Two residencies came to an end in late 2017, in Broomhill as part of the project; Aideen Doran's short film, This Restless Place,that she made during her time as Moving Image artist in residence, is available to view below. James Grant (Love and Money) took on the position of Musician in Residency. His initial ideas were that he should speak with local residents and record their stories of living in Broomhill to establish a creative bedrock from which to start. He felt that this would be the best way to get to know the place and the people who live there.

This beautiful short film is by awarding winning, Northern Irish artist Aideen Doran, and is based on the cultural identity of the Broomhill area in Greenock. In late-2017, Aideen finished her post as RIG Arts' Moving Image Artist Residency in Broomhill, that was part of a two year Creative Scotland funded multi-arts project, ‘Up The Broomy’. In association with Creative Scotland and Riverclyde Homes.

His initial contact with the community was through attending public meetings and through the TARA (The Residents Association) He also tapped into the existing RIG Arts network of participants attending pre-existing workshops as part of the Broomhill Project. James threw himself into the role meeting people on their terms and at their convenience. Through informal chats over cups of tea he recorded people’s experiences of living in the Broomhill area. These stories were great snapshots of their lives… little oral histories, and can be listened to below.

In and of themselves, these stories are great but James felt that they could also have a musical strand to them that could be further developed.
He managed to achieve this development by engaging local songwriters and musicians. James asked them to respond to the Broomhill stories, working with them to hone and develop the results and he recorded the songs and the pieces of music created.

Throughout the residency James established a small and productive songwriting group based at the projects Art Flat which is based in one of the areas tower blocks. The weekly songwriting sessions became an intergenerational group with older and young aspiring musicians supporting and inspiring each other. With James’s guidance they developed their song writing skills and musical ability. James was very impressed by the groups talent and commitment, commenting that the quality of the work produced was excellent.

These songs (along with the aforementioned songs/music) were recorded at the Art flat and at a local studio in Branchton Community Centre in Greenock and can be listened to below.

In 2017, Glasgow based artist Martyn McKenzie, led creative workshops with children from St. Patrick’s Primary School looking at the heritage of the Broomhill area as well as local legends. Local artist, Jim Strachan, used the material gathered and made by the school children as inspiration for a large-scale, painted mural for the Broomhill Community, situated on Ann Street. The mural was unveiled to the public in February 2018.

We created a documentary about the area’s heritage, using new and archival footage and photographs, as well as interviews with historians and locals about Broomhill's rich history and heritage.

Documentary about Greenock's Broomhill area, using new and archive footage and photographs, with interviews from historians and locals about Broomhill's rich history and heritage. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.