Glasgow artists combine music and art in new guided mural trail

The Govan Mural Trail, run by Glasgow Barons and Invisible Cities, takes audiences around the Southside area, highlighting local art and history.

The two charities partnered up to create a tour of five paintings, paired up with songs written and performed by Govan artists.

Zakia Moulauoi Guery of Invisible Cities, inger-songwriter Jordan Robertson, CEO of Invisible Cities and tour guide Angie McTague, Campbell Parker of Glasgow Barons and guide Dakota Jones at Govan Cross (Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Singer-songwriter Jordan Robertson, CEO of Invisible Cities and tour guide Angie McTague and Campbell Parker of Glasgow Barons at Govan Cross (Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Glasgow Barons is a charity that runs music programmes to create a sense of community.

Campbell Parker, general manager, said: "It puts Govan on the map. It’s a brand new walking trail that’s around Govan exploring different cultural sites around the area.

“It’s important because it has brought different communities together. Each of the murals is about someone famous in Govan.

“We’ve got Mary Barbour, who is very famous for the rent strikes in the 1900s.

“We’ve got Isabella Elder, there is this fabulous painting of two birds, which represents migration and the situation in Ukraine, refugees around the world and highlights Glasgow being one of the main places where a lot of asylum seekers go. This is a very topical story.

“We have an ex-refugee named Aref Ghorbani, who we have commissioned to sing a song about this mural.

“There are lots of tie-ins to local people in Govan and also new Scots, people who come to Scotland and Glasgow now, because of difficult times.

“So, there is a tourism element for people who have perhaps never been to this part of the city, you’ve got people who lived in Glasgow all their lives and have never been here.

“For them, we are highlighting the stories of Govan and the deep history surrounding it."

Singer-songwriter Olivia Haggarty, ampbell Parker of Glasgow Barons, CEO of Invisible Cities and tour guide Angie McTague with songwriter Jordan Robertson at Govan mural (Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Guide Dakota Jones, singer-songwriter Olivia Haggarty, Campbell Parker of Glasgow Barons, CEO of Invisible Cities and tour guide Angie McTague with songwriter Jordan Robertson, singers Susy Cruz, Yasmeen Shah and Zakia Moulaoui Guery at Govan mural (Image: Gordon Terri, Newsquest)

Invisible Cities, the organisation working with the group, is a social enterprise that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city.

Campbell said: "They are already set up in Govan and offer tours, so it made sense to partner up with the, they are experts in the area.

“With them, we rely on local knowledge and local expertise. The difference being is that we are looking at these new murals created during lockdown by SW3G but also, thrown in is the history surrounding these murals about the area.”