Glasgow's Culture Strategy 2024-2030

View or download Glasgow's new Culture Strategy
A performer dressed in a yellow jacket with a large eye on the front. They have their face to the sky and arms outstretched behind them. There are other similarly dressed performers in the background. The performance is taken place outdoors on a bridge in Glasgow and there is a blue sky and buildings in the background.

Introducing Glasgow’s Culture Strategy 2024-2030

Glasgow’s Culture Strategy celebrates what makes Glasgow unique and sets out an ambitious vision to ensure that everyone in the city can be a part of its vibrant cultural life. Making, sharing and enjoying culture is our right, shaping and building the future health, prosperity and sustainability of our world city and its diverse people.

The strategy has been shaped by research, stakeholder engagement and consultation, with four priority areas identified. Each priority sets out specific outcomes and areas of focus, providing a roadmap for achieving the overarching vision of a city where culture is Glasgow’s heart.

Celebrating Glasgow's rich cultural heritage and fostering its global reputation as a place of creativity are central to this priority. City leadership, cross-sector advocacy, and international profiling are identified as key strategies to bolster Glasgow's cultural prominence. The integration of cultural representation into city partnerships and utilising the strategy to advocate for culture will be pivotal in realising these objectives.

This priority sets out an ambition to ensure that culture is accessible and inclusive for all our communities. Representation, place-making and wellbeing are key to this, and the strategy sets out an approach to support cultural experiences that reflect our city's diverse communities. This includes investing in cultural spaces, promoting community-led programming and recognising the value of cultural participation to community wellbeing.

Recognising and nurturing creative talent to foster a sustainable creative economy underpins the Skills priority. By expanding access to creative education, developing sector-specific skills and fostering diverse leadership, the strategy sets out an approach that will strengthen Glasgow's position as a global cultural hub. Collaboration between educational institutions, cultural organisations and governmental bodies will be crucial in achieving these goals.

This priority focuses on Glasgow’s culture being sustainable both environmentally and economically. It highlights the role of culture in the city’s just transition to net-zero. Through partnership working, a shared approach to improve funding and climate focussed programming, Glasgow aims to harness its creative potential to address climate change while ensuring the economic sustainability of its cultural sector.

Delivery

An action plan has been created for years one and two and the delivery of it will be an ongoing collaboration with the sector. Working together will ensure that culture is indeed at the heart of Glasgow.

Glasgow's Culture Strategy 2024 -2030

The full strategy including the action plans for years 1 and 2 is available now.
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Glasgow's Culture Strategy 2024-2030 : Video introduction

Glasgow's cultural offer

Glasgow hosts some of the most well-known and popular cultural events and festivals in the country

A person with a headress and traditional South East Asian dress smiling and holding a multicoloured banner
Glasgow's Mela takes place in the summer in Kelvingrove Park
Celtic Connections takes place in Glasgow every winter. The band Skipinnish performed in 2024
A group of contemporary dancers perform outdoors outside Merchant Square in Glasgow city centre. The dancers have different outfits but all wear mainly pale green with black and trainers.
Merchant City Festival takes place in the heart of Glasgow in July.
An aerial view of the main stage of Trnsmt festival in Glasgow Green. The stage is lit up and there is a huge crowd shown on a sunny day. Surrounding Glasgow buildings and housing can be seen in the background.
Trnsmt Festival takes place annually in Glasgow Green

Mission

Glasgow’s cultural landscape truly reflects the city’s people and our relationships with the rest of the world. Culture and creativity are valued and invested in, creating a successful, healthy and inclusive Glasgow.

Glasgow confidently shares its distinctive culture with the world and welcomes everyone to share theirs with the city.

Values

These values reflect Glasgow’s identity and in doing so, underpin what is most important to collectively achieve through this culture strategy.

→ Accessible
Creating equitable physical and intellectual
access to our culture

→ Gallus
Boldness and daring in how we provoke,
develop and deliver

→ Experimental
In order to create innovation, learn and grow

→ Creative
Recognising, celebrating and supporting
the diversity of activities, programming and
communities that contribute to our cultural lives

→ Reflective
Listening and reflecting in order to include,
learn, build and retain

→ Brilliant
Celebrating Glasgow’s excellence; proud,
skilled, confident and admired

Culture in the city

World class venues and events throughout the year

External shot of the Barrowland venue at night. The name of the venue is lit up in red and yellow, with illuminated stars all around.
The world famous Barrowland music venue in Glasgow
A bright yellow ballroom type dress on a black plinth during the installation of a Beagles and Ramsay exhibition at Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, 2023. The name of the exhibition, NHOTB & RAD, can be seen in the background..
An installation view of the GoMA exhibition NHOTB & RAD by artist duo Beagles & Ramsay, 2023.
Aerial shot of the refurbished Burrell Collection. The modern glass structure is surrounding by green space and lots of trees.
The Burrell Collection, Pollok Country Park, Glasgow
Glasgow Film Theatre during the Glasgow Film Festival
Art installation by Jasleen Kaur. The exhibition, Alter Altar shows a red car partly draped by a large white crocheted shawl/covering. There is a model of an upturned red hand with black markings in the foreground. The exhibits are in Tramway in an industrial setting with pillars.
Jasleen Kaur's Turner Prize-nominated exhibition Alter Altar, Tramway, Glasgow, 2023

Culture in the community

Participation all year round

Two primary age children dressed in traditional Viking clothing are singing and looking at the camera during a workshop performance
School pupils in Glasgow take part in a Viking-themed workshop led by Scottish Opera, 2024
A large group of people are dancing in an industrial indoor space. They have their regular clothes on and are moving freeform. There is a large screen in the background showing a film with an outdoor scene and the profile of a person to the left. Most of the dancers are facing the screen.
Members of the public join Freestylers during their interactive performance Everybody With Me, Always at Tramway, 2021
Two people taking part in a workshop. They both have glasses and one has their tongue out and their hands up to their face. The other is moving their hands as if dancing in their seat. One is shown with a big blue hat and the other a yellow type hat with blue.
Scottish Opera's Memory Spinners workshop, 2023.
Two primary age children are sitting on the floor looking up at a performance on stage and smiling. There are other children sitting in the background.
National Theatre of Scotland schools workshop, 2023
A mix of people dressed up and walking outdoors as part of a parade. One person is wearing a long silver dress with wings and carrying a flower mobile. In the foreground two children are carrying a home made banner with a green curved leaf.
A community parade in Cowlairs Park, Possil, as part of Glasgow Life's Artists in Communities initiative, 2023
A side view of a child wearing a pale blue dress. They have their face painted with flowers and their hair is tied in a red ribbon with a dangling jewel.
Annual Lunar New Year celebrations at The Burrell Collection, 2024

Image credits

Copyright and image credits below. The culture strategy document attributes the individual images to the photographers. With thanks to all.

Brian Hartley@stillmotionarts; Alan Harvey; DF Concerts; Julie Broadfoot; Julie Howden; Kris Kesiak; Glasgow Life; Ross Brownlee; Craig Foy; Paul Watt; Keith Hunter; Eoin Carey; Paul Devlin