It’s been a busy month for the city’s culture lovers
Published by Anne Marie Hughes on Sat 09 Jun 12 @ 22:12
It's been a busy month for the city's culture lovers as the 5th edition of the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art draws to a close (GI Festival).
Between 20 April and May 7 over 130 artists showcased their work across almost 50 venues in the city, brandishing Glasgow's rich and vibrant arts scene.
Highlights of the 18 day programme, which was directed by Katrina Brown, included Turner Prize winning artist, Jeremy Deller's inflatable scale model of Stonehenge - which was fully interactive and open to the public, as well as Scotland's first solo exhibition by Wolfgang Tillmans since 1995.
A huge array of one off events and solo exhibitions also took place, presenting a mixture of the best international and local artists who displayed work in Glasgow's eclectic range of permanent and temporary exhibition venues.
Such excellent examples of the city's creative community working with their peers from across the world supports Glasgow's bid to host the 2015 Turner Prize show.
Last year the revered exhibition was held in Gateshead's Baltic gallery, the first time outside of the Tate Britain in London, since 2007.
Strong cultural and business arguments exist to stage the event in Scotland's largest city, which is home to a blossoming arts scene and many former winners.
Recently a campaign has been launched to restore one of Glasgow's most iconic galleries to its former condition, previously housing the biggest art show in the land.
Built in 1856,the McLellan Galleries which are situated on Sauchiehall Street, have been closed to the public since 2006 but calls are being made to reopen the space, with hopes to hold a special Commonwealth exhibition in 2014.
The new President of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI), Karin Currie, also wants her organisation's annual exhibition to return to the venue, estimating around £100,000 needs to be spent on the building to make it habitable again for a tenant.
Your Chamber supports initiatives to further develop and expand the city's arts scene and stands behind the bid to host the Turner Prize exhibition in 2015.
