The Locarno Ballroom, 1963
Help Light Up Glasgow with Your Festive Stories!
We’re Alice and Ellie - you may know us from such projects as Soft City, the giant collaborative soft sculpture of Sauchiehall Street.
Now we’re back creating a glowing new light installation for Glasgow’s Christmas Lighting Trail, and we’d love for you to be part of it!
Inspired by Glasgow’s iconic signs - from the Barrowlands to old cinemas and dance halls - and a Glaswegian love of blethering, we're bringing festive stories to life through animated, neon-style projections. And we want the stories we share to come from the people who live here…
That’s where you come in!
We’re inviting all Glasgow residents - whether you’re new to the city or have been here for decades - to take part by sharing what’s important to you at this time of year. We're on the hunt for personal, funny, silly, heartfelt or nostalgic stories… Whether it’s a favourite childhood gift, a daft snow story, a family Christmas tradition, or a wild Hogmanay adventure - big or small, it matters to us.
So whether you're 19 or ninety, born here or new here, we want to hear from you… Share your festive moment - and help us light up this Bright City!
Ads at bus park & office, Sauchiehall St & West Nile St, 1934
Sauchiehall Street Christmas Lights 1960
Share Your Festive Story With Us
Share & help spread the word!
What Happens Next?
The stories we gather will be transformed into glowing animations, and projected onto Sauchiehall Street this winter - like overheard conversations brought to life in neon. It’s all part of celebrating Glasgow’s 850th anniversary with heart, humour, and a wee bit of magic.
We will choose snippets - funny, poignant, relatable or dream-like - to represent in our designs, bringing your personal contributions to life with just a few words, drawings, and some clever animation.
The collected stories will also be archived, in full, online - becoming part of Glasgow’s recorded social history for people to read, learn from, and enjoy!
Ellie
Alice
Argyle Street Xmas Lights, 1970
Iconic Barrowlands Sign, made in 1982
Who Are We?
We are Ellie Mills and Alice Brown, two Glasgow-based artists, interested in storytelling, crafting, sustainability and collaborative making. Together, we love to work on community-focused projects, creating playful, immersive worlds for people to explore.
Commissioned by Glasgow Life