Scottish participatory art pioneer David Harding dies at 88

David Harding, a Scottish sculptor renowned for his role in participatory public art, passed away in Glasgow on 21 February at the age of 88. Born in Leith in 1937, he taught at the Glasgow School of Art, shaping the careers of numerous Turner Prize winners such as Douglas Gordon, Christine Borland, and Jim Lambie. In the 1960s, he conceptualized participatory art, asserting that context is integral to the work. From 1968 to 1978, he produced site-specific installations in Glenrothes, including Henge and Industry, and placed poetry slabs at various locations. Harding also taught in Nigeria from 1963 to 1967. He collaborated with Ross Birrell on the film Port Bou: 18 Fragments for Walter Benjamin (2006) and the Desire Lines path for Documenta 14 (2017). Their Dante Desire Line Poetry Path, inspired by desire paths, was inaugurated in 2025 at Villa Borghese in Rome. Harding was honored with an OBE in 2002 and received an honorary D.Litt from the University of Glasgow in 2018.