ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an exploration of how artists envision their role within the contested process of transformation in the East End of Glasgow. It focuses on the process of creating public art and how this is influenced by the competing agendas of the different stakeholders involved, with a particular focus on artists and creative individuals. The chapter examines the complex territory of process by focusing on the ways in which artists are conditioned, through commissions and briefs, to think instrumentally about their creative practice. The relatively impoverished East End of Glasgow in Scotland was used as the case study for exploration, focusing specifically on the neighbourhoods of Calton and Bridgeton. It investigates the reach and limitations of creative agency in relation to regeneration along different dimensions. Investigating discourses of public participation within regeneration, Pollock and Sharp argue 'contestation and conflict should be recognised as appropriate reflections of community'. The chapter considers the significance of creative input within regeneration practice.
