Aproxima Arts and SWG3 Present THE HARVEST

Aproxima Arts and SWG3 have announced the date for The Harvest, a socially-distant free outdoor event which is the culmination to An Empty Gunny Bag Cannot Stand, the project masterminded by Glasgow artists Angus Farquhar and Rudy Kanhye. The event takes place outdoors at SWG3 on 30 September and is one of the first live events in Scotland post-lockdown.

An Empty Gunny Bag... was an innovative growing project which saw 150 brightly-coloured handmade hessian bags delivered to the doorsteps of Kelvinhaugh and Kelvindale communities during lockdown, each filled with soil and a batch of Maris Piper potatoes. The potatoes grown over the four months that followed are now harvested and ready for the big culmination event, The Harvest.

Originally planned to take place in the green space that fringes the SWG3 complex, An Empty Gunny Bag Cannot Stand won the prestigious Evening Times Streets Ahead 2020 Community Award, gained national coverage and clocked 100,000 views for its planting day video.

The Harvest is a free, outdoor, socially-distant and family-friendly event aimed at bringing people of Glasgow together for a special celebration of spirit and community resilience through lockdown.

During the event, the main yard of SWG3 will be transformed under a huge marquee with Mischief La-Bas, makers of interactive public performance, delivering a socially-distanced chip production line down a 25m runway, choreographed by Angie Dight, and transforming the humble potato into the all-mighty, beloved chip in front of a live audience, before delivering it to the pop-up chip shop, The Turbulent Tattie. Hand-painted with an original mural by local artist Chad McCail, the bespoke chip shop will be run by Glasgow-based Nomad Street Food.

The event will also showcase Michael Hunter's new film of the potato harvest alongside portraits of all the volunteer growers, varying from one to ninety-six years old, photographed by Alaisdair Smith, both shown on a giant screen.

With the tagline Grown with love in lockdown, The Harvest is a gift to the people of Glasgow. Free tickets for strictly up to two households per table, up to 6 people in total, are now available to book at www.swg3.tv/harvest. Audiences will choose one of 3 sessions available on 30 September: 4pm, 6pm or 8pm.

The event is designed to strictly follow the Scottish Government's guidelines. Attendees can expect temperature checks, drink orders online with a built-in track and trace system and one-way system for toilets as well as entry and exit.

Aproxima Arts Director Angus Farquhar said: "This is the culmination of a truly inspiring local action during lockdown! And that everyone has donated their potatoes back to give Glasgow the chips it deserves, that is medal-worthy!"

SWG3 Director Andrew Fleming-Brown said: "Angus and Rudy have responded brilliantly to the lockdown situation, finding a truly creative and inspiring way for people to continue to work collectively in isolation. We are delighted to see that the project is continuing and welcome people from across Glasgow to get involved.

"During these challenging times, it's comforting to see that the world keeps on turning - and that, despite the challenges of social distancing, community spirit has never been stronger."

Scotland Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, Kate Still said: "In these uncertain times our priority is to ensure that National Lottery money continues to flow to charities, voluntary sector organisations and grassroots groups. I would like to congratulate Aproxima Arts on their Award, theirs is an important project and will support people now and in the future when they can physically come back together to make great things happen in their community."

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