Talk on Glasgow’s Great Exhibitions
The new programme of Balfron Heritage talks gets underway on Thursday, September 14, with a presentation on Glasgow’s Great Exhibitions 1888-1988.
Led by Kevin Kerrigan, the outreach assistant at the Open Museum in Glasgow, it will be looking at exhibitions in the city.
It begins with the Great Exhibition of 1888, the aim of which was to draw attention to the city’s achievements in science, industry and art.
The 1901 exhibition covered roughly 73 acres of ground in Kelvingrove Park, with one of the temporary buildings being a concert hall on the banks of the River Kelvin, with seating for 3,000 people.
In 1938 Glasgow was known as ‘the workshop of the empire’and was a natural choice of venue for the Empire Exhibition, which showcased modernist architecture and attracted approximately 13 million people over its six month duration. The Glasgow Garden Festival of 1988 was held at the 120 acre site of the former Prince’s Dock in Govan. As with the Empire Exhibition 50 years earlier, it was hoped that the effect would be to give Glasgow’s economy a boost.
The talk is free for members and visitors are welcome to attend the talk and tea at a cost of £1.50. Membership is £7 for the year and can be paid at Balfron Library or at the meeting.
The talk will be followed by the Heritage AGM where the post of treasurer and secretary will be due for renewal and any other nominations should be lodged in Balfron Library by 10am on Thursday.