Transitions into Art School 20/21 ENTRY ALT CITY GUIDE GSA LIVE MAP OPEN DAYS Discover the Glasgow scene Tour GSA’s global creative networks Register for events and live chat page 2 page 10 page 22 1 Contents Welcome ALT CITY GUIDE TO GLASGOW page 2 GSA LIVE MAP page 10 TRANSITIONS IN TO ART SCHOOL page 14 GSA SINGAPORE page 18 THE GSA HUB page 20 PhD STUDY page 21 OPEN DAYS page 22 DEGREE SHOW page 24 preview 2019 Show Degree GSA PROGRAMMES, HOW TO APPLY AND MORE INFO page 30 Live map: Stow map: Live Follow us @GSofA @glasgowschoolart /glasgowschoolofart /glasgowschoolofart /glasgowschoolart [ ] GSA Live map The GSA Live Map is a Google Map-based guide to CONTENTS GSA’s global Creative Network, connections, locations • Creative Network and to the city at our heart, Glasgow. Throughout this • Alt City Guide to Glasgow guide you will see yellow highlights over text. These • vOpen Day highlights show that the place, business or person is featured on the Live Map and shows a map reference. Discover the GSA Live Map at: gsa.ac.uk/livemap The GSA is ranked 3rd in UK, 5th in Welcome Europe and 8th in the world for Art and Design in the QS World University Rankings 2019. 3 A network of indie galleries, clubs, restaurants and bars has created a robust creative scene in Scotland’s largest city, where talent is allowed time to flourish. The Alt City Guide to Glasgow The Alt City Poetry Club, image courtesy SWG3 image courtesy Club, Poetry Photographer Photographer Live map: Poetry Club Poetry map: Live Guide to James Anderson by Tony Naylor Glasgow originally published in The Guardian 5 Optimo 20 Live map: SWG3 map: Live Photographer Brian Sweeney Silvia Ziranek. Buzzcut, Buzzcut, Black Sun Drum Korps Black Sun Drum Korps Left: Below: Lady Macbeth, part of Buzzcut Lady Macbeth, Photographer Glue Factory map: Live how many women – So Low’s Rebecca Marshall, Fem Bitch Nation, Susannah Stark, LAPS – are prominent on the local experimental electronic music scene. Glasgow is not without problems. As in most cities, gentrification threatens its creative communities. It is forcing up rents and forcing artists out, hence the migration of creatives to the Southside (south of the river Clyde). Meanwhile, a 3am club curfew means that hard-partying Glasgow has to play cat-and-mouse with the fun police. Such licensing restrictions have spawned a sub-culture of ad hoc gigs in grey area spaces, illegal after-hours events and raucous late- night house parties. “Going back to people’s houses and bonding over music is a big part of Glasgow’s club culture and how electronic music has developed here,” says Chater. Yet, laments Keith McIvor – aka JD Twitch, half of the city’s legendary Optimo DJ duo, club and label – a lot of that “brilliant” talent “Music, the visual arts goes unnoticed: “There is something in the Glasgow mentality. People aren’t good at and that DIY approach go promoting themselves, but it’d be nice if they Richard McMaster, keyboard player in the everyone seems to be far more were a tiny bit more ambitious. There’s nothing Glasgow band Golden Teacher, is trying concerned with creating sincere hand-in-hand in Glasgow wrong with doing something amazing that to explain why the city’s underground work and having fun, than reaches a lot of people. It’s not selling out.” tends to shun media attention. “Scenes get making money. “Music, the visual and you can trace He may have a point. But for the time hyped-up and go wrong but, because there’s arts and that DIY approach go being, if you want to experience the best of The Alt City Guide to Glasgow no media here the way there is in London, hand-in-hand in Glasgow and that back to punk.” Glasgow, you will have to visit it and explore. things happen slowly and organically. There’s you can trace that back to punk,” a community in Glasgow doing things for the says artist Patrick Jameson, co-founder of Chater also works at the record shop and right reasons: because they love music.” He the Queens Park Railway Club art space. vinyl distributor Rubadub, a vital resource is instinctively wary: “In many ways, even this All that creative activity teems around an for the city’s labels. These kind of connections discussion makes me feel uncomfortable.” infrastructure of studios, labels, gig promoters are key, says artist Claire Biddles: “The crux Glasgow may produce a stream of credible and galleries (Green Door, Transmission, of Glasgow DIY is that everyone does crossover stars (Franz Ferdinand, Chvrches Pipe Factory, Night School, Domestic everything. You’ll go to Mono for a fundraiser [ ] or the DJ/producers Jackmaster, Rustie and Exile, GLARC, Roof Garden, All Caps, Outer for Open House and there’ll be bands on Hudson Mohawke), but that seems to happen Zone), which, while often international in who are also artists, writers or bartenders Live map: Alt City Guide more by accident than design. Invariably, scope, nurture Glasgow talent. “If you’ve in town. Everything feels joined up.” Find these and other music such break-out stars will have already an idea, it’s easy to participate. There’s That underground prides itself on its venues, networks, a walking tour, spent years toiling away in bands and club not much money in Glasgow but there is progressive politics, too. There is room for and more on the ‘Alt City Guide’ collectives, in a city where – due to the support,” says Richard Chater, co-founder improvement (the feminist music collective layer of our GSA Live map. influence of The Glasgow School of Art – of the label and club collective, Numbers. OH-141 is pushing for that), but it is striking gsa.ac.uk/livemap Music [ ] 7 Live map: Alt City Guide Find these and other music venues, networks, a walking tour, Degree Degree and more on the ‘Alt City Guide’ layer of our GSA Live map. Below: Live map: Live Show After party After Show The Art School The gsa.ac.uk/livemap Subclub The Art School Like Frankfurt’s Robert Johnson (GSA’s Students’ Association) or Hamburg’s Golden Pudel, The Art School is a student and artist-led the Sub Club (capacity 410) is venue that advocates for GSA students one of those smaller distinctive and the local creative community alike. European clubs that are sites of It provides space and support for a wide range pilgrimage for electronic music of artistic and musical practices, including lovers. Partly, that is due to the gigs, clubs, films and educational events. As high quality of its residents a non-profit charity, all proceeds go towards and established nights (Harri & funding student exhibitions, projects, and Domenic’s veteran Subculture, societies, as well as a programming fund for Sensu, Numbers, Optimo), partly innovative and emerging artists and events. it is down to the clarity of its James Anderson & Times Anderson/Herald Kirsty Live map: The Art School Image courtesy SWG3 Image courtesy renowned soundsystem. theartschool.co.uk Live map: Subclub Optimo DJs Twitch & Wilkes Twitch Optimo DJs subclub.co.uk Left & below: Left left: Far Photographer Photographer Club Poetry The map: Live Photographer La Cheetah This 200-capacity basement below Max’s Bar reminds Chater of London’s fabled Plastic People. “The sound is impeccable, the lighting’s simple and it’s got that real close, intimate vibe. Promoters are putting lots of new electronic producers in there but you’ll also see people like Theo Parrish, Joy Orbison The Alt City Guide to Glasgow and Objekt at La Cheetah,” he says. Live map: La Cheetah lacheetahclub.co.uk The Poetry Club Originally created on-the-fly by Turner- Ad hoc Glasgow nominated artist Jim Lambie, this diminutive Keep your ear to the ground because, venue within the vast SWG3 complex in Glasgow, events are often organised facilitates everything from experimental in “outsider venues”, says McMaster. theatre to Iron Barz’ battle-rap sessions. From community centres to cricket clubs, “It’s a weird place,” enthuses McMaster. promoters are constantly searching for “You can have 40 people in and it feels busy.” novel environments. For instance, this Live map: The Poetry Club year, experimental festival Counterflows thepoetryclub.net put Berlin producer Rashad Becker on at Queens Park Bowling Club. 9 Live map: Good Press map: Live Right: Good Press Annual two-day festival Glasgow Zine Fest Art illustrates the vibrancy of Glasgow’s self- publishing scene. “Zine Fest is a key event in the DIY calendar,” says Claire Biddles, Below: How to Suffer Politely (and Other Etiquette) who recently released a new issue of her by Kameelah Janan Rasheed “pop crushes” zine, Fuck What You Love. Live map: Transmission Gallery To sample Glasgow’s self-published output, head to indie publishing hub Good Press: Buzzcut “It’s a great shop which sells zines This radical art and theatre collective each and puts on small exhibitions and spring stages an international festival of larger events at other venues.” performance at the Pearce Institute (in Govan Live map: Good Press – for Jameson, “an often forgotten working goodpressgallery.co.uk class neighbourhood”), and works hard to engage the local community. For instance, Govan residents were given free entrance to Buzzcut CCA shows. It is involved in numerous other off-beat projects, including plans to place performance artists in late-night club settings and a workshop on audaciousness that will create a Buzzcut 2017 one-off live art event in central Glasgow. Photo: Silvia Ziranek Live map: Pearce Institute Live map: Pearce Institute glasgowbuzzcut.wordpress.com Celine Transmission Gallery Mount Florida Studios Emerging Glasgow artists often exhibit in Forefront of challenging creativity in Glasgow Mount Florida Studios near Hampden Park disused spaces or their own homes, an since 1983; Jameson says: “Everybody has had stadium hosts workshops, exhibitions and idea now formalised in the Open House a show at Transmission or some involvement screenings, as well as providing studio space festival.