Richard Parry appointed as the new Director of Glasgow International

By News Editor 06 Apr 2017

Glasgow International today announces that it will return for its eighth edition in 2018, under the direction of Richard Parry, who joins the festival after serving as Curator-Director of the Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool. Parry will bring his unique vision to the event, which as one of the UK’s largest and most influential art festivals showcases Glasgow as an important location for the production and display of contemporary visual art.

Taking place in various venues and locations across the city, including its major spaces, the Festival will again be comprised of an ambitious programme, which includes exhibitions, events, talks, performances and projects, by prominent and emerging Scottish and international artists. Continuing to grow with each edition, Glasgow International hosts an ambitious programme of new works, site-specific commissions, new venues, exhibitions and events and showcases the city as one of the world’s most important creative hubs for contemporary visual art.

Richard Parry brings a wealth of experience to his new role as Director of Glasgow International. As Curator-Director of the Grundy Art Gallery between 2013 and 2017, he curated and organised over 25 exhibitions. Following the group exhibition Sensory Systems (2015), Parry was awarded an Art Fund New Collecting Award and in 2016 curated NEON: The Charged Line, the largest exhibition of neon-based art yet staged in the UK.

Parry’s appointment follows the departure of Sarah McCrory, who directed the 2014 and 2016 editions, and was successful in doubling the amount of programming for the Festival, with the last Glasgow International showing work by more than 220 of the best local and international artists at 75 locations across the city of Glasgow.

Richard Parry, Director of Glasgow International, said: “I am thrilled and deeply honoured to be joining Glasgow International as its new Director. Glasgow has a contemporary art scene to rival that of any city in the world and Glasgow International has played an increasingly significant role since its inception over a decade ago. I look forward to building on the programme of my predecessors, whom I hold in high regard, and working with artists based here and internationally to develop its next chapter.”