Glasgow Visual Art Fest Draws Impressive Attendance

The second Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Visual Art, which ran from April 19 to May 1 this year, attracted attendances of almost 54,000 – representing a 156% increase on attendance over the inaugural event in 2005.

 

Glasgow International comprises exhibitions, seminars, artists’ talks and events and is designed to both celebrate and support the continued growth and achievements of Glasgow’s visual arts sector.  In 2006, the festival presented work by more than 140 Scottish and international artists and contributors in 30 venues across the city.

 

The US musician, poet and artist, Patti Smith, and the acclaimed South African artist, William Kentridge, were among the stellar international names who exhibited, while Ross Sinclair, Karla Black, Claire Barclay and numerous other Glasgow artists demonstrated a wealth of indigenous talent.

 

Festival curator, Frances McKee, commented, “Glasgow has an exceptionally strong art scene and a thriving infrastructure of galleries and artists-led organisations that provide a high level of year-round activity. Glasgow International is able to both ground itself in this existing successful network and make this activity visible to the local population and the international art scene.”

 

Funding of the festival comes from a partnership between Glasgow City Council, Glasgow: Scotland with Style, EventScotland, the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Enterprise Glasgow and each partner is delighted with the findings of a study into the event’s economic impact.

 

Councillor Alex Mosson, chairman of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau said: “Glasgow’s contemporary visual art scene is one of the most vibrant in the world and Glasgow International is bringing this to the attention of an increasingly cosmopolitan audience.

 

“The net effect is not only economic benefit to the tune of £549,000, but also the positioning of Glasgow as a creative, cultural destination alongside the likes of London, New York and Berlin.”

 

Of the people who attended, 27% came from outside Glasgow but within Scotland, 20% came from the ‘rest of the UK’ and a further 7% came from overseas, generating £549,000 of economic benefit for Glasgow.

 

The festival is made possible through partnerships between Glasgow’s visual arts network and the city’s numerous arts venues, and in association with UZ Events.

 

Following identification of the need for more time for research and for the    commissioning of more ambitious exhibitions, it was announced that Glasgow International will become a biennial event with the next one taking place in 2008.  

 

 

 

 

Charles Bell, Arts Development Manager of Cultural and Leisure Services, Glasgow City Council said:

 "Glasgow International has developed from RAW (the Real Art Week) which successfully promoted the range of galleries and exhibitions in the city to a wider audience.  GI takes us a step further by programming specific major exhibitions and events that would not otherwise be seen in Glasgow.  The next GI takes place in 2008 and we are currently gathering views on ways of strengthening the festival to ensure its long-term future as a major event for the people of Glasgow and visitors to the city."  

 

 David Williams, Chief Executive, EventScotland said: 

“Events that highlight and build on strengths of a city or region are likely to be among the most successful in their class and this is true of Glasgow International.  Glasgow is justifiably proud of its reputation as a centre for contemporary arts, particularly visual arts, and EventScotland is delighted to support GI in its efforts to showcase that excellence to the world.”

 

Amanda Cato, Head of Visual Arts at the Scottish Arts Council said:

“The tremendous interest generated by Glasgow International emphasises the importance of the event in the visual arts calendar, and highlights the strength and vibrancy of the local art scene in an international context. 

 

“The announcement that Glasgow International will become a biennial event as of 2008 is sure to help raise the profile of the visual arts further in Scotland and abroad.”

 

Mairi Bell Tourism Manager Scottish Enterprise Glasgow said:

"Glasgow International promotes Glasgow's internationally recognised strength in visual arts and is a key event to help attract new short break markets to the city. Scottish Enterprise Glasgow is delighted with its progress and is committed to supporting GI to become a biennial event and bring additional visitors to Glasgow."

 

 

 If you Liked GI, You’ll Like…

 

Glasgow International aside, Glasgow has an exceptionally buoyant contemporary visual arts scene.  Exhibitions and events to look out for include:

 

 

CCA presents the first major touring exhibition of work by Canadian artist Marcel Dzama.  The exhibition will comprise approximately 50 drawings reflecting recent developments in Dzama’s practice including new large scale, multi-sheet ‘composite’ pieces, and recent sculpture and video work.

 

Erica Eyres is interested in how humans create an absurd mixture of conflicting emotions when they are faced with overwhelming situations and anxiety.  Her latest work, is a series of drawings and videos focusing on women and how they portray themselves through self-portraits, how these images reflect their sexuality and their sense of self-worth.

 

 

How to do White is an experimental collaboration between Glasgow-based artists Lisa Gallacher, Hannah Hewetson and Fiona Jardine which points to the place where fine art and fashion, desire and repulsion, surface and substance, cross, collide and diverge.  With painting, drawing and installation, the works layer upon and reference each other, putting notions of style, trend-setting and cultural cliché centre stage to comment on the design of convention and the convention design.

 

 

The Arts Council, Hayward Gallery, South Bank Centre in London, holds more than 7,400 outstanding modern and contemporary artworks by high profile British artists.  GoMA had the unique opportunity to select works from this collection.  These 17 sculptures – most of which have not been seen in Scotland before – were chosen because of their visual interest and powerful physical presence.  The artists have explored new methods of creating sculpture using a range of materials.