A Warm Welcome to John Grady MP at Project Ability
An afternoon of art, conversation and community
Last week we were pleased to welcome Labour MP John Grady back to Project Ability. John represents Glasgow East, covering areas including Calton, Carmyle, parts of Govanhill and Parkhead.
John first visited us last month for the opening reception of Glasgow 850, our city-wide celebration marking 850 years of Glasgow’s vibrant history. Inspired by the exhibition, he purchased two artworks by Project Ability artists, joining a growing number of collectors who recognise the incredible talent nurtured within our studios.
With the Glasgow 850 exhibition now concluded and preparations underway for our upcoming Young Talent show (opening 2nd August!), John returned last week to collect his new artworks and took the opportunity to tour our third-floor studios and meet the artists behind the work.
John spent time visiting both our Aspire and ReConnect studios, chatting with individual artists about their practices, materials, and experiences. It was a brilliant exchange of ideas and conversation, with artists also keen to ask questions around the future of PIP (Personal Independence Payments), accessibility in Glasgow, and the importance of maintaining and supporting spaces for disabled people to create, connect and thrive.
He also visited a small exhibition currently on in our Project Room from Together Reaching Higher, a community project working with women from across Glasgow through creative workshops led by artist and tutor Celine. A few members of the group shared their artwork and spoke about the programme’s aims and values. The visit ended with a lovely group photo together.
We would like to thank John for making the time to visit us properly, taking things at the right pace, listening to our artists and staff, and engaging thoughtfully with everyone he met. We’re especially thrilled that he got to meet one of the artists whose work he had chosen earlier in the summer.
We hope he enjoys his new artworks, and we look forward to welcoming him back again in the future.
