BEYOND THE GAMES: Dalmarnock 10 Years On

For the first six months of 2024, Strange Field will host an Artist in Residence with local photographer Chris Leslie, documenting the changes in Dalmarnock over the past ten years, coinciding with the 10 year anniversary of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The project will revisit the work Chris made between 2007-2014 to document Dalmarnock and, in its ten year anniversary, will examine the legacy of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and subsequent impact it has had on local residents. Chris will work with the local community to develop an oral archive and photography collection that documents the stories, heritage and recent history of Dalmarnock. The residency will culminate in a major exhibition in July 2024 at Strange Field’s French Street venue, with new photographic and film works and an oral archive archive, as well as an ongoing digital archive available to view online.

BAFTA Scotland New Talent award-winning photographer and filmmaker Chris Leslie is widely acknowledged as the most consistent chronicler of the city’s recent history.  In 2007, Chris began a 10-year long-term multimedia project ‘Disappearing Glasgow’ which documents an era of spectacular change in Glasgow through photography and video, examining the changes he saw as a local resident and the impact it was having on the lives of his community. 

“The skyline of Glasgow has been radically transformed as high-rise tower blocks have been blown down and bulldozed. 35% of the cities’ High Rise flats have disappeared since 2006, communities dispersed across the city and Dalmarnock in the East End has ‘been raised from the ashes’ via the Commonwealth Games. Does this Disappearing Glasgow herald a renaissance in the city?”

Chris Leslie, Disappearing Glasgow, 2014

Now, ten years on from this project and in the 10 year anniversary of the Commonwealth Games in Dalmarnock, Chris will revisit the residents he knows, the local community, and document the changing landscapes of the place that Strange Field now calls home.

As part of the residency, Chris will be hosting several Open Studio Oral Archive sessions at our French Street venue, as well as informal photography and conversational sessions. More details will be announced soon. 

Get in touch at [email protected] if you would like to take part in the project, share your stories of Dalmarnock with Chris, or find out more.

The project has been made possible with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the William Grant Foundation.