Velocity, Baltic Street Adventure Playground
Before the Velocity East End Artist in Residence Programme was launched for Festival 2018, Velocity had established itself as a collective voice shaped by Glasgow’s role as host of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. With the Velodrome set to transform Dalmarnock, Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life, Clyde Gateway, and Creative Scotland commissioned a mapping report in 2013 looking at art in the public realm, led by a consortium including Jackie Shearer, Jenny Crowe, and Jenny Brownrigg of Glasgow School of Art.
The mapping explored spaces and routes to the Games venues and how public art might respond to the changing urban landscape. This process led to the commissioning of new creative work, and from 2013–2017, a dedicated Velocity producer, Ben Spencer, supported these ambitions throughout the Games and beyond.
A major outcome was Baltic Street Adventure Playground, developed as part of the Velocity programme in the heart of Dalmarnock. Created in collaboration between the award-winning art and architecture collective Assemble and Create London, the playground embedded creativity into local regeneration, offering a long-term legacy for children, families, and the community, rooted in play, participation, and place.
Between 2013 and 2014, Assemble and Create London worked alongside local partners, including Dalmarnock Community Centre and First Steps Future Skills, engaging over 300 children in co-designing and building the playground. Working with the local community, the project explored The Right To Play, recognised in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The project evolved through research, practical construction, and public events. As part of Glasgow International 2014, Play Summit, curated by Nils Norman and Assemble, hosted workshops and talks that explored the state of play in Scotland in collaboration with Baltic Street Adventure Playground.
Baltic Street Adventure Playground remains a free, supervised outdoor space for children aged 6–12. It continues to champion child-led play and community engagement.
To see opening times, visit Baltic Street Adventure Playground.
