Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery

Tel:  0141 330 5431

Admission:  Free with the exception of Mackintosh House which is £3/£2 concession, but free on a Wednesday after 2pm.

Opening hours:  All 4 of the buildings are open Mon – Sat, 9am – 5pm with the exception of the Zoology Museum which is closed on Saturdays.  All of the buildings are closed on Sundays and public holidays.

Opened in 1870, the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is the oldest public museum in Scotland.

The museum first opened in 1807, in a specially constructed building off the High Street, adjoining the original campus of the University.  When the University moved west to its new site at Gilmorehill (to escape crowding and pollution in the city centre) the museum moved too.  In 1870 the Hunterian collections were transferred to the University’s present site and assigned halls within Sir George Gilbert Scott’s neo-Gothic building.

The Hunterian is separated into 4 different sections, located in various buildings on the main campus of the University in the west end of Glasgow.  At first the entire collection was housed together, and displayed in the packed conditions common in museums of that time, but significant sections were later moved away to other parts of the University.  The Zoological collections are now housed within the Graham Kerr Building, the art collections in the Hunterian Art Gallery, and the books and manuscripts in Glasgow University Library.  Hunter’s anatomical collections are housed in the Allen Thomson Building, and his pathological preparations at the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow.

The Hunterian Museum
Housed in large halls in George Gilbert Scott’s University buildings on Gilmorehill, the museum features extensive displays relating to William Hunter and his collections, Roman Scotland (especially the Antonine Wall, geology, ethnography, ancient Egypt, scientific instruments, coins and medals, and much more.

The Zoology Museum
Most of the zoology collections, including those of William Hunter, are displayed in a separate museum within the Graham Kerr building, which also houses most of the University’s zoological research and teaching.  This is also open to the general public.  The insect collections are particularly important and extensive, and are the feature of some excellent recent displays.

The Hunterian Gallery
The Hunterian Art Gallery is now housed in a modern, custom-built facility that is part of the extensive Glasgow University Library complex.  This displays the University’s extensive art collection, and features an outdoor sculpture garden.  The bas relief aluminium doors to the Hunterian Gallery were designed by sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi.  The gallery’s collection includes a large number of the works of James McNeill Whistler and the majority of the watercolours of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

The Mackintosh House
The Mackintosh House is a modern concrete building, part of the gallery-library complex.  It stands on the site of one of two rows of terraced houses which were once sections of Hillhead Street and Southpark Avenue, demolished in the 1960s to make room for the University’s expansion across the residential crown of Gilmorehill.  One of the buildings lost, 78 Southpark Avenue, was formerly a home to Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.  The University rebuilt the form of the house (using modern materials) approximately 100 metres from the site of the original.  Due to its displacement, one door now hangs precariously above a 20 foot drop, the ground on what was once Hillhead Street having been radically excavated during the construction.  The Mackintosh House features some of the original woodwork of the old terraced house, and has been furnished entirely to Mackintosh’s design, with original decorations and furniture.

Getting there
The Hunterian is located in the West End of Glasgow just off Byres Rd, and thus is very well connected to the rest of the city via public transport.  The nearest subway station is Hillhead.

Parking
At weekends, free campus parking is available approximately 100m from the Museum and Art Gallery entrances.  Access to parking is from the Main Gate in University Avenue.  There is also pay and display parking available on University Avenue and along Kelvin Way.  Disabled parking is available within the university campus; entry is through the main gate in University Avenue.

Centre for Contemporary Arts

Tel:  0141 332 7521

Email: info@cca-glasgow.com
Website: www.cca-glasgow.com

Admission: Many of the art exhibitions are free, as are some other events.  For more information about ticketing please visit the CCA website.

Opening hours:  Events and exhibitions are on at various times, and each day is different at the CCA.  Please check the website for details.

The world reknowned Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) is an art gallery, performance space, cafe, and cinema on Sauchiehall Street, in Glasgow.

CCA is a unique contemporary arts organisation in the centre of Glasgow at the heart of the vibrant cultural community.

CCA’s artistic and educational programme primarily focuses on visual arts, contemporary music and film.  With it’s eclectic programme offering such varied exhibitions and events there is always something interesting going on at the CCA.

Housed in the restored Grecian Chambers, a category A listed building, designed by Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, the centre is established and recognised as one of Europe’s leading contemporary galleries.  It curates six major exhibitions a year, showing a wide range of Scottish and international contemporary art, as well as being home to Intermedia Gallery for emerging artists.  Fast developing a reputation for world class improvised, experimental and electronic music, CCA also screens unique independent short, dance and documentary films which can only be seen at the CCA.

For more information or to find out what’s on in the CCA Glasgow, visit the CCA website.

Tel: 0141 553 2557

Admission:  Free

Opening hours: Monday to Thursday and Saturday 10am to 5pm, Friday and Sunday 11am to 5pm.

This award-winning museum is unique in it’s exploration of the importance of religion in people’s lives across the world and across time.

St Mungo’s Museum aims to promote understanding and respect between people of different faiths and of none.

The building, which stands on the site of the medieval Bishop’s Castle, was opened in April 1993.  It is situated near Glasgow’s magnificent Gothic cathedral and opposite Provand’s Lordship, the oldest house in the city.

The Gallery of Religious Life explores the world’s six main religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism.  The museum also looks at other beliefs such as Chinese, native American, Egyptian and African.  St Mungo’s Museum is in fact the only museum in the world which chronicles all of the major faiths.  In this gallery you can listen to people of all religions talk about their faith and meet the Mexican Day of the Dead skeleton, which celebrates the victory of life over death.  You can also see stunning works of art including the figure of the Hindu god, Shiva.  The gallery is illuminated with a wealth of colours by beautiful stained glass windows depicting Christian saints and prophets which creates a unique atmosphere in the museum.

The Scottish Gallery presents the fascinating story of how religion has shaped the culture and beliefs of people in the West of Scotland from earliest times to the present.  You can admire the beautiful Sharing of Faiths Banner, celebrating the multi-faith city of Glasgow today.  Beside the museum is Britain’s first permanent Zen garden a tranquil haven where you can relax, and which symbolises the harmony between people and nature.

The museum hosts a variety of temporary exhibitions throughout the year, and in 2007 offers a programme of exhibitions and events relating to the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.  They also run anti-sectarian workshops.

An excellent day out!

Tel: 0141 229 1996

Admission: Free

Opening hours: Monday to Wednesday 10am - 5pm, Thursday 10am - 8pm, Saturday 10am - 5pm, Friday and Sunday 11am - 5pm.

Opened in 1996, the Gallery of Modern Art, or GoMA, is the second most visited contemporary art gallery in the UK outside of London. It shows a programme of temporary exhibitions and workshops, and displays work by local and international artists as well as addressing contemporary social issues through its major biannual projects.

GoMA is housed in an elegant, neo-classical building right in the centre of Glasgow.  The building is an appealing combination of old and new architecture, incorporating a number of artists’ commissions.  Cutting-edge international works on display include paintings, sculpture, prints, photography, video and installations.  GoMA also supports Scottish artists, with recent acquisitions by Toby Paterson, Christine Borland, Martin Boyce and Ross Sinclair.  Work by Turner Prize winners Grayson Perry, Simon Starling and Douglas Gordon also feature in the collection.

The gallery has attracted several million visitors over seven years, and it continues to evolve, developing existing and attracting new audiences.  The rooftop café has changed into a dedicated Education and Access studio, facilitating workshops and artists talks for all ages.

The basement hosts the GoMA Library which comes complete with a café, free Internet access terminals, multimedia, art and general book-lending facilities.

Don’t forget to have a look at the popular statue of the Duke of Wellington which is just outside the gallery on Queen St.  The Duke is very likely to have a traffic cone on his head, a small example of good old Glaswegian humour.  Originally it was weekend revellers who placed the cone there and every time they did so it would be removed.  But the authorities seem to have gotten sick of taking it back down, so now it is a permanent exhibit. In fact it has become such a landmark that the statue and its cone have featured in quite a few tourist guidebooks!

For more information visit the official website.

House for an Art Lover

Tel: 0141 353 4770

Admission:
Adults £3.50
Children/OAPs/Students £2.50
Children under 10  FREE
Family (2 Adult + 2 Children)  £7.00
Group Adult  £3.00
Schools  £1.00 per child

Opening hours:
Summer Season (April – September)
Mon – Wed: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
Thurs – Sun: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm

Winter Season (October – March)
Sat & Sun: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm
Mon – Fri: For weekday opening times, please telephone in advance

Situated within the beautiful landscape of Bellahouston Park and adjacent to magnificent Victorian Walled Gardens, House for an Art Lover is a truly unique venue.

House for an Art Lover was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and is one of the most exciting pieces of recent research on Glasgow’s most famous architect.  It is also one of Glasgows most popular visitor attractions and provides spectacular and exclusive private dining facilities.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Glasgow most famous architect entered a competition in 1901 to design a ‘House for an Art Lover’.  His competition entry was late and thus was disquilified.  He and his wife, Margaret Macdonald, a decorative artist who also worked on his submissions, were awarded a special prize for “their pronounced personal quality, their novel and austere form and the uniform configuration of interior and exterior.”

In the late eighties, consulting engineer Graham Roxburgh had the idea of building the House that Mackintosh and Macdonald designed.  Building work began in 1989, but was soon halted due to the recession in the ealy nineties.  A partnership between Glasgow City Council and the Glasgow School of Art led to the recommencement of the building work until more than one hundred years after the designs were first created, the House was completed.

The House exists today as an art gallery; the Mackintosh Exhibition rooms have been realised by contemporary artists and crafts people from the designs in the original portfolio, turning Mackintosh’s vision into reality.  Visitors can compare these original drawings against each completed room.  The exterior structure and suite of room interiors provide a spectacular insight into Mackintosh’s design characteristics.  The ongoing interpretation and creation of the art works within the House are highlighted in a fascinating audio tour and DVD presentation.

For more information visit the official website.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum

Tel: 0141 276 9599

Admission: Free

Opening hours: Monday to Thursday and Saturday 10am - 5pm, Friday and Sunday 11am - 5pm.

Situated in Glasgows West End, surrounded by Kelvingrove Park, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is an absolutely stunning building; the red sandstone walls and high, majestic turrets and beautiful surroundings.  Even just going to see it from the outside is worthwhile!

After a 3 year, £35 million restoration project, Kelvingrove reopened in July 2006.  Since then, over 2 million visitors have marvelled at Kelvingrove’s treasures.

There are 8,000 objects on display in the newly renovated gallery.  Some were already there before, but there are also quite a few new ones including a huge giraffe, a 4-metre Ceratosaur and a restored Spitfire.  The new Mackintosh and Glasgow Style galleries explore the genius of Glasgows most famous architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.  It also hosts the city’s largest display of the Glasgow Style’s wide range of media and techniques.  In addition, Dali’s iconic painting Christ of St John of the Cross has returned to Kelvingrove, and sits alongside the likes of Botticelli, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso.

The museum is very child friendly, and the natural history section is particularly interesting for both adults and children.  In fact, children will live it – it really is brilliant.

Another point of interest is the road leading to the back entrance of the museum.  Some people will tell you that the building was accidentally built backwards, but that is not the case.  The truth is, the position of the road changed at the last minute!

The museum also features education facilities, shops and a lovely café.  The new Exhibition Gallery hosts exciting temporary exhibitions throughout the year, and you can find out more about the collections and go online in the Study Centre and Library.

For more information go to the official website.