. And it will mean, I can run past all the bus stops, after Springburn rd, and not stop till I get to the bus station. Ha ha!

Fabulous show. So factual too. I’ve worked in the bus industry since I passed my test in 1999, when I was 21. It really does show up the Privatised Deregulated bus industry in Glasgow for the total and complete profit driven shambles that it is. How we ever gave up the quality system we had is beyond me?? They’ve been talking about RE-Regulating the bus industry since I passed my test. But that’s all the politicians have done. Talk talk and more talk. No action! Hopefully this time, surely we’ll get this policy MOVING forward! I worked in the London transport (Tottenham Garage) on loan from Arriva Inchinnan for a year in 2000, when I was 22. That system down there WORKS, for ALL. The TFL regulated London bus industry, should be the model which every city in Britain adopts. Either that or the fully nationalised Edinburgh system. They WORK, Deregulation DOES’NT!!

Loved the show, got in off the wait list and so pleased I saw it. Couldn't believe that back in the 1980s before deregulation got going, we could buy a card that worked on both subway and buses!

That’s a good piece of publicity, Ellie, and might even get somewhere.

Paul Jones and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Brilliant!

Whoop! Congrats!

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Commodities

  • The Quotidian Factor Badge The Quotidian Factor Badge £1.00
  • The Glasgow Effect (First Edition) The Glasgow Effect: A Tale of Class, Capitalism & Carbon Footprint £10.00 – £14.00
  • Hen Weekend Badge Hen Weekend Badge £1.00
  • Confessions of a Recovering Data Collector Book Confessions of a Recovering Data Collector £10.00
  • Ellie & Oliver Show T-Shirt Ellie & Oliver Show T-Shirt £20.00
  • Radical Renewable Art + Activism Fund Sticker £3.00
  • Hen Weekend Bag Hen Weekend Bag + Badge £10.00
  • Tea Blog Sticker Tea Blog Sticker £1.00
  • Channel Swimming Challenge Logbook Channel Swimming Challenge Logbook £2.00

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