What about our City of Culture?

The Glasgow Arts and Culture scene is flourishing and a place where you can drop in, and keep a track of what is going on, is the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA).

The current exhibition by Jeremy Millar has been featured in various newspapers over the last month and today, it was great to finally get a chance to get close to the "Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man (The Willows)".  The staff were very attentive and we discussed the impact of seeing what resembles a dead body lying on the gallery floor. It is very realisti and disturbing. I moved on to the four framed photographs entitled "A Firework for WG Sebald". Finally, I was absorbed by a HD video production called "The Writing of Stones". It is quite hypnotic as images are layered with choral music.

The CCA http://www.cca-glasgow.com/ is developing its activities beyond exhibitions and in the foyer, there were crafts and books for sale. There is a lot of interesting and beautiful jewellery on offer.

Glancing through the information leaflets, I discovered that the British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet is going to be showing at CCA and two other venues from 27th May to 21st August. It is amazing to have opportunities like this on our doorstep.

Dance courses are being promoted across the city and I picked up a leaflet featuring the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama's programme http://www.rsamd.ac.uk/academyworks/Dance/ at 100 Renfrew Street and the Speirs Lock Studios at 210 Garscube Road. It is a real boost to have new dance facilities available in the Maryhill area.

Access to artistic expression and cultural experiences are fundamental aspects of social wellbeing. Glasgow is known for its passionate support for music and the arts in general. It is a very important aspect of our city's future.  


There is an emphasis in the Scottish Green Party's policies to ensure that access to diverse, innovative artistic and cultural experiences should be protected and promoted.  I will be seeking to ensure that grant-receiving bodies adhere to national standards that protect the rights of artists.

In addition, there is a commitment to improve opportunities for local community broadcasting, and continue to press the UK Government for greater powers over broadcasting. Within the last year, I have given my support to efforts to secure independent film-making as part of  transferred activities passed from the Scottish Film Council to Creative Scotland.

We recognise the cultural benefits of supporting Scotland’s many languages, including British Sign Language, Scots, Gaelic and minority community languages, through their inclusion in education and multilingual public information.