Today, FRANCIS MCKEE, curator of GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL announced programme details of this, Glasgow’s first curated and commissioning FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ART, which will take place across the city over twelve days from, THURSDAY 21 APRIL until MONDAY 2 MAY, 2005.

With over one hundred artists, contributors and venues currently taking part - plus more to be announced shortly - GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL 2005 highlights include TRAMWAY’s hosting of a specially curated show from one of the world’s premier collections of contemporary art, Mexico’s JUMEX COLLECTION, first ever European exhibition; newly commissioned work by Glasgow based and internationally renowned SMITH/STEWART at 64 OSBORNE STREET; NEIL MULHOLLAND’S specially curated CAMPBELL’S SOUP exhibition at GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART and iconic American artist, BARBARA KRUGER’S new installation at GALLERY OF MODERN ART along with her specially commissioned billboard work at Glasgow’s CENTRAL STATION.

McKee also confirmed dates for next year’s Festival which will take place from WED 19 APRIL 2006 until MON 1 MAY 2006. Cont’d…

GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL has grown out of the existing infrastructure in the visual arts in Glasgow, and both celebrates and supports the continued growth and achievements of Glasgow’s visual arts sector. The programme aims to reflect the position of Glasgow as a centre for production and exhibition of internationally significant visual art and will bring to this context a range of work, much of which has either been specifically commissioned or brought to the UK for the first time for the Festival.

GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL is working together with Glasgow’s leading visual arts venues along with new sites, indoor and out, to deliver a world-class annual event which will profile Scottish and International contemporary visual artistic talent.

The programme highlights a number of internationally significant artists who are based in the city. It also supports a range of grassroots activity, highlighting the many emerging artists that Glasgow continues to produce and sustain. The range and quality of Glasgow’s exhibition spaces – both indoor formal spaces and outdoor ‘found’ spaces will reflect Glasgow’s capacity to exhibit internationally significant visual art.

Many Glasgow and Scottish based artists enjoy International support from Visual Art Festivals worldwide. Glasgow International is a unique opportunity to give those artists the chance to bring that work to Scottish audiences and in return host International artists.

Commenting on today’s announcement, FRANCIS MCKEE, Curator, GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL said:
‘Glasgow’s international reputation in the contemporary art world is founded on the many achievements of artists based locally. This new Festival of Contemporary Visual Art has been designed to showcase the high level of artistic activity that generates such attention and to bring this to a much broader public. In its first year it is clear from the programme that there has been an overwhelmingly positive response to the project by venues and artist-run spaces across the city.’
Cont’d…
‘The festival has no dominant theme. Instead, the various and diverse participants have been encouraged to highlight their own approaches to contemporary art, reflecting the kind of work that happens throughout the year, every year, in the city. Alongside local artists, international figures from abroad will participate and it is a particular pleasure to present works from THE JUMEX COLLECTION at TRAMWAY. It seems unfair, however, to single out too many highlights given the quality of work from everyone participating. The creation of the festival is the result of a strong collective effort from organisations large and small across the entire city.’

HIGHLIGHTS OF GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL 2005 PROGRAMME:
THIS PEACEFUL WAR THE JUMEX COLLECTION at TRAMWAY

25 Albert Drive, Glasgow G41 2PE
Tel: +44 (0)141 422 2023
Fax: +44 (0)141 423 1194
info@tramway.org
www.tramway.org

Private preview: Thu 21 Apr 7.00pm onwards
Exhibition dates: Fri 22 Apr – Sun 22 May
Opening hours: Tue - Sat 12noon – 5.00pm; Sun 12noon – 5.00pm
Free admission

THIS PEACEFUL WAR is a specially curated exhibition selected from the JUMEX COLLECTION, Mexico. Representing the first showing of the Collection’s works in Europe, THIS PEACEFUL WAR brings together artists such as FRANCIS ALŸS, STEFAN BRÜGGEMANN, MIKE KELLEY, SANTIAGO SIERRA, and DOUG AITKEN.

The JUMEX COLLECTION was begun in 1997 by EUGENIO LÓPEZ (32 yrs), President of Grupo Jumex and sole heir of the Jumex fortune, the leading juice company in Mexico. Located in Ecatepec, 45 minutes outside Mexico City, the collection - comprising more than 1200 artworks – is part of the broader JUMEX FOUNDATION which has been crucial stimulating and supporting the lively contemporary art scene in Mexico.
Cont’d…
The collection and its associated exhibitions, guided by the curator PATRICA MARTIN (32 yrs), has quickly been recognised for its vital role in Latin American contemporary art. In February 2005, the Asociación de Amigos de la Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo ARCO 2005, announced they will give the collection award to the Jumex Collection this year.

Glasgow’s TRAMWAY has long been seen as one of Europe’s foremost visual and performing arts venues and it has an established reputation for bringing some of the world’s most challenging and innovative contemporary art to Scotland. In addition to commissioning and presenting international work, its resounding commitment to providing a platform for Scottish artists to showcase their talents and their outstanding history of commissioned work makes Tramway an exciting partner for this new venture.

SMITH/STEWART at
64 OSBORNE STREET

64 Osborne Street, Glasgow G1 5QH
info@glasgowinternational.org
www.glasgowinternational.org

Free admission

Glasgow-based artists SMITH/STEWART create works that are at times tough, confrontational or disorienting. Their early work involved the dual interaction of a man and a woman often in extreme situations requiring mutual complicity and trust. New works equally employ the sculptural components of video, objects, light and darkness - and increasingly, architectural construction or manipulation - to explore ideas of dislocation, separation and disjuncture. The deconstructed (even theatrical) nature of these pieces deliberately confuse illusionistic and actual space, testing the viewer’s perceptions of reality.
64 OSBORNE STREET is a newly found space specifically identified for this exhibition. Cont’d…

NEIL MULHOLLAND curates CAMPBELL’S SOUP at
GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART

167 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G3 6RQ (Mackintosh Gallery)
Tel: +44 (0)141 353 4500 Fax: +44 (0)141 353 4401
www.gsa.ac.uk

Exhibition Dates: Mon 18 April – Sun 8 May
Private Preview: Thu 21 April 5.00pm – 7.00pm
Opening times: 10.00am-5.00mon – Fri & Sat 10.00am-2.00pm
Free Admission

It’s twenty years since STEVEN CAMPBELL helped to broker Scotland’s now firmly established place on the international map of contemporary art. Many Glasgow artists of the early 1980s expressed a hearty distaste for the traditions of Scottish expressionist and abstract art and a desire to seek an international reputation for their work as part of the global New Image tendency. CAMPBELL’S SOUP takes stock of his crucial contributions both to Scottish culture and to the international development of postmodern painting.

Curated by Glasgow born NEIL MULHOLLAND (Edinburgh College of Art), this exhibition reviews that period in a wider context. CAMPBELL’S SOUP is a unique opportunity to experience a breadth of works spanning several generations of Scottish art. The exhibition will also feature archival and documentary materials sporting an array of Campbellesque tendencies from past and present. The accompanying catalogue features essays by NEIL MULHOLLAND and MICHAEL BRACEWELL.

Featuring over twenty artists, Campbell’s work will hang alongside that of significant precursors such as ALASDAIR GRAY, JOHN BYRNE and ALEXANDER MOFFAT, his peers ADRIAN WISZNIEWSKI, MARK KOSTABI and ALEXANDER GUY and some more recent idiosyncratic outpourings from Scottish artists including KEITH FARQUHAR, MICHAEL FULLERTON, LUCY MCKENZIE, JOHN MULLEN, LEE O’CONNOR, RABIYA CHOUDHRY and LUCY STEIN.

Cont’d…

BARBARA KRUGER at
GALLERY OF MODERN ART (GoMA)

Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow, G1 3AH
Tel: +44 (0)141 229 1996 Fax: +44 (0)141 204 5316
www.glasgow.gov.uk

Private View: Wed 20 April, 7.00pm-9.00pm
Exhibition dates: Thu 21 April - Sun 25 Sep
Opening Hours: Mon-Wed 10.00am–5.00pm, Thu 10.00am-8.00pm, Sat 10.00am–5.00pm, Fri & Sun 11am-5pm
Free admission

Iconic American artist BARBARA KRUGER is best known for combining images with text to confront the viewer with issues of power and control in relation to sexuality and politics. This exhibition at GoMA features a new installation utilizing the walls, floor, columns and skylight window areas of the top floor gallery.
Kruger’s first exhibition in Scotland is the centrepiece of Glasgow’s RULE OF THUMB: CONTEMPORARY ART AND HUMAN RIGHTS, a 13-month programme of exhibitions, events, outreach arts projects and workshops highlighting the issue of violence against women.

Kruger’s work will also appear on a specially commissioned billboard in GLASGOW’S CENTRAL STATION between MON 25 APRIL and SUN 22 MAY. Her video installation TWELVE will be exhibited at TRAMWAY in AUGUST 2005.

GoMA is the second most visited contemporary art gallery outside London, offering a programme of temporary exhibitions and workshops. GoMA displays work by local and international artists as well as addressing contemporary social issues through its major biannual projects.

To follow is a list of participating GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL artists, contributors and venues.
Full and further information on these and associated events including talks and guided tours will shortly be available. Please contact press@glasgowinternational.org and / or visit www.glasgowinternational.org for updates:
Cont’d…
GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS AND CONTRIBUTORS:
DOUG AITKEN / FRANCIS ALŸS / DOUG AUBREY / ROSS BIRRELL / STEFAN BRÜGGEMANN / TOBIAS BUCHE / JOHN BYRNE / JOTA CASTRO / STEVEN CAMPBELL / RUTH CATLOW / JAKE AND DINOS CHAPMAN / RIBIYA CHOUDHRY / CLANDESTINE INSURGENT REBEL CLOWN ARMY / CRITICAL ART ENSEMBLE / ANDREA CROCIANI / MINERVA CUEVAS / STEVEN DICKIE / PETE DOWLING / EM-SPACE / FIREBIRDS / GHAZEL / GREGORY GREEN / ALEXANDER GUY / ALASDAIR GRAY / LARRY ELLIOT / NICK EVANS / KEITH FARQUHAR / ALEX FROST / MICHAEL FULLERTON / JACK GOLDSTEIN / JORDAN & HEWITT / DOUGLAS GORDON / WILL DUKE / CYNTHIA GUTTIERREZ / RACHEL HARRISON / IAIN HETHERINGTON / RONNIE HEEPS / MARINE HUGONNIER / STEPHEN HURREL / ICOLS / ELIN JAKOBSDOTTIR / MIKE KELLEY / JACK KNOX / MARTIN KRENN / BARBARA KRUGER / TORSTEN LAUSCHMANN / RORY MACBETH / MARIS / LUCY MCKENZIE / CHUAUTEMOC MEDINA / YES MEN / ROBB MITCHELL / ALEXANDER MOFFAT / JOHN MULLEN / PLATFORM / CRAIG MULHOLLAND / DAN NORTON / AISLING O’BEIRN / LEE O’CONNOR / HAROLD OFFEH / POINTLESS CREATIONS / ALEX POLLARD / HARRY PYE / SIMON POULTER / JAI REDMAN / OLIVER RESSLER & DAVID THORNE / KATE RICH / JO ROBERTSON / ANRI SALA / JACKIE SALLOUM / SILO / SANTIAGO SIERRA / MELANIE SMITH / SMITH/STEWART / MONICA SOSNOWSKA / LUCY STEIN / MICHAEL STUMPF / THE ATLAS GROUP / UHC / VACUUM CLEANER / VARIANT / VERSION / HUGH WATT / MEL WILLS / ADRIAN WISNIEWSKI

GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATING VENUES:
CCA – CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART / GALLERY OF MODERN ART (GoMA) / GLASGOW PRINT STUDIOS / GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART / HUNTERIAN ART GALLERY / MARKET GALLERY / MARY MARY / THE MODERN INSTITUTE / SORCHA DALLAS / STREET LEVEL PHOTOWORKS / THE ARCHES / TRAMWAY / TRANSMISSION / 64 OSBORNE STREET

Cont’d…
LIZ CAMERON, LORD PROVOST of GLASGOW said: ‘Glasgow City Council has made a strong commitment to the growth and development of the visual arts in Glasgow. GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL is an exciting addition to the Council’s already significant support of the visual arts sector and one which allows us to develop new artistic and funding partnerships and to celebrate Glasgow’s deserved reputation as a major international centre for the visual arts.'

DAVID LLOYD, International Events Programme Manager, EVENTSCOTLAND said:
’EVENTSCOTLAND is delighted to be supporting the inaugural GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL festival. The Festival is offering an exciting and ambitious programme which has the potential to attract visitors from within Scotland, the UK and overseas to the city in Spring. It is an ideal opportunity to showcase Scotland's flair and ability to stage world-class events and reinforce its position as a leading cultural events destination.’
ENDS

Notes to Editors:
1) FRANCIS MCKEE is Head of Digital Arts and New Media at CCA Glasgow, teaches on the MFA in Glasgow School of Art and is a researcher in the field of Open Source Software and Intellectual Property. He was co-curator of the Scottish exhibition at Venice Biennale in 2003 and has also published work on artists such as Simon Starling, Salla Tykka, Douglas Gordon, Christine Borland, Matthew Barney, Rosalind Nashashibi.
Selections of his work are available on www.francismckee.com
2) The official GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL opening party, hosted by THE CHATEAU and featuring live music and visuals by MOTHER & THE ADDICTS, PARK ATTACK, FIRE BIRDS, POINTLESS CREATIONS, PETE DOWLING, F*** OFF MACHETE, DAN NORTON, LAPSUS LINGUAE, SILO, EM_SPACE, MEL WILLS and HUGH WATT, will take place at THE ARCHES on WEDNESDAY 20 APRIL. Doors open 9.00pm.
The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8DL, Tel: box office: 0870 240 7528 info@thearches.co.uk
www.thearches.co.uk
3) GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL is funded by GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL, EVENTSCOTLAND, SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE GLASGOW, SCOTTISH ARTS COUNCIL and is further supported by GREATER GLASGOW AND CLYDE VALLEY TOURIST BOARD, under the auspices of GLASGOW: SCOTLAND WITH STYLE initiative. The event is produced by UZ EVENTS.
4) Travel Information:
There are regular flights to Glasgow from London City, Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, as well as rail services by GNER and Virgin Trains.
Useful links:
www.scotairways.co.uk www.scotrail.co.uk
www.easyjet.com www.britishairways.com
www.flybmi.com www.gner.co.uk
www.virgintrains.co.uk

Tourist Information:
Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley Tourist Board
Tel: +44(0) 141 204 4480 / www.seeglasgow.com