Scotland’s biennial festival of contemporary visual art

Glasgow International festival of contemporary visual art took place from 11 – 27 June 2021. Originally scheduled to open in April 2020, the festival comprised over 70 exhibitions and events, performances and talks over 30 spaces across the city and online, showcasing work by over 100 artists.

The festival’s theme was 'Attention', which amongst other things, invited us to think about how we pay attention to things and people around us, and the place of art in this. For a further curatorial introduction to the 'Attention' theme, and how this has shifted over the past year, please click here.

Visitors encountered a Commissioned Programme of exhibitions, curated on the theme of 'Attention' and taking place in many of the city’s most well-known venues. Alongside this ran the Across the City Programme, selected from proposals by artists, arts organisations, curators and producers who live and work in Glasgow.

GI2021 also presented a Digital Programme, giving artists an alternative space in which to present work through to the end of July.

Click here for a full list of festival credits, thanks and acknowledgements.

The Digital Programme featured artists from Across the City and the Commissioned Programmes representing their in-person exhibitions online as well as work made for the easily accessible digital programme.

Around 30 artists made work specifically for the Digital Programme.

And for more artists in conversation, subscribe to the Glasgow International podcast, Encounters.