The Glasgow Art Club
WHERE
Glasgow
What it’s like
A working art club where kids can wander gallery rooms full of work by working artists, then try a sketching workshop.
This one isn't a museum with a gift shop and a café that does chips shaped like dinosaurs. It's a proper members' art club that opens its gallery spaces to the public, and the exhibitions are worth the detour if your kids can manage a quiet room for twenty minutes. There are workshops and sketching classes too, which is the bit that'll actually get a restless nine-year-old engaged rather than just walked past paintings.
Exhibitions are free to view and normally open 10am to 6pm on days the Club is open, so long as it isn't hosting a private do that day. You ring an electronic doorbell to get in, which feels a bit odd the first time but is just how the place works rather than any sign you're not welcome. The Club itself runs 10am to 10pm Monday to Saturday, though that's the building's hours generally rather than when the art is on show.
Food's sorted if you time it right. There's a Lounge on the ground floor and a Dining Room upstairs both serving 11am to 4pm, plus an Art Cafe in the basement doing breakfast, lunch and hot and cold drinks. Worth knowing that lectures and performances are a different matter entirely: those are for members and their guests unless a specific event's been opened up to the public via ticketing, so don't turn up expecting to wander into a talk.
For toddlers this probably isn't the draw. It suits kids old enough to look at paintings without touching, or old enough to sit through a sketching class and produce something. Wifi's available if anyone needs to look bored productively.
Facilities
Need to know
- Booking
- Exhibitions free to view during open hours (ring bell for entry)
- Food
- Served 11am-4pm daily in the ground-floor Lounge and first-floor Dining Room, plus Art Cafe in basement with breakfast, lunch
- Ring the electronic doorbell for entry, it's how everyone gets in
- Exhibitions run 10am to 6pm, separate from the Club's wider 10am to 10pm opening
- Not open if the Club's hosting a private function that day
- Lectures and events need membership or a ticket, they're not general walk-in
Plan your visit
Do we need to pay to see the exhibitions?
No charge for the exhibitions themselves. They're free to view during the Club's open hours.
Do we need to book ahead?
Not for exhibitions, just ring the doorbell to get in. Dining bookings go through phone, email or the reservation book instead.
Can we go to any of the talks or events?
Only if you're a member or invited guest, unless a specific event's been opened to the public through ticketing. Worth checking what's on before assuming you can just turn up.
What's the food situation?
The Lounge and Dining Room serve 11am to 4pm daily, and there's an Art Cafe in the basement doing breakfast, lunch and drinks.
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