list.co.uk/aroundtown Museums & Attractions | AROUND TOWN
Museums and attractions are listed by city, then alphabetically by venue. Père Lachaise with an obelisk to John Knox, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s first solo work and breathtaking views to boot.
GLASGOW
■ BURRELL COLLECTION 2060 Pollokshaws Road, 287 2550, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Mon–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Free. In the heart of Pollok Country Park is this collection of art, as well as ancient and medieval artifacts.
■ GLASGOW BOTANIC GARDENS 730 Great Western Road, 339 6964, glasgowbotanicgardens.com Gardens open daily 7am–dusk; glasshouses open daily 10am–4.15pm; tea room 10am–dusk. Free. A great place to relax in summer or take a brisk walk in winter. Also look out for exotics and exhibitions in Kibble Palace Glasshouse and the vegetable, herb and flower gardens. ■ GLASGOW NECROPOLIS 50 Cathedral Square, 552 3145, glasgownecropolis.org Daily 7am–dusk. Free. Standing on a hill behind Glasgow Cathedral, the necropolis is the city’s own
■ GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART 167 Renfrew Street, 566 1472, gsa.ac.uk/ visit-gsa/gsa-shop Interpretation space & shop open daily 9.30am–5.30pm and tours depart 11am–5pm. Tours £9.75 (£8; under 18s £4.75; under 5s free). Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s astounding architectural masterpiece (and still a working art school) can be viewed throughout the year, with daily tours led by current students offering an in-depth look at the building’s design.
■ GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE 50 Pacific Quay, 420 5000, gsc.org.uk Daily 10am–5pm. £9.95 (£7.95; under 3s free); Planetarium, Glasgow Tower or IMAX Science films £2.50 extra. The home of Scotland’s first IMAX cinema, as well as fun exhibits, science shows, workshops and talks. BodyWorks Until 2018. An exhibition all about how your body works, with the chance to run in a giant hamster wheel and become a ‘snot ninja’ (lovely). ■ HUNTERIAN MUSEUM & ART GALLERY 82 Hillhead Street, 330 4221 (museum)
FESTIVAL TRADFEST Various venues, Edinburgh, Tue 29 Apr–Sun 11 May
In only its second year, Tradfest returns to Edinburgh for a fortnight celebrating Celtic arts and Scottish cultural traditions, presenting a programme busy with talks, tours, music, art, theatre and puppetry, among many other elements. It goes without saying that this year will be an especially resonant one to consider such subjects, not just because of the coming referendum, but also because 2014 is the second year of Scottish Homecoming. Perhaps just as pertinently – and in what many may find a welcome move for such a large-scale arts festival – Tradfest doesn’t take its political influences lightly. ‘I think there’s a response to the global environmental crisis in our
increased sense of localism,’ says festival manager Donald Smith, ‘and there always has been a political edge to trad arts, which is sharper this year because of the referendum. I’d say the overall tone is radical and left-leaning rather than ‘‘nationalist’’, as Mayfest was in Glasgow, but then those agendas are very strong in the independence debate itself. Culture is political as well as many other things – I don’t subscribe to the view that the arts are somehow above politics.’ The agenda, however, is set by the artists: such disparate voices on independence as David Torrance, Gerry Hassan and Alexander Moffat will be appearing at Blackwell’s Bookshop, while journalist and activist Owen Jones will address the May Day Parade. The theme this year is ‘Revival and Renaissance’, with an exploration of whether folk cultures re-emerge during periods of upheaval through conferences at the National Galleries and National Library of Scotland, a piping seminar and concert, Transgressive North’s Folk Cinema, and concerts like Wounded Knee playing as part of the National Galleries of Scotland’s Outreach programme, The Nation // Live. With a roster of events that’s grown 20% since last year, Smith is hopeful the festival will become a long-term fixture on Edinburgh’s scene. He admits: ‘We’re living on the creative edge for now, just trying to keep a nose ahead. Everything will look different in Scotland by the autumn.’ (David Pollock)
/ 330 5434 (gallery), gla.ac.uk/hunterian Tue–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun 11am–4pm; closed Mon. Free; Mackintosh House £5 (£3; under 18s free). Scotland’s oldest public museum, founded in 1807, houses collections relating to science, medicine, archaeology, geology and more, as well as art by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (including the Mackintosh House – the reassembled interior of his home) and James McNeill Whistler. Scottish Gold Until Sun 15 Jun. £5 (£3). A major new exhibition looking at Scottish gold and gold mining. ■ KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY & MUSEUM Argyle Street, 276 9599, glasgowlife. org.uk/museums Mon–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Free. Twenty-two collections and over 8000 artifacts, from natural history, armour and weaponry to art from many different eras and touring exhibitions, all housed in a grand red sandstone building on the banks of the River Kelvin. See Visual Art section for more exhibition details.
■ NATIONAL PIPING CENTRE 30–34 McPhater Street, 353 0220, thepipingcentre.co.uk Mon–Fri 9am– 5pm; Sat 9am–1pm; closed Sun. £4.50 (£3.50; under 16s £2.50; family £11). Home to the Museum of Piping as well as a reference library, shop and restaurant. ■ PEOPLE’S PALACE & WINTER GARDENS Glasgow Green, 276 0788, glasgowlife. org.uk/museums Palace open Tue–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon; Winter Gardens open daily 10am–5pm. Free. Located on Glasgow Green, the Palace gives an insight into how the people of Glasgow lived from the 1750s to the late 20th century, while next door the Winter Gardens house exotic plants and a café. Red Road: Past, Present, Future Until Sun 4 May. Glasgow’s iconic Red Road flats have been demolished to make room for a new skyline. The high-rise development’s residents look back over 50 years, tracing its impact on the city.
■ POLLOK HOUSE 2060 Pollokshaws Road, 0844 493 2202, nts.org.uk/property/pollok-house Daily 10am–5pm (last entry 4.30pm). £6.50 (£5; family £11.50–£16.50). Set within Pollok Country Park, this 18th-century house holds one of the best collections of Spanish art in the UK, as well as Edwardian furniture and decoration. ■ PROVAND’S LORDSHIP 3 Castle Street, 276 1625, glasgowlife. org.uk/museums Tue–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon. Free. The oldest house in Glasgow, and one of only four surviving medieval buildings. Restored to its 17th- century finest, there is also a medicinal garden with the intriguing Tontine Faces stone masks.
■ RIVERSIDE MUSEUM 100 Pointhouse Place, 287 2720, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Mon–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Free. A rebooted version of the Transport Museum housed in a cutting edge piece of architecture by Zaha Hadid. The recently acquired South African locomotive is the largest exhibit in the Glasgow Museums’ collection.
■ SCOTLAND STREET SCHOOL MUSEUM 225 Scotland Street, 287 0500, glasgowlife.org.uk/museums Tue–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon. Free. Another wonderful building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the museum details the history of the country’s education system. ■ THE SCOTTISH FOOTBALL MUSEUM Hampden Park, 616 6139, scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun 11am–5pm. Stadium tour £7 (£3.50); museum entry £6 (£3); combined ticket £10 (£5). Located inside Scotland’s national football stadium a couple of miles south of the city centre, this museum displays all kinds of memorabilia and offers tours of the stadium itself.
■ ST MUNGO MUSEUM OF RELIGIOUS ART & LIFE 2 Castle Street, 276 1625, glasgowlife. org.uk/museums Tue–Thu & Sat 10am– 5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon. Free. Situated across the road from the Provand’s Lordship, this museum holds artwork and historical artifacts exploring the role of religion in people’s lives.
■ THE TALL SHIP AT RIVERSIDE 150 Pointhouse Place, 357 3699, thetallship.com Daily 10am–5pm. Free. Step aboard the Glenlee, one of only five Clyde-built ships still afloat today. Learn about the maritime history of the area through talks, tours and costume days.
EDINBURGH
■ CAMERA OBSCURA & WORLD OF ILLUSIONS Castlehill, 226 3709, camera-obscura. co.uk Daily 10am–6pm until Mon 31 Mar; from Tue 1 Apr 9.30am–7pm. £12.95 (£10.95; under 16s £9.50; under 5s free). The ‘camera’ is a giant periscope inside a Victorian rooftop tower on the Royal Mile, giving a spectacular 360° perspective on Edinburgh, plus there’s interactive optical fun galore. ■ DEEP SEA WORLD Battery Quarry, North Queensferry, 01383 411880, deepseaworld.com Mon– Fri 10am–4pm; Sat & Sun 10am–6pm (last entry one hour before closing). £13.50 (£11.50; under 13s £9.50; under 3s free; family £40–£44). Home to
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17 Apr–15 May 2014 THE LIST 35