The Peoples Bank of Govanhill Favorite 

The People’s Bank of Govanhill uses social and activist art practices to involve people in re-imagining the local economy, looking at how we can put feminist economics into practice in the local community.

The project was intiated by artist Ailie Rutherford during a residency with Govanhill Baths Community Trust in 2015. What began as a series of currency experiments, ad-hoc exchanges and on-the-street discussions has grown into a long term collaborative project, run collectively by a committee of women with a growing membership of local residents and interested citizens.

In 2018 we opening Swap Market, a space for swapping and sharing resources without the need for money. Swap Market works as a skills and knowledge exchange, workshop space as well as facilitating the exchange of goods, traditions and cultures; a place to work together to find innovative solutions to everyday problems, making feminist economic practices visable and accessible.

The People’s Bank of Govanhill is now looking at how we might incorporate digital technologies into this project. If we are inevitably moving towards a cashless society where machines and technology have an increased impact on our lives, we want to know how can we do this in a way that empowers people, enables us to share resources across networks, and meet our needs rather than allowing technology to further disempower people and exasperates inequality.