Studio Social: An Online Talk with artist Ellie Harrison

Ellie Harrison will discuss her project ‘The Glasgow Effect’ which began in 2016 before being consolidated in a book.

How would your career, social life, family ties, carbon footprint and mental health be affected if you could not leave the city where you live?

Artist Ellie Harrison sparked a fast-and-furious debate about class, capitalism, art, education and much more, when news of her year-long project The Glasgow Effect went viral at the start of 2016.

Named after the term used to describe Glasgow’s mysteriously poor public health and funded to the tune of £15,000 by Creative Scotland, this controversial ‘durational performance’ centred on a simple proposition – that the artist would refuse to travel beyond Glasgow’s city limits, or use any vehicles except her bike, for a whole calendar year

The book was recently updated and republished to coincide with COP-26.

This event will comprise a 20 minute talk by Ellie, a short in-conversation with Pier Projects and time for Q&A.

Studio Socials are artist talks that take place online. In each session, an artist will share one recent work or project. This series focuses on artist's whose work explores 'place' and the climate emergency.

www.pierprojects.org

www.elllieharrison.com

Ellie Harrison is an artist & activist based in Glasgow (UK).

Her work takes a variety of forms: from installations and performance / events, to lectures, live broadcasts & political campaigns.

Using an array of strategies, Harrison investigates, exposes and challenges the absurd consequences of our capitalist system: from over-consumption, inequality and alienation, to privatisation and climate change – and explores the impact free-market forces are having on our society, and our individual day-to-day lives.

As well as making playful, politically-engaged work for galleries and public spaces, Harrison is also the founder and coordinator of the national Bring Back British Rail campaign – which strives to popularise the idea of re-nationalising our public transport system – and is the agent for The Artists’ Bond – a life-long speculative funding scheme for artists, now with 160 members across the UK.

Since 2013, Harrison has been Lecturer in Contemporary Art Practices at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, she is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is also engaged in an active critique of higher education.