As I write, last minute prep is going on the biannual contemporary art shebang which puts the city of Glasgow on the international art map.
Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art runs from 20 April – 7 May 2012 and includes a series of highlights listed below as well as work by over 130 artists in over 50 venues across the city of Glasgow.
I was over in Govan a few days ago meeting Matt Baker & ts beall (Tara to her friends) who are producing the gloriously gallus Nothing About Us Without Us Is For Us. Keep having to run my tongue around that one as it's t-t-too tricky!
Together with their trusty partners in art, their pledge is that they will 'use obsolete technology to hurl language across Glasgow's River Clyde'. And why not?
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| It all happens in Govan |
Matt and Tara are staging Some Questions About Govan in Honour of George Wyllie as part of their contribution to GI from 6-9pm on Tue May 1 at The Pearce Institute in Govan.
As one of the Chum Chivviers in Chief at Whysman HQ (www.whysman.co.uk) I was there to talk about the ins and outs of the night, highlights of which will include a screening of Murray & Barbara Grigor's newly re-mastered 1990 film, The Whys?Man, an historical talk about Doomster Hill (the ancient moot hill of the Kingdom of Strathclyde), Cinema Actions 1971 film on the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-In and a seven minute long film documenting The Govan Raid, a 2011 public art event by Matt Baker.
See more about this 'quirky but strangely grounded'* crew at:
I'm going to Kelvingrove tonight, where an exhibition of work on paper by Glasgow-grown Turner Prize winner Richard Wright, is being opened and then on to Tramway for a rehearsal of The Making of Us.
(If you search elsewhere on this blog, I interviewed Richard Wright in 2010 - the piece was in Homes & Interiors Scotland magazine)
I'll report back....
GI Programme Highlights Include:
Richard Wright – Kelvingrove Gallery and Museum
The first ever exhibition of works on paper by Glasgow based 2009 Turner Prize winner Wright.
Karla Black – GoMA
The largest show to date in Scotland by Glasgow-based, 2011 Turner Prize nominee Karla Black, who will exhibit a series of major new sculptures in the grand ground floor of the Gallery of Modern Art
Jeremy Deller – Glasgow Green
Jeremy Deller will present Sacrilege, a major new, interactive public artwork to be situated on Glasgow Green. This project is a co-commission by GI Festival and the Mayor of London.
The Making of Us – Tramway
A project by award-winning Scottish artist Graham Fagen, esteemed theatre director Graham Eatough and Scottish director of photography Michael McDonough, which will invite the audience into the place between art installation, promenade theatre and film-making. This project is a co-commission by GI Festival and the National Theatre of Scotland.
Kelly Nipper – Tramway
An ambitious installation by this Los Angeles-based multimedia artist.
Alexandra Bachzetsis – CCA
The Scottish premiere of a new performance work for the stage (co-produced with Chisenhale Gallery, London) by artist, performer and choreographer Alexandra Bachzetsis, who will confront the audience with a series of micro-performances.
Rosalind Nashashibi – GI Festival Hub Space
A film installation and a new film commission by Glasgow School of Art graduate Rosalind Nashashibi (co-commissioned with Scottish Ballet).
Wolfgang Tillmans – The Common Guild
The Common Guild will present Scotland’s first solo exhibition by Wolfgang Tillmans since 1995. The show will include an important group of works acquired by the Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre.
There are 60 exhibitions and 95 events in the programme, full details of which can be found on: www.glasgowinternational.org
* All my own work