Creative

Glasgow: Scotland's Cultural Powerhouse

In 2019 Glasgow was named the UK's top city for culture and creativity in a report form the European Commission. As befits the city's 'People Make Glasgow' slogan, the report also ranked Glasgow as Europe's leader for 'openness, tolerance and trust'. 

Glasgow was named European City of Culture in 1990, propelling the city into the global spotlight.

Today, Glasgow continues to blaze an internationally acclaimed trail in contemporary art, design and music while safeguarding its rich architectural heritage, world-class civic art collection and its position as home base to all (but one) of Scotland’s national performing arts companies.

Cultural Heritage 

More people visit Glasgow’s museums than any other UK city outside London. 

It is justifiably renowned for its remarkable offering, which includes the iconic Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum; the Zaha Hadid designed Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel (voted 2013 European Museum of the Year), The Hunterian, the Gallery of Modern Art and the extraordinary Burrell Collection (reopening in 2021 after extensive refurbishment), which brings together one of the greatest art collections ever created by one person - Sir William Burrell. 

All of which, can be used as a venue for your conference or social programme. 

Contemporary Art 

The Glasgow School of Art has been at the epicentre of the city’s creativity since 1845 and continues to serve as a world-class centre of excellence for the visual creative disciplines.

Artistic talent abounds in Glasgow and no fewer than seven Turner Prize winners have hailed from, trained in, or worked out of the city in recent years. 

With such an art pedigree it was no surprise that Glasgow’s Tramway was selected to host the prestigious 2015 Turner Prize while venues and studios such as The Briggait, Trongate 103, The Whisky Bond, South Block, SWG3, WASPS, the Glue Factory and the CCA further reinforce the city’s position as a centre for cutting-edge art and creativity.

Glasgow International is a world-renowned biennial festival of contemporary art, which showcases the best of local and international art for wide-ranging audiences. 

Glasgow landed on our list for 2016 because it's one of the most exciting cities in the world right now. Its art scene is just too hot to ignore. Case in point: the Turner Prize is in Scotland for the first time, and the exhibit culminates at Glasgow's Tramway gallery in January. But fans the world over know that it's the city's unrivalled music scene that really embodies Glasgow's energy and swagger.

Music 

As befits a UNESCO City of Music, Glasgow hosts more than 130 live performances every week, which contribute an estimated £75 million to the city’s economy each year.

Glasgow’s legendary music scene stretches across the whole spectrum from urban and hip-hop, electronica and indie through to classical and celtic. 

Celtic Connections, held in Glasgow every January, is the largest annual winter music festival of its kind, while the excitement and spectacle of Piping Live! Glasgow’s International Piping Festival and the World Pipe Band Championships can be enjoyed each August.

Glasgow’s venues are equally varied including the OVO Hydro (currently ranked third busiest venue in the world), King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut (consistently voted the top live music venue in the UK), the Barrowland, O2 Academy, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, City Halls and The Old Fruitmarket.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh 

Barcelona has Gaudí, Chicago has Frank Lloyd Wright – Glasgow has the Art Nouveau magic of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. 

His innovative and influential style can be seen throughout the city including The Glasgow School of Art – widely recognised as Mackintosh’s greatest architectural achievement and voted by the Royal Institute of British Architects as the finest building designed by a British architect in the last 175-year years.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 – 1928) was born in Glasgow and went on to be one of the most creative figures of the 20th century and a leading figure in the European Art Nouveau movement.  An architect, designer and artist, he left a legacy of magnificent work and is revered as the founding father of the ‘Glasgow Style’.