The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is in the west end of the city, near the illustrious Glasgow University area. It's one of my favourite venues and I've had great visits there over the years but never tire of another and find the wonderful range of paintings such an inspiration for writing ideas. A story I wrote from studying the woman in one picture became a big prize-winning story a couple of years ago and at least one other set of paintings inspired an article published in a UK magazine. The museum displays are a great hit with children who are encouraged to interact with some and are educated by others.
The other building is the Gallery of Modern Art, known locally as GoMA, which is situated right in the middle of town within easy walk of the stations. It's a wonderful neo-classical building with huge amounts of space inside and amazing architectural features. As its name suggests, this art is very modern and includes exhibits in different mediums and from different nationalities. It might not immediately inspire story ideas, but my friend and I enjoyed the artistic vision of some of them. Outside sits the statue of Wellington on his horse with the now famous traffic cone on his head - Glasgow humour which has made it onto postcards and was made world-famous during the Commonwealth Games!
Pictures in magazines or online often inspire writers but there's nothing like walking around an actual gallery, enjoying the works of art in reality. It's a great morning or afternoon out too as there's a cafe in both venues for a much needed refreshment!
