Glasgow International Festival
Curator Hans Ulrich Obrist labelled it the ‘Glasgow miracle’ – a thriving, artist-led art scene featuring a handful of artist-run spaces and a taste for exhibiting in derelict surroundings. That was the 1990s; now with an established commercial scene, Glasgow has a biennial too, evolving out of the Glasgow International Festival and comprising a huge number of commissioned and curated events across the cityCurated by CCA Glasgow director Francis McKee, the GI Festival strikes a balance between an inward and outward gaze. There is a strong mix of important Glasgow School of Art graduates – Jonathan Monk, Simon Starling and Jim Lambie – with international artists who have made work specific to Glasgow. The festival’s theme– ‘public/private’ – is vague at best, though perhaps legitimising of Glasgow’s private galleries – Mary Mary, Sorcha Dallas and the Modern Institute – as part of the festival programme. That said, many of the independently run spaces and projects may well be best served left alone, without strong thematic interference, to do what they do best. Most effective is McKee’s commitment to exhibitions outside the usual venues for exhibitions, taking advantage of rundown tenements, warehouses and basements far outside the city centre, playing to the strengths of a scene well-versed in improvisation and site-specificity.