A leading arts organisation is to open an exhibition space in a new creative hub in a historic building on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow.
The former Adelphi Terrace Public School at 5 Florence Street, Glasgow, has been transformed into new long-term home for The Common Guild, alongside a range of studios and creative businesses.
The former school was designed by Thomas Lennox Watson and continued to be used as a site of education for children and young adults until 2010, most recently as an annex for the Glasgow College of Printing.
The Category B-listed building is now owned and being restored by Urban Office, and is managed by Assumption Studios as a base for studios and creative businesses.
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Opening to the public on Saturday, The Common Guild presents the first ever UK solo exhibition of visual artist and poet, Tarik Kiswanson. Born in Sweden and now based in Paris, Kiswanson comes from a Palestinian family and for over a decade has explored notions of rootlessness, metamorphosis and memory through his art. He was awarded the Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2023 and his work has been the subject of several solo exhibitions, most recently in Kunsthalle Portikus, Frankfurt, Oakville Galleries, Ontario and Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm.
The artist’s newly commissioned solo exhibition ‘The Rupture’ spans sculpture, film, sound, drawing and poetry and articulates the legacies of war, geographical displacement, and trauma from the position of a second-generation immigrant growing up in a psychologically liminal state.
Access to the exhibition is free of charge and open to members of the public from 12 – 5pm, every Thursday – Saturday until November 30.
Katrina Brown, founding Director of The Common Guild, said: “We are very much looking forward to opening our doors to the public and welcoming Tarik to Glasgow for his first ever UK exhibition.
"The Common Guild has presented contemporary art in so many different places across Glasgow, from Queen’s Park, through the city’s libraries, to disused office spaces. 5 Florence Street, with its accessibility, great location, fine classrooms and vast main hall, felt like an ideal home from the very first visit and we are totally thrilled to be able to work with Assumption Studios on breathing it back into life.
"We are looking forward to settling in, getting to know and work with our new neighbourhood and bringing great contemporary art to a building that represents Glasgow’s rich and important built heritage.”
Situated opposite Glasgow Green and the historic heart of the city, 5 Florence Street offers a physically accessible space for The Common Guild’s contemporary art programme of exhibitions and events, alongside its office and growing art library.
The Common Guild is the lead tenant and cultural partner of Assumption Studios, and together they are breathing new life into a disused building and preserving a highly visible part of Glasgow’s architectural heritage while simultaneously helping to sustain the city’s contemporary creative sector.
The Common Guild has previously presented major projects in the building with an exhibition by American artist Sharon Hayes in 2021 and an installation and live performance by Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme in 2022 as well as helping to facilitate its use by Glasgow International Festival earlier this year.
For more details on Tarik Kiswanson’s solo exhibition, ‘The Rupture’, please see The Common Guild website.
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