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GDOD FREE TV
On this page we will be live streaming all of the talks that happen at the festival hub. That’s means you’ll be able to join the festival talks programme, for free, from the comfort of your own home, or where ever you are.
See below for a full list of what’s coming up on GDOD TV during Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival, 11th -17th September, 2023. Tune in below at the advertised time to see your programme of choice.
GDOD TV is also available on demand! Browse the back catalogue on the GBPT YouTube Channel.
PROGRAMME
Backstage with The Tenementals
Monday @ 6pm
See and hear how Glasgow expanded west over the slopes beyond the new unfinished Buchanan Street, creating the very wealthy New Town of Blythswood to be crowned by Blythswood Square 200 years ago. Sauchiehall Street came to life; West George Street, St Vincent Street and others were born. Garnethill got started. Pleasure gardens and Scotland’s first indoor baths were formed. Its developer William Harley and wife Jane Laird also pioneered the first hygienic dairy in Europe. Prosperity brought townhouses, churches, schools, shops, offices, clubs, hotels, artists’ studios, theatres and tenements.
Norry Wilson – Lost Glasgow
Monday @ 7:30
Making Sense of the City
Using vintage photography, let Norry Wilson guide you through the forgotten sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of Lost Glasgow.
From the fragrant scents of the old Fruitmarket, via the seafresh tang of the Briggait fish market, to the lactic reek of the old Cheese market, he’ll lead you by the nose through the old streets and wynds of forgotten pongs.
Pin back your ears for the rumble of iron wheels on granite setts, the chime of Medieval church bells, and the ‘song of the Clyde’ – the hammers and hooters which brought life and wealth to our once mighty river.
Sit back and dine on fine fowl with the Partick Duck Club, fill your glass with a refreshing Glasgow Punch, while the wee ones can sup on some sma’ beer.
Open your eyes to the now-vanished wonders of our city; from the Great Exhibitions to the giant lums and furnaces whose smoke and fire once set Glasgow’s night skies aglow.
Through personal stories, history books, and newspaper stories, this is a psychogoegraphy of a vanished Glasgow that will make you sense the city anew.
Grahamston - Glasgow's Forgotten Village
Tuesday @ 6pm
Made doubly popular by the BBC TV series ‘Inside Central Station’, Walking Glasgow tour guide, Kevin Scott, guides you around what does & doesn’t remain of the village which once stood between Glasgow and Anderston. From Glasgow’s first theatre to Wotherspoon’s bakery, and the two remaining buildings from that period, you get an idea of what Glasgow itself must have been like around 1700, when the population was only around 20k in the, soon to develop, town
It'll Be Great When It's Finished - Talk and Film Screening
Tuesday @ 7:30pm
Glasgow Building Trust Director David Cook leads an illustrated talk on 40 years of the Trust and it’s key projects. The talk will include a screening of new film – It’ll Be Great When It’s Finished, charting the development of Glasgow build environment from the 80s up to the present day and beyond.
Jewish refugee history in Garnethill
Wednesday @ 6pm
You will find out about some of the places around Garnethill which are connected with Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe. Discover the fascinating hidden history of this area of the city, from hostels which housed refugee women and Kindertransport children to the refugee artists who enriched the cultural life of the city. You will learn about some of the people who came to Scotland and made their home here, and about the meeting places that were vital in supporting refugees to build new lives in Scotland.
This talk is illustrated with material from the collections of the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre and is based on the ‘Garnethill Refugee Trail’ walking tour.
Join members of the School of Education at the University of Glasgow, Dr Sarah Anderson, Dr Ria Dunkley and Dr Philip Tonner, as we take a sideways look at the city through the lenses of philosophy, education and sustainability. Chaired by Dr Alan Leslie.
Decarbonising this City: House by House
Wednesday @ 7:30pm & Sunday @ 3pm
Are you a homeowner concerned about the climate crisis?
Many homeowners in Glasgow want to reduce the carbon footprint, but unsure where to start. When done right, retrofitted homes are beautiful, comfortable and healthy – but getting there can be complicated, challenging, and expensive!
Loco Home Retrofit was set up to help. We are a non-profit member-owned cooperative based in Glasgow, always welcoming new members and their input. We provide independent, expert advice and support to homeowners who want to take action.
In this talk, we’ll dive into the challenges of retrofitting a city like Glasgow, as well as our community-based approach, strategy and goals. We will share real examples of homes in Glasgow that have made retrofit a reality and what you can learn from their journey.
The Glasgow City Improvement Trust and the Transformation of the Victorian City
Thursday @ 6pm
Join GCHT Director Niall Murphy to find out about the achievements of the Glasgow City Improvement Trust.
Over the course of the 19th Century, Glasgow suffered explosive city growth, with its population increasing from 77,000 in 1801 to 762,000 by 1901. This created problems of overcrowding, poor sanitation and population health issues, with the city’s housing conditions regarded as amongst the worst in Europe.
To combat this, in 1866 Lord Provost Blackie led a delegation including Glasgow’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr William Tennant Gairdner, and the City Architect, John Carrick to Europe to see what lessons could be learned. Having visited Amsterdam and Brussels it was Baron Haussmann’s Paris where they were most impressed by the urban innovations being introduced for Napoleon III.
Upon his return to Glasgow, Carrick drew up the City Improvement Act of 1866 with a programme of slum clearance to clear out and introduce light and air to the medieval heart of the city, making Glasgow a pioneer for municipal improvements.
The Knight Map: An Artist's Process
Thursday @ 7:30 pm
Join artist Will Knight to hear about the process for creating his remarkable new map of Glasgow, which traces and updates Thomas Sulman’s 1864 Bird’s Eye View of the city. Find out about the inspiration for the project as well as the techniques Will used in order to create the final work – an incredibly detailed snapshot of modern day Glasgow. The talk will cover the layered construction of the artwork, each working drawing thought out and planned with a rigorous process, and a step towards the final piece.
Will studied Architecture at the Glasgow School of Art, and this training has informed his approach to understanding the dynamic relationship between people and place. He has spent the last ten years observing, recording and interpreting Glasgow’s built environment – from the celebrated work of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson to the ubiquitous tiled tenement close; from some of the city’s cherished eateries to the scratch bakery and local newsagent. Every subject is explored through measurement and drawn by hand, elevating everyday buildings so that they are revealed afresh.
Buildings Make Glasgow - A panel discussion on current heritage building projects in the city
Friday @ 6pm
Glasgow Building Preservation Trust hosts a panel discussion on current restoration projects happening in the city. Details TBC.
The Glasgow Sugar Aristocracy: Scotland and Caribbean Slavery
Sunday @ 12:30pm
This lecture, based upon book of the same title published last year, illuminates the world of Glasgow West India merchants and planters in late-slavery era Great Britain, 1775-1838. These men were amongst the richest men in Great Britain, and invested widely in Scottish commerce, agriculture and industry. Secondly, the lecture assesses, in a comparative frame, Scots present across the British West Indies between 1775 and 1838. It seems very likely that many tens of thousands of Scots crossed the Atlantic to the West Indies, and this lecture focuses on the Scottish diaspora in three islands subsumed into the English/British Empire at different stages of colonization: Jamaica (1655), Grenada (1763) and Trinidad (1797/1802). This lecture reveals how Caribbean slavery remains a quotidian feature of life in modern Scotland and West India merchant capital continues to shape lives today.
The Radical Wars of 1787-1820
Sunday @ 2pm
The Radical Wars started in Glasgow in 1787 with the first organised strike in UK history and went on until the Scottish Uprising and the Battle of Bonnymuir in 1820. The aims were political as well as economic reform.
Thousands of men and women were involved in skirmishes, anti-conscription riots and illegal strikes throughout Scotland from Aberdeenshire to Dumfries and right across the Central Belt.
Para-military armies were raised on both sides. Two castles were stormed and there was at least one massacre. 88 men were charged with high treason. There were secret trials with judges and lawyers brought up from England, resulting in hangings, beheadings and transportations to Botany Bay.
The story of the Radical Wars was suppressed at the time and is now largely forgotten. This is an important part of your own history. Come and see the images and hear the tale as told by a member of the 1820 Society.