Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art

Beyond the Forbidden Gate

A piece of paper with cuttings of images and text in the colours red, white, and black with information and locations relating to Glasgow.
Joey Simons, Beyond the Forbidden Gate, 2023
Research and development materials
Courtesy of the artist
A white background containing a series cuttings of text and images with information about Glasgow
Joey Simons, Beyond the Forbidden Gate, 2023
Research and development materials
Courtesy of the artist
A photo of a room with a grey table with two TVs sitting on it, the left screen has three people standing outside and the right screen is black with white text reading 'Police Scotland HQ, Shawfield, Glasgow.' In the background of the image are white walls covered by a series of signs and pieces of paper.
Joey Simons, The Fearful Part of it was the Absence, 2021
Installation view, Collective Gallery
Courtesy of the artist and Collective Gallery. Photograph by Tom Nolan
An image of a double page section from a book. The pages contain a series of cut out images overlaid with cut out text.
Joey Simons & Kiera Mclean, Mining Seams and Drawing Wells, 2022
Courtesy of the artists
Three people stand outside in a carpark area filled with rubble and foliage. In the background there is a high rise flat.
Still from Joey Simons, The Fearful Part of it was the Absence, 2022
Courtesy of the artist
Dates and Opening times

Fri 7 – Sun 23 June


The Mitchell Library
Fri 7, 10am – 5pm
Mon – Fri, 12pm – 5pm
Sat, 10am – 5pm

Woodside Library
Mon, Wed, Fri & Sat, 10am – 5pm
Tue & Thu, 10am – 8pm

Springburn Library
Mon, Wed & Fri, 10am – 4pm
Tue & Thu, 10am – 8pm 
Sat, 9am – 4pm

Possilpark Library
Mon & Wed, 1pm – 8pm
Tues, Thurs, Fri & Sat, 9am – 4pm

Venue

The Mitchell Library
North Street
G3 7DN

Woodside Library
343 St George's Road
G3 6JQ 

Springburn Library
2 Kay Street
G21 1JY
 

Possilpark Library
127 Allander Street
Possilpark
G22 5JJ 

Participants
Joey Simons
Presented by

Glasgow Sculpture Studios, Glasgow International and S.I.S.C.O, in partnership with Open Museum Glasgow and Glasgow Libraries

Supported by

Co-commissioned by Glasgow Sculpture Studios and Glasgow International. With support from The Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Glasgow City Council.

Accessiblity

For information on accessibility at Glasgow Libraries click here

Beyond the Forbidden Gate is a new body of work by Joey Simons that explores the parameters of urban development in North Glasgow. Joey’s practice as an artist and writer spans forms of organising, collaboration, textual research and poetry. His work addresses suppressed working-class histories and their relevance to contemporary social struggles.

Joey’s research into histories of enclosure, public housing, refugee organising and workers’ opposition in North Glasgow has informed the collaborations with local communities and artists that underpin Beyond the Forbidden Gate. Developed as part of Glasgow Sculpture Studio’s Learning & Engagement Programme, these collaborations have led to the creation of an imagined counterplan to recent local authority development proposals.

The Mitchell Library’s Old Glasgow Room is a central gathering point for this project, with the space used by Joey and his collaborators to present archival materials and artworks that investigate the class forces shaping competing visions for North Glasgow. A series of talks, workshops, poetry readings and text-based works will also unfold across public libraries in Springburn, Woodside and Possilpark. These civic spaces, forever under threat, remain a vital space for culture to persist and flower amidst the developers’ plans.