Dark Days

Dark Days is a creative experiment in communal living, where one hundred people were invited to stay overnight in the Gallery of Modern Art’s, (GoMA) great hall, Glasgow, as part of a new, pop-up community.

Developed as an extension of Harrison’s 2014 ‘Early Warning Signs’ project, challenging arts venues to address climate change in both their operations and programmes and an outcome of Ellie Harrison’s year as an invited Associate Artist at GoMA, who in turn were responding to conversations with staff and visitors to think about climate change as part of Glasgow’s bid towards being European Green Capital 2015.

The event was staged on the evening of 13 February 2015. With help from a professionally trained facilitation team, participants were encouraged to explore ways to negotiate the politics of communal living and collectively decide how best to set up and run the camp. By examining short-term practical questions, such as how to spend the evening and when and where to eat and sleep, the project addressed the fundamental long-term question of politics: How Will We Live Together?

Whilst ostensibly offering the illusion of freedom and autonomy, participants were challenged by the fact that many of the rules had already been defined in the Camp Manual, issued in advance of their arrival, itself an evolution of the Camp Guide Harrison received at the activist training ‘Reclaim the Power Action Camp’ in Blackpool, in 2014.

Dark Days was covered extensively in the Daily Record, Evening Times, and BBC Radio Scotland. LYUD queer film collective made a short film to document the event, and screenings/public discussions followed at GoMA, ‘Glasgow Green: Imaging a Sustainable City’ at Tramway and at Camden Art Centre, London. Reviews were published by Central Station and Furtherfield. Dark Days was supported by Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life.