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Tramway Is to play host to the Glasgow International
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Edinburgh Hogmanay chief Peter Irvine appoints curator Francis McKee to take charge of international west coast arts shebang next April. Words: Tim Abrahams
Iasgow. recently voted the best place to live if you're an artist. is to host its first International Festival of ContempOrary Art. usmg Tramway as a venue.
ConSCious of the risk involved in setting Out to rival established international events such as those in Venice and Sao Paolo. the organisers are taking a careful approach to the first year.
DeveIOping out of Real Art Week. the festival Will have substantial financial backing from national and local government. It will be put together by Francrs McKee. the well respected curator who — along With Kay Pallister — organised Scotland's successful contribution to last year's Venice Biennale.
McKee. who has been head of digital arts at the CCA since 2003 and teaches at Glasgow School of Art. has set himself an altogether trickier problem of curating a festival that, if done in the wrong way. might damage the very artistic Culture it IS intended to celebrate.
‘Part of the whole reason that Glasgow is successful is that its grass roots seem transient. Studios and galleries at the cutting edge have otiite a temporary feel. Any event has to be sensitive to this environment and adopt quite a hands-oft approach. asking the galleries what they want rather than imposmg anything on them.‘
he said at the festival's launch last week.
McKee said the first Glasgow International '.‘.’Ill be a low key affair some of the maior galleries already had full exhibition schedules when the concept of the festival was first mooted. 'Ihe f€353il.’{l| won't be able to pick up on a truly (:ityvride scale until 2006.
The 2005 event WI“ span two weeks in April. McKee insisted it w0uld have 'no themes' - something that WI” he ‘.‘.’(:l(;()lll(; news given some of the critiCism directed at the LI‘JOTDOOI Biennal.
‘All international biennials try to impose a theme. a rubric or gimmick. to make the thing coherent.' he said, while Adrian Searle complained in The Guardian that ‘the word "international", in this context, might make us think not of differences. but of sameness. like restaurants that sen/e debased "international cuisine".'
Mckee said he wants the Festival to become 'a facilitator. NO.’ 5 he afraid of it being ‘a way Of marketing -,vhat is going on in Glasgow throughout the rest of the year'.
The person who came up with the idea of the festiral is Peter IrVine. the man who has turned Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations into an international success. Now. his challenge is to create a distinctive international brand in an even more crowded market
THE LIST SNAPS UP PUBLISHING AWARD I Robin Hodge, co-founder of The List, has been named publisher of the year by the organisation representing magazine publishers in Scotland.
Hodge was chosen against some stiff competition by a panel of judges, comprising leading lights in the Periodical Publishers Association in Scotland, and awarded the accolade - sponsored by Stephens 8- George - at a ceremony in Glasgow.
The judges focused on the magazine’s success in the past year. In particular, the panel was impressed with the newly-launched Edinburgh Festival Guide, the magazine’s publications about the 50 Best Scottish Bands and the 50 Best Scottish Films of All fime and the series of pocket guides including the Edinburgh City Guide, and the Bar, Deli and Adventure Sports Guides, all published over the past 12 months.
Blood’s getting frozen and beds are being crumpled as we prepare to find out who‘s won this year's £40,000 Turner Prize. So here’s the lowdown on . . .
CONTEMPORARY ART
Number of art works in the Tate's Current collection 63,021
Number of bricks that went into Bankside Power Station, Tate Modern 4.2m
Number of days that Glasgow-based artist David Sherry av0ided eye contact with other people for a piece of art 7
Suggested value in pounds of Damien Hirst art work thrown away by a cleaner after she thought it was ‘mess left over from a party‘ 100,000
Number of people Tracey Emin slept with as featured in her piece of work, 'All the People I Have Ever Slept With, 1963—1994' 102
PeOpIe willing to pose naked in Barcelona for a Spencer Tunick “naked happening' 7000
Number of original Goya prints defaced by the Chapman brothers to make their piece, “Insult to Injury' 80
Number of possessions destroyed by Michael Landy for his ‘Break Down' art work 7226
Upper age limit for Turner Prize eligibility 50
Number of dollar coins stetched by Cornelia Parker into a wire spanning the height of the Statue of Liberty 1
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