Sauchiehall Street Heritage Artists in Communities: Soft City

Soft City was a 6-month community art project, led by artist duo Ellie Mills and Alice Brown, exploring the retail and social history of Sauchiehall Street, and the stories of the people who visit it.

Through chat ‘n’ craft textiles workshops, archival engagement and mapping, Alice and Ellie worked together with the community to create a soft sculpture model of Sauchiehall Street, as well as collecting personal stories and memories related to Sauchiehall Street.

The project was concluded with an exhibition of the Soft City sculpture, alongside memories of the street. This toured between the Mitchell Library and the Sauchiehall Street Project Space.

Soft City was initiated with the aim of diversifying the voices who have a say in the regeneration of Glasgow's City Centre. Alice and Ellie want to engage communities in reclaiming their heritage and shared spaces, by exploring the many reincarnations of Sauchiehall Street. Using Feminist City thinking, they worked with groups to imagine what a safer, more accessible city centre could look like for everyone.

As well as the sculpture, they created a project archive, sharing the project story, their archival research, craft and textiles techniques, and the street’s intangible heritage through the stories of Glaswegians. 

You can access the project archive and website on a Alice Brown's website

Alice and Ellie worked with the following groups through workshops: Adelaide Place Community Café, CCA young people’s programme, Threading Stories, Glasgow Feminist Book Club, Common Ground, Garnethill Multicultural Centre. They held public workshops at Sauchiehall Street Project Space and encouraged participation from home through craft packs.

This work was commissioned by the Sauchiehall Street Culture and Heritage District, in partnership with Glasgow City Council, with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Photos by Paul Watt