PLANS for a new piece of public art on the banks of the River Leven at Dumbarton Harbour certainly got residents talking when they were revealed in the Reporter a few weeks ago.

And now people in the town are to get the chance to find out more about the proposals – and about the work that has gone into putting them together.

The plans, by Dunbritton Housing Association (DHA), whose development of 150 new homes on the site of the former Ballantine’s distillery was recently completed, are currently awaiting a decision from West Dunbartonshire Council officials.

Eight members of the public contacted WDC to register their opposition to the plans, though since the Reporter revealed the details, they’ve also attracted three expressions of support.

And ahead of the council’s decision, DHA is set to reveal some of the thinking behind the artwork proposals – and about how they came together.

The proposed artwork, created by sculptor Alan Potter, is the result of more than a year of work by Greenock-based arts charity RIG Arts with local primary schools and young people.

And RIG Arts are inviting people to come along to one of three sessions – two to be held on Zoom and one in person near the Dumbarton Harbour riverside walkway – this month to find out more about the site and the proposed sculpture.

A spokesperson for DHA told the Reporter: “RIG Arts, on behalf of Dunbritton, has been connecting with local primary schools, youth groups and community members to research the area’s rich industrial heritage, inspiring designs for new seating areas and artworks including paving stones, house plaques and a sculptural viewpoint.

“This project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and these elements will become features within Dunbritton’s new development.

“Working with artist Samantha Macgregor from March to November 2020, 239 people have actively participated in researching and contributing ideas to the project.

“It was important for us to have an inclusive image, and something that didn’t lose sight of the history, culture and spirit of the area.”

The project team drew on the area’s glass-making, shipbuilding and whisky distilling history, as well as two of the notable local figures remembered at nearby Dumbarton Riverside Parish Church, where there’s a memorial window to James McMillan, a local man who died at the Battle of Loos, and where engineer Robert Napier and his family are buried in the adjacent churchyard.

During the course of the project the RIG Arts team also worked with pupils from Knoxland Primary, Braehead Primary and St Patrick’s Primary, and towards the end of last summer they also organised field trips with local young people recruited by the youth work team from West Dunbartonshire Council.

The artwork itself, though, is based on a ‘torc’ – a symbol of power and wealth among the early Britons who first settled Dumbarton and established it as the capital of the North.

Dunbritton’s spokesperson added: “Torcs were made from gold, silver, and bronze with some weighing as much as two kilograms.

“The proposal is based upon the torc seen through a contemporary prism.

"It frames the view of Dumbarton Rock and reflects the rock and castle’s importance as the ancient capital of Strathclyde and one of the three most important fortresses in Scotland.

“To connect with the wider Dumbarton community, RIG Arts are inviting local residents to join them and to meet sculptor Alan Potter through two online Zoom sessions on Wednesday, May 19 from 1-2pm and from 7-8pm.

“There is also an opportunity to meet and discuss the proposed site and the viewpoint sculpture at the Dumbarton Harbour walkway on Saturday, May 22 from 12 noon to 4pm.

“This is a great chance for local people to find out more about the proposed artwork designs and the process of how these have been developed through community research as part of the Dumbarton Harbour Heritage Project.”

The venue for the in-person event next weekend will be a marquee outside Dunbritton’s office at 1 Hatters Lane, G82 1AW.

"Covid health and safety guidelines will be followed."

To find out more information about either the in-person or Zoom events, email info@rigarts.org.