Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art

Scotland’s biennial festival of contemporary art

Thursday 4th – Sunday 21st June (check opening times)

Free and open to all, Glasgow International presents an array of artists’ projects across Glasgow, by international artists and those based locally. The festival amplifies the city’s identity as a vibrant centre for artistic production, presentation and cultural organising; and as a place with deep connections to international cultural and social concerns.

Glasgow International is a collective endeavour. The festival programme includes projects conceived and organised by Glasgow-based arts organisations, artist-led initiatives, artists, and curators, alongside the Glasgow International team. These projects span exhibitions, performances, research initiatives, community organising, and forms of publishing. The festival also includes a series of Gatherings, a programme of workshops, talks and discussions that will provide opportunities to engage more deeply with points of exchange and recurring themes across the festival.

A digital version of the programme is available here.

Maryhill Integration Network, Helen McCrorie, Annabel Wright
This Home, This Voice

Left pic: Annabel Wright, untitled, 2026 Right pic: Helen McCrorie,untitled ,2026 16mm film still

For This Home, This Voice, Maryhill Integration Network (MIN) and artists Helen McCrorie and Annabel Wright have collaborated on a behind-the-scenes portrait of MIN’s vital work, developing artistic responses to the experience of community-building in Glasgow.

MIN works alongside refugees, migrants, and people seeking asylum, with a focus on campaigning, wellbeing, and creativity. Helen McCrorie and Annabel Wright share a passion for documenting community groups and social activities and celebrating grassroots activism. The project has evolved through mutual learning and exchange.

In the year of MIN’s 25th anniversary, the resulting exhibition celebrates and reflects on daily acts of care and solidarity, through an evocative collage of drawings, sound recordings, 16mm film, and animation.

For opening times, other than the regular Mackintosh Queen’s Cross opening times, check the link below:

https://glasgowinternational.org/programme/projects/this-home-this-voice

Glasgow Phoenix Choir

Mackintosh: A Birthday Celebration

7 Sunday June 14:30pm

The Glasgow Phoenix Choir is delighted to be performing a concert in Mackintosh Queen’s Cross, to celebrate the birthday of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 Jun 1868) and we welcome a return to this beautiful venue after many years. The Glasgow Phoenix Choir is now performing its 75th season of choral excellence.  Our conductor, Cameron Murdoch joined us in 1987 as Accompanist and Depute Conductor, taking over as conductor in 2019.  Cameron is also Organist and Choir Master of St. John’s Renfield Church in Glasgow’s West End and is accompanist to the excellent Glasgow CREATE Choirs.  Many of the pieces in the current Phoenix repertoire were arranged by Cameron.

The Glasgow Phoenix Choir performs many concerts every year, the majority of which raise money for charity and each involves a range of music from choral standards to new music and, in addition, features many delightful solo performances from choir members.

Matthew McIlree, our regular accompanist, will perform with us at this concert.  He has been a multiple prize winner at both the Glasgow and Inverclyde music festivals, including twice winning the Glasgow Society of Organists’ Trophy at the Glasgow open organ class; and three times winning the top piano award, as well the 2016 overall prize, in Inverclyde. He is now undertaking PhD studies and in his ‘spare time’ works as a freelance wedding musician and accompanist. Matthew can also be heard playing the organ as part of the daily recital programme at Kelvingrove Art Gallery.

£10.00 available from MRC Shop or from WeGotTickets via the choir’s website at www.phoenixchoir.org

Glasgow Jazz Festival 2026

11 June Thursday

19:30

Mackintosh Queen’s Cross

Doors: 19:00

Seonaid Aitken & Ben Shankland ‘Rhapsody in Blue – An Evening of Gershwin’

BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician winner Jazz/Classical crossover pianist Ben Shankland joins forces with Scottish Jazz Award-winning violinist/vocalist/arranger/broadcaster Seonaid Aitken to present a celebration of George and Ira Gershwin’s music.

Featuring the 100+ year-old symphonic masterpiece ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ – performed alongside their 9-piece string orchestra – these cross-genre musicians explore the meeting of Jazz and Classical styles in Gershwin’s music with selections from the iconic opera ‘Porgy & Bess’ and favourites such as ‘The Man I Love’, ‘Embraceable You’, ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’ and ‘Lady Be Good’.

As well as showcasing Aitken’s cinematic string arrangements, the concert will also include a performance by Jazz piano trio with bassist David Bowden (Fergus McCreadie Trio) highlighting Shankland’s piano mastery in both a Jazz and Classical setting.

https://www.seetickets.com/event/seonaid-aitken-ben-shankland/mackintosh-church/3630462

12 June Friday

Fergus McCreadie ‘Flight Pass’

two sets

Flight Pass, a bold new piano-trio commission from Fergus McCreadie, commissioned by Chamber Music Scotland and Kings Place, London. Known for his electrifying mix of jazz and Scottish folk, McCreadie now brings that sound into a fresh chamber setting for a performance bursting with colour and storytelling

Mercury-shortlisted and widely acclaimed artist, Fergus McCreadie introduces a new work for classical piano trio, Flight Pass, co-commissioned by Chamber Music Scotland where he is Artist in Residence, and Kings Place. Inspired by the landscapes and narratives at the heart of his musical world, it marks an exciting evolution in his writing, extending his musical language into a new chamber setting while retaining the melodic clarity, rhythmic lift and storytelling that define his music.

Fergus writes:

The title of this work comes from one of my favourite photographs, which features a black winged kite and two of his offspring fighting over some recently caught prey in the middle of the sky. I’ve always loved to watch birds in the sky, and I loved the contrast of conflict and kinship in this photograph. That pull gave me the right feeling for giving a title to this work, which pulls and pushes in different directions over its 4 movements. Each movement flows at a different pace, and I leave it to the listener to imagine how the birds and sky might match the music as it grows over the duration.

–About Chamber Music Scotland

Chamber Music Scotland: Celebrating chamber music’s tradition and exploring its future. CMS works with chamber music performers and creators; promoters and audiences; and communities to share and experience music that represents Scotland, its people, places, and culture. Our organisation has a truly national reach and offers space for artist expression and development alongside substantial opportunities for members of the public to engage with our work.

Our work encompasses artist residency programmes, community partnerships, creation of new works, EDI sector development, concert series and touring funding, developmental support, as well as UK and international collaborations. We aim to cultivate an identity for chamber music in Scotland which draws on our places, peoples, and culture and is unique on the world stage.  https://www.seetickets.com/event/fergus-mccreadie/mackintosh-church/3630464

COMMON STRINGS/WSPÓLNE STRUNY Maciej Granat/Aleksandra Hałat/PolSco Choir

20 Saturday June 7:00pm

Join us for an extraordinary evening where Polish and Scottish cultures meet through the universal language of music. Pianists Maciej Granat and Aleksandra Hałat join forces with the PolSco Choir (directed by Maciej Granat) for a journey across genres and borders.

From the delightful elegance of classical rarities and the unfiltered emotions of traditional folk, to iconic film scores and contemporary pop, experience a specially chosen program in the stunning acoustics of Mackintosh Queen’s Cross.  

Dvořák, MacMillan, Nyman, Eurythmics, Sośnicka and more!

 Date: 20th June 2026 7pm | Doors open: 6:30pm 

Tickets available here: https://www.universe.com/events/common-strings-wspolne-struny-maciej-granat-aleksandra-halat-polsco-choir-tickets-7BD0PN?ref=share-widget-buffer

Past Events ……..

Celtic Connections 2026

Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival has revealed its line-up for 2026.  

The 33rd edition of the festival will run from 15 January until 1 February and kicks off with a special World Connections show at the Royal Concert Hall.   Organisers say the opening night will see “unique creative collaborations” with homegrown and international acts, and tie-in to Glasgow hosting the Commonwealth Games later in 2026.   We are delighted to host 15 concerts at Mackintosh Queen’s Cross.

Tickets for Celtic Connections 2026 are available now at www.celticconnections.com.

If you would like to volunteer at any of the Celtic Connections concerts, please get in touch with sven@crmsociety.com

Reverie by Amber Dollin & Matt Gough

Mackintosh Queen’s Cross | Friday 12 December 2025 from 3.30 till 4.30pm

Free entry and light refreshments: Reserve your spot on Eventbrite

Improvised dance and music, rooted in our trust in each others abilities and curiosities, has led our creative partnership to this, our debut performance at the enchanting Mackintosh Queen’s Cross.

You are warmly invited to join us as we perform, vulnerable to the moment, with only the desire to play, explore and conjure…something…from our collective reverie.

Amber Dollin – dancer
Matt Gough – musician

Jacob Alon

Mackintosh Queen’s Cross | Friday 5 and Saturday 6 December 2025 at 7.00pm

Tickets £21.70 available from TicketWEb

Jacob Alon is a Scottish singer-songwriter with a profound gift for storytelling. Both intimate and devastatingly introspective, their music is touched by a rare timelessness. Drawing fair comparisons to artists such as Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright, Alon’s sound cuts through the air with powerful and haunting vocals, intricate guitar playing, and pensive, poetic lyrics.

Jacob shares a new video for ‘Of Amber’, one of the many standout tracks on their debut album In Limerence which was released earlier this Spring to widespread critical acclaim. It was directed by Studio Island. The album was recorded in London and produced by Dan Carey.

It would be no exaggeration to suggest that In Limerence reset the button on British contemporary folk music. Jacob harnesses a lilting, otherworldly vocal, colourful story-telling, and fingerpicking patterns traced along the fretboard, but whilst they display all the classic folksy attributes, Jacob largely operates on a different plain entirely from the classic touchstones of what makes a typical folk artist. Darkly bittersweet and bleakly humorous. A very modern musician doing something timeless.

Christmas Festivities at Queen’s Cross

Mackintosh Queen’s Cross | Wednesday 3 December 2025 from 4.00 till 6.00pm

We are delighted to host a festive gathering with a performance by the Maryhill Integration Networks Choir.

Come join us at our very special Christmas Shopping Day. Avoid the hustle and bustle of the High Street this Christmas Day and enjoy the tranquil surroundings of Mackintosh Queen’s Cross. This is a wonderful opportunity for friends and members to meet up and pick up some Christmas presents for your loved ones. 

Find gifts inspired by our collection. From art books, cards, prints, jewellery, and scarves etc.,

Every purchase supports the work of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society.

Penguin Cafe Orchestra

Mackintosh Queen’s Cross | Thursday 20 November 2025 at 7.30pm

Tickets £32.00 +booking fee (available from SeeTickets)

2025 sees Penguin Cafe bringing the music of the legendary Penguin Cafe Orchestra back to life, with UK dates featuring a collection of PCO classics, celebrating the unique sound that has captivated audiences worldwide.