Book Launch - Goma at a Glance: a Collection in Focus

Join us for a special event marking the 30th anniversary of

GoMA, with the launch of the publication GoMA at a glance: a collection in

focus. This free event will feature author Louise Welsh in conversation with

curators Katie Bruce and Martin McShaffrey-Craig. After the talk, the book will

Be available for purchase.

About the book

This book explores 50 of the key artworks acquired by the

curators of Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art for city’s collection over the past

30 years. Written in an informal style, it discusses the ethos behind the

Museum's early acquisitions and the subsequent shift in collecting strategy to

better reflect the unique cultural and artistic place that Glasgow is, thanks

to the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art and the opportunities to see visual

Art that the city provides to its citizens, students and visitors alike.

The impact of the gallery’s social justice programmes and

Its focus on learning and engagement is unpacked, as is the dark history behind

the original building, constructed as a home for one of Glasgow’s tobacco

lords. As the curators reflected on the gallery’s first 30 years of existence

They looked back across the more than 200 exhibitions held to date and have

picked some of the most seminal shows, acknowledging GoMA’s importance in the

cultural landscape of Scotland.

With a foreword by the Glaswegian author Louise Welsh

Looking at what the gallery has meant to her as a visitor, the book offers

readers a contemporary take on Glasgow’s own fabulous art collection.

About the speakers

Katie Bruce has worked with GoMA since 2002 and has an

Expanded curatorial practice working primarily with socially engaged artists.

Martin McSheaffrey-Craig has joined GoMA in 2021. He has a

broad practice with a particular interest in Sculpture and Installation.

Louise Welsh is an award-winning author of novels. She is

Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. In 2022 she

published The Second Cut, which was shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland

McIlvanney Prize for Crime Book of the Year and named by The Times as their

Crime Book of the Year.