The Broomhill Project is the blog covering all things arts and heritage related to Broomhill, Greenock. It includes 4 main projects: ‘Up The Broomy’ arts, ‘Heid O’ the Hill Heritage’, ‘Broomy’s Bees’ and Broomy’s Butterflies’ community environmental gardens and ‘Recycle Upcycle’ creative eco project.
‘Up the Broomy’ is the 2 year arts project part-funded by Creative Scotland, River Clyde Homes, British Gas, RIG Arts. We began with our 12 month pilot scheme ‘Heid O’ The Hill’, funded by Riverclyde Homes, which explored the networks in the local community, the heritage of the area and worked to develop and build upon creativity in Broomhill.
The pilot ran by RIG Arts identified three main cultural themes.
- MUSIC – Broomhill was the focal point of the punk movement in Inverclyde in the 70s and has retained links to the alternative music scene with the Broomhill Tavern’s monthly Northern Soul and Mod Club.
- SCULPTURE – Part of Broomhill is built on the site of the old foundry and raw materials from the first phase of demolition, notably big sandstone blocks, will be available for upcycling as part of the environmental improvement programme.
- CREATIVE MOVEMENT – Many of the inspirational reminiscences from older members of the community are about how the spaces of Broomhill were used for childhood games. Movement through space and connection are crucial aspects to any environmental regeneration programme.
‘Heid O’ The Hill Heritage’ is funded by Heritage Lottery Fund. We will expand upon our oral histories of the area and will be designing creative ways of sharing and relaying the local history of Broomhill with residents, workers and tourists.
We are based and work from our Community Art Flat at 12 Broomhill Court, Ann St, Greenock, PA15 4HE.
RIG Arts want all aspects of the Broomhill Project to be led by the community. We are inviting anyone with a connection to Broomhill, or the wider area of Greenock to pop along to the arts flat during our workshops to take part, find out more, or just have a chat.
We are also keen to hear personal accounts of Broomhill. What makes Broomhill unique? What do the people who live there think of the area? What was life like growing up in the Broomy? If any residents have a story, memory, piece of knowledge or just something to say about Broomhill, please get in touch.
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