The Briggait, Glasgow
In partnership with Glasgow City Council, the Wasps Trust has embarked on a groundbreaking initiative to house 11 arts organisations in Glasgow 's Merchant City .
One of the largest scale projects in the history of the Scottish Arts Council National Lottery, the Trust plans to develop Glasgow 's much loved Grade A listed, 100,000 sq.ft. building, The Briggait, into a £5million world-class arts production and events facility for Wasps Studios and the Glasgow Sculpture Studios.
Glasgow City Council plan to redevelop the King Street ‘North Block' which currently houses many arts organisations, including Wasps Studios. The redevelopment will see an improved and expanded range of spaces for artists to work in, combined with better public access. Arts organisations to be housed in the refurbished building are Glasgow Print Studio, Street Level, Transmission Gallery, Sharmanka, G-Mac, Project Ability, Independent Studios, Journeymen and the Russian Cultural Centre. Wasps Studios will relocate to the Briggait.
Award winning architects Nicol Russell Studios have recently been appointed to redesign the Briggait.
The project represents Glasgow City Council's ‘Housing the Visual Arts in the Merchant City' Strategy which aims to develop the Merchant City into a new cultural quarter, regenerate the area and support thousands of artists in years to come.
The Scottish Arts Council has awarded the Wasps Trust £105,000 to develop proposals for the project. If the proposals are accepted, the Scottish Arts Council will award the Wasps Trust a further £1.37 million towards the project. Glasgow City Council has also earmarked £1.25 million to the briggait project.
If all funding applications are successful, we expect to be