Tramway Beyond Walls Community Parks Installations

This project, part of our ongoing Beyond Walls strand, has brought permanent installations to two local park spaces close to Tramway: ‘Turtle Park’ on the corner of Leslie Street / Forth Street and ‘Stepping Stone Park’ on the corner of Leslie Street / Keir Street, both in Pollokshields.

With crucial funding from the Art Fund – Respond and Reimagine Grants for Arts Organisations, Tramway has raised money for a series of permanent public commissions by Glasgow based artists and designers. These are made for and situated in our immediate community, and enhance planting and greenspaces. 

Following public consultation these have taken the form of social seating, bespoke planters, murals and habitats for wildlife, plus general access improvements and refurbishments including revitalising existing planters. 

Installations are by:

• Rabiya Choudhry and Steff Norwood in Stepping Stone Park
• Christian Noelle Charles, Joanne Dawson and Nick Evans in Turtle Park

Please visit and enjoy these refurbished community green spaces.

Works were carried out in partnership with Glasgow City Council’s Neighbourhood Regeneration Services.

Below: Read more about the work by each of the artists

Beginning-Ending (2023) - A Floor Mural at Stepping Stone Park 

As a symbol of inspiration, hope, and renewal, Rabiya Choudhry has created a route of stars. The floor mural presents a bright, hopeful path towards a shared future and also echoes ‘Walks of Fame’, fostering a sense of community and the idea that each and every one of us matters. 

The artwork was made after a period of contemplating the artist’s own way forward after a period of losing loved ones. The stars represent a connection to the past, the promise of the future, and a tribute to those who are no longer with us but whose memories live on through the light of the stars.

Glaswegian artist Rabiya Choudhry’s work is personal, playful and political, expressing the complicated coupling of Eastern and Western cultures in richly vibrant portrayals, working across a range of media and scales: from murals to canvases and miniatures.

The mural ties into recent work Rabiya has made for a series of local libraries via The Common Guild about the importance of light, hope and remembrance in challenging times. MORE

A Floor Mural at Turtle Park 

This mural taps into Christian’s print-making process, using striking blocks of layered colour to represent a pair of hands which are simultaneously holding and being held. Wrapped around the park they evoke ideas of community, care and solidarity, creating a welcoming space for local residents and communities to come together.

Pollokshields-based Christian is a Black female artist who lives and works in Glasgow, making work that explores themes of racial identity, community and self-love in a contemporary world.

Three Mosaic Planters at Turtle Park

Southside-based artist Joanne Dawson has created a series of ceramic murals for three large scale planters. The designs centre around the themes ‘Prepare’, ‘Growth’, ‘Care’ and ‘Abundance’, tapping into the park’s function as both a community asset and a space for wildlife and insects.

The murals feature repeat, warp/weft-like patterns that employ elements of the local landscape - tenement buildings with neighbours socialising, playful woven flowers and stems, and root systems with worms dancing and peering above ground! 

Caterpillar Bench at Turtle Park

Nick has created seating that is both a sculpture and a park bench. Inspired by the insect inhabitants of our urban greenspaces, Nick has created a colourful, dynamic form that echoes the legs and body of a caterpillar, patterned with holes resembling wriggly worms. 

Nick is a visual artist based on Glasgow’s Southside and a founding member of the community arts organisation Sculpture House Collective. His works explore themes of sculpture, mixing different forms, styles and motifs with a playful sense of humour.

Benches and Planters at Stepping Stone Park

Commissioned to create a bespoke seating design for the park, Steff has recycled a series of former public benches in exuberant, joyful colours. The benches are connected by planters made from old beer kegs, re-purposed to create diverse habitats for plants, wildflowers and pollinating insects.

Glasgow-based artist Steff works between the disciplines of design and sculpture creating bold, colourful works that are often both functional and aesthetically striking. His process involves recycling materials and objects that have fallen out of use or been discarded, bringing them back to circulation often with a completely different function, for example re-purposing old oil drums as planters and spaces for wildlife to flourish. 

More images

All photos by Keith Hunter, 2024