Today I went on one of the Gi SPIN - Off tours organised by Glasgow International.

What a great idea. Led by the wonderful Lesley Hepburn, the group of approximately 30 people were driven from gallery to gallery by bus. Lesley provided en-route commentary about the festival and the galleries we were visiting, and once at each destination, the curators/artist/gallery staff introduced the exhibition to us, giving some information about the artist/the work/the gallery space/the curatorial premise.

There was a real mix of people on the tour, making for some interesting discussions. The tour was a great opportunity for artists to meet with non-artists, Gi regulars to chat to Gi newcomers, and for locals to mix with visitors to the city.

The tour was well organised, with appropriate time allocated at each exhibition, and snacks and refreshments were even provided! I would well recommend doing a Gi Spin-off tour, and hope they will be running again at Gi 2014.

Our intinery was as follows:

GI Festival ‘Spin’ Bus Tour on Saturday 5th May 13:00-17:00
13:00-13:15 Reception at Trongate 103,

13:20-13:50 Killian Ruthemann & Kate V Robertson, David Dale Gallery & Studios,

14:00-14:20 In The Shadow Of The Hand-Market Gallery,

14:30-15:00 Castling, The Wasps Factory, 77 Hanson St,

15:10-15:30 Marieta Chirulescu & David Korty, ‘Mary Mary’ at 45 Alexandra Park St,

15:35-16:05 Dazzler, The Duchy,

16:10-16:40 Dialogue Of Hands, East Gymnasium, City of Glasgow College,

16:50 Rosalind Nashashibi, GI Hub, 54 Miller Street, Glasgow, G1 1DT