In 2016 Sandy Hobbs added a large cartoon/comic related deposit to his existing collection at GCU. Our debut exhibition of 2017 is ‘Free to Draw: Cartoonists and their Politics’, which draws from both Sandy’s material and from Bob Starrett’s papers. As an introduction Sandy has kindly penned a blog for us ~

In the 1990s, when I moved material from my home to GCU to form what became the Sandy Hobbs Collection, the basic loose principles of selection were that  what was included would be POLITICAL  and from my PAST. Some of what I retained at home might well have gone, but other considerations were at work. Some correspondence with my still living friend Jean McCrindle seemed more personal than political. Writings by E. P. Thompson I kept by me because I still felt the need to consult it regularly. Continue reading →

Eight months ago when I first began working on the Scottish Committee of the Anti-Apartheid Movement Archive I thought that I would largely be working on papers that had either a focus on South Africa, or Scotland and the UK’s efforts to draw attention to and end the apartheid regime. Naturally, these papers did form an extensive part of the collection, however I found a significant amount of files and papers related to Namibia and a group of countries that formed the Frontline States which bordered, or were in close proximity, to South Africa, these included Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These countries all played their part in helping to support the global anti-apartheid movement and bring an end to the terrible regime.

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This October will see Glasgow Caledonian University take part in the UK wide Black History Month. During this month organisations across Britain will remember and celebrate important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It has been running yearly in the UK since 1987 where it was first celebrated in London, but has now spread across the country with a huge range of fascinating events taking place. It is also celebrated annually in the United States and Canada but during the month of February.

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Sport is something that I have always enjoyed, but with a passing, casual interest. Some people would probably struggle to see the activities that I enjoy participating in, or watching, as sport, especially the manner in which I do them. To me being outside enjoying the scenery in a leisurely manner, in woods, on lochs, and up hills and mountains, is the closest I get to keeping active.

The intense competition and fandom that is often prevalent in sport is something that I have often struggled to comprehend. Coming from an English/Scottish background, and spending most of my adult life in Glasgow, the rivalries I have observed between nations and religions has often left me disenchanted. The excuse that certain behaviors, whether words, or actions, are acceptable when committed due to the passionate love of a sports team leave me cold.

However, over the past few years I have begun to understand the value of sport as an incredible social currency. A love of sport, whether playing or watching, can break down barriers put up by differences in gender, age, background, race, nationality and religion. It has an amazing power to unite and create opportunity. GCU hosting The Homeless World Cup earlier this year was a perfect example of the positive effect that sport can have on many people’s lives.

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