Showlight 2009

Showlight 2009 Visits Programme

On the afternoon of Monday 18th May, conference delegates and exhibitors took time away from the BBC Studios to visit places of interest in and around Glasgow. The choice of visits included:

Philips Factory at Hamilton

Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the tour schedule was the chance to visit one of the last remaining lamp manufacturing processes in Western Europe.

At Hamilton, Philips make the SOX range of lamps with much of the work still being carried out by hand. They also assemble several different types of luminaires, many specifically for sports venues. Philips at Hamilton recently manufactured all the fittings for the first night time Grand Prix at Singapore.

Glasgow Concert Hall

The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall opened in 1990, the year that the city was European City of Culture. It is the main venue for Celtic Connections, the world's largest winter music festival and is the home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. The back stage tour took in all aspects of this modern Concert Hall which is undoubtedly Scotland's premier concert venue.

Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama

The RSAMD is Scotland's leading teaching college for the performing arts. Showlight delegates visited the theatre, studios and workshops for the next generation of performers, designers and technicians in our industry.

House of An Art Lover

Designed by Charles Rennie McIntosh, this house was not actually built until the 1990's. In 1901, Glasgow's most famous architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh entered a competition to design a 'House for an Art Lover'. Mackintosh worked on his submission together with his new wife, Margaret Macdonald, a decorative artist. The result was a portfolio of outstanding designs, which have been admired by scholars and Mackintosh enthusiasts alike over the last century. The spirit and tenacity of consulting engineer, Graham Roxburgh, led to the idea of building the House in the late eighties. Over one hundred years after the designs were first created, the House now stands completed in Bellahouston Park and is a 'must see' for anyone interested in the work of the great Glasgow architect.

Clyde Built

On the banks of the Clyde, where shipyards and cranes have stood for over a hundred years, a new, modern, interactive exhibition shows the history and life of the Clyde and its ship building industry. Taking visitors through the construction of a vessel from planning to launch, it also shows Glasgow's dependence on shipping and related trade over the centuries with an insight into Glasgow's life and maritime history.

The Burrell Collection

Sir William Burrell was born in 1861 and was one of Glasgow's greatest shipowners and a renowned collector of art. In 1944 he gifted his entire collection of over 9,000 works to the City of Glasgow with the provision that they be housed away from the polluting air of Glasgow and where they could be seen to their best advantage.

'The Burrell' was purpose built and the result of an architectural competition. It was opened in 1983 and houses important collections of medieval art, tapestries, alabasters, stained glass and English oak furniture. There are many European paintings, including works by Degas and Cézanne, an important collection of Islamic art, and modern sculpture including works by Epstein and Rodin. There are also fine collections of works from ancient China, Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Architectural features from the collection have been integrated into the structure of the building. Visitors walk under arches built for medieval lords and ladies and there are also reconstructions of rooms from Sir William's home, furnished in gothic style with items from the collection.

Distilleries

A visit to Glasgow is not complete without a visit to a distillery, and delegates to Showlight 2009 had the choice of two: Auchentoshan and Glengoyne.

City Halls

All coaches arrived back at the City Halls to a tour of the refurbished and acoustically acclaimed City Hall. The Hall is the home of both the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra as well as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The visits tour culminated in the Showlight 2009 dinner at the Old Fruitmarket.