Cross Section: Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Visual Art

It is the aim of the 2008 Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Visual Art to showcase a selection of new work by established and respected artists as well to introduce emerging talent from throughout Scotland and other parts of the world. It is anticipated that the Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Visual Art will promote Glasgow’s position as an international center for both the production and presentation of visual art. These contemporary visual art exhibitions will be staged in a number of interesting venues throughout Glasgow, to national and international audiences, from 11 to 27 April 2008.

It is generally agreed that artists fare best in a community of like-minded souls. Glasgow has a thriving community of resident artists who have gravitated toward the city from other parts of Britain. There is a structure within Glasgow which offers opportunities to artists for showing their art and earning living. Building on that structure, the Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Visual Art continues to prove its worth among artists and art-lovers alike.

The 2008 event has the theme of “public/private” and work will be shown in established private and public galleries, as well as temporary venues suited to the exhibition of art. The festival will be developed along three strands. Firstly, works by established artists who currently live in Glasgow, or who have previously lived in the city, and have contributed to its international reputation. These artists include Jim Lambie, Alasdair Gray, Simon Starling and Jonothan Monk. The second strand of the festival focuses on works by artists from around the world, including Adel Abdessemed, Kalup Linzy, Rodney Graham, Catherine Yass and Wilhelm Sasnal. The third strand offers opportunities to a new generation of artists who are living and working in Glasgow.