Glasgow of the 1980’s was seen as a dour, post-industrial place where violence and squalor was commonplace. However, 1990 changed all that. This was the year that the city was voted the European City of Culture, an honour which saw Glasgow become the first British city to be given such a title. Glasgow is now home to national performing arts organisations and internationally acclaimed art and music.

Met with some skepticism to begin with, the city’s cultural spirit soon erupted and decades later, Glasgow is still seen as a centre of vibrant art scenes. The city has also been awarded UNESCO City of Music accolades and is a part of the Creative Cities Network. What an incredible turnaround for this Scottish gem.

Organisations that have made the city their home include the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, National Theatre of Scotland, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet. Art is also big news here and there have been 6 Turner Prize winners and  9 nominees who have come from, trained in or worked in the city. You can also find one of Europe’s largest arts collections here featuring works by Dali, Van Gogh, Degas and Monet. Last year the Turner Prize was hosted in Glasgow and there are many galleries and spaces dedicated to art around the city. If you think that your website should be a work of art, think about Glasgow web design at http://mediadesignassociates.co.uk/

Trongate 103 houses several visual arts firms and The Briggait, once a fish market, is now studio space with regular exhibitions. Street Art can also be seen with murals painted by Glaswegian artist, Alasdair Gray. Mural projects were also commissioned on various buildings to celebrate the 2014 Commonwealth Games that were held in the city. Following the City Centre Mural Trail is a great way to take them all in. SWG3 is a multi-discipline facility containing studio space for over 120 artists such as visual artists, photographers, musicians and dancers.

1990 saw a change in perception for Glasgow as performers and artists from 23 countries descended and participated in thousands of theatre and dance events. Famous faces to arrive at this time included Frank Sinatra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Pavarotti and the Bolshoi Opera Company. Glaswegians were provided with the opportunity to see things that they might not have seen before and this had a big impact on young people who were inspired to get into the arts. It could be said that the City of Culture status laid the groundwork for the big movie hits to come out of Scotland during the nineties, such as Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and Ratcatcher.