Glasgow's Cultural Strategy - Glasgow Life

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Enhancing Glasgow’s cultural
infrastructure and events programme
to support the city in competing in the
global economy
The strategy will seek to maximise
the contribution of culture and sport
to Glasgow’s economic regeneration,
and to enhance and promote its
national and international profile as
a creative, cosmopolitan city which
appeals to tourists and businesses.
The importance of this sector and its
vibrant mixed economy is reflected in
the employment statistics where it is
estimated that this sector, including
tourism, employs more people in
Glasgow and the surrounding region
than shipbuilding when it was at its
peak. The ability to retain Scottish
creative talent and attract talented
workers to this sector from overseas
is crucial to the future of the city.
Glasgow makes a major contribution
to Scottish culture and plays an
important role as a cultural pivot in
the West of Scotland and beyond,
with four of the National Arts
companies based here and many
of Glasgow’s arts organisations
having significance beyond the city.
Recognition of Glasgow’s metropolitan
status is primarily based on the
quality, breadth and importance
of its cultural and sporting assets,
and its role in promoting Scotland
through its culture. For example, the
Mitchell Library is unique in Scotland;
its collections are unequalled in
any public library in the country.
Equally Glasgow is playing a more
important role in the development
and management of regional, national,
and international sporting facilities
and the staging of national and
international sporting events. The
same is true of Glasgow’s museums.
A National Audit of Collections
confirmed that 61% of Glasgow’s
Collections were of national and
international importance. Conserving,
promoting, and making the collections
more accessible both nationally and
internationally involves substantial
investment, and a priority is to continue
to make the case for revenue funding
from the Scottish Executive.