ART PARK Glasgow is a bold vision to define Bellahouston Park as a centrepiece venue, on a national basis, for the outdoor installation of art, design and architecture in the landscape.

There are several renowned sculpture parks situated across the United Kingdom, and internationally, each with particular strengths according to location, context and intention.

Successful venues such as Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield and Grizedale Arts, an arts commissioning and residency agency based in the Grizadale Forest, now have an equally strong regional neighbour in Keilder Water and Forest Park where architecture also features.

There are many excellent international sites from the pan arts appeal of Sapporo Park in Japan and the monumental abstract steel sculptures of ‘Storm King’ in New York State to the serene beauty of the Kroller Muller with its ‘ramble route’ near Amsterdam and the extensive arts and science based Parc de la Villette in Paris where eye catching red follys by Bernard Tschumi happily coexist with giant sculptures of submerged bicycle parts by Claes Oldenberg.

Unfortunately few examples exist in Scotland, especially within a large city such as Glasgow. However, given its rich cultural and architectural heritage, Glasgow has moved quickly, and with success, to become identified as an important international centre for the visual and performing arts.

The topography and layout of Bellahouston Park provides an outstanding opportunity for the development of a permanent display of art. Indeed, Bellahouston Park has a rich and varied history. The British Empire Exhibition of 1938, with Thomas Tait’s highly acclaimed and modernist, ‘Tower of Empire’ and a clutch of innovative palaces and pavilions designed by a host of distinguished architects including Jack Coia, Margaret Brodie and Sir Basel Spence, undoubtedly establishes a precedent for ART PARK Glasgow.

House for an Art Lover actively promotes art-related activities in order to stimulate public interest in art, design and architecture. A number of art competitions, in partnership with Glasgow City Council’s Land Services Department, have been held over the past few years: Sculpture Exhibition 1999, Benchmarks 2000, Grounds for Play 2001-2004 and most recently, Speculative Architecture 2005-2008.