As the smoke clears from the second devastating School of Art fire, it’s a crucial time for Glasgow’s arts community to galvanise and rise again. Glasgow city venue, Stereo, provided the perfect arena for this rise to be televised, bringing together a young set of DIY creatives to showcase their talent in a short film.
Eventbrite’s short film Generation DIY: Glasgow, part of a series of shorts celebrating young creators up and down the UK, was premiered in the venue last week and highlighted a new wave of artists, curators and promoters – all under the age of 25 – who are ushering in a new era of nightlife in Glasgow. Encapsulating the spirit of DIY to get out their art and distribute their music, it’s this resilient and experimental culture that will continue to cement Glasgow as one of Britain’s leading cities when it comes to arts and music.
So, if you’re looking for the next gems in Glasgow’s underground music and arts scene, here are four to look out for.
VAJ.Power (Music and Art Collective)
Vaj.Power is a music and art collective consisting of Holly and Sofya, who are both 24. They run workshops, club nights and animation lessons for the general public and their night, Fuse, is also rooted in the visual side of arts. They aim to push electronic, bass, footwork and grime music and are committed to creating a platform for the underground music scene. VAJ.Power say “the work that we as the underground scene need to undertake, is to actually listen to each other and not be defensive if we are getting criticised”.
Where People Sleep (Art Collective)
Where People Sleep includes artists Amy (21), Samantha (22) and Shaheeda (22); an art collective who exhibit their artwork out of their flat. They aim to push diversity and equal representation. However, a difficulty that is affecting Glasgow’s art scene is the lack of funding: “the cuts that creative Scotland have recently had were shocking and it makes things harder for us, but that’s why I feel we strive to be self-sufficient as much as we can” says Samantha. Shaheeda adds: “I think when you don’t have someone feeding you funding, it really pushes you to take matters into your own hand.”
Peach (Music Platform & Club Night)
K4cie is a 25-year-old DJ, radio host and promoter from Glasgow, who runs a music platform/club night called Peach. The night encourages women to come out and dance in a male-dominated environment. “That’s our main aim,” says K4cie. “With Glasgow being where we are located in the UK, it’s had a major effect on our music scene. On one hand it’s great, because for me, people from elsewhere will see that there are girls playing rap, trap and grime music if they check out our club night– but then on the other hand some people will still assume that there is no scene in Glasgow– we need the whole country behind us and I think the only way others will realise that we are doing good things, is by inviting them up.”
