IT HAS been a home, a bank, a telephone exchange and a library but 25 years ago this month, one of Glasgow’s most recognisable buildings became the city’s Gallery of Modern Art.

GoMA, on Royal Exchange Square, is now the most visited modern and contemporary art museum in Scotland.

It opened to the public on March 30, 1996 and was formally opened by HM The Queen on July 3 the same year.

GoMA has a unique position in Glasgow as a collecting institution of contemporary art, as a civic space that is enjoyed by a broad demographic of visitors, and as a key tourist attraction for the city.

Since 1996, it has staged more than 200 exhibitions with diverse artists from all over the world. While the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions are in place GoMA remains closed and has had to postpone some of the exhibitions planned to take place during this milestone year, turning instead to an ongoing programme of ‘GoMA at Home’ online activities, talks and workshops over the coming months.

The official Royal opening in July 1996 Pic: Glasgow Museums

The official Royal opening in July 1996 Pic: Glasgow Museums

When GoMA first opened, the public reaction was initially mixed, and a BBC documentary produced at the time – which is now shown in Gallery 2 as part of the Taste! Exhibition – highlights the polarised responses to GoMA in its early years.

However, visitors to GoMA exceeded the initial expected numbers and have continued to grow to around 600,000 each year.

Some of the earliest collecting activities included works by Jo Spence, Bruce Lacey, Bridget Riley and Niki de Saint Phalle and are now recognised as key acquisitions for Glasgow Museums.

In recent years, GoMA’s public programme has responded to and respected the history of the building, with the opening of the ‘Stones Steeped in History’ permanent display in 2018, reflecting on the history of the building and its ties to the Empire and Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The gallery as it once was. Pic: Glasgow Museums

The gallery as it once was. Pic: Glasgow Museums

The building was originally commissioned as a mansion in 1777 for tobacco merchant, William Cunninghame. Its first commercial purpose was as a bank around 40 years later, and it became Glasgow’s Royal Exchange in 1827. Here, for more than 100 years, businessmen gathered to trade cotton, sugar, coal and iron.

Many, like Exchange founder James Ewing of Strathleven, owned or profited from the labour of slaves on the sugar and tobacco plantations in the American colonies and West Indies.

The iconic Duke of Wellington statue was erected outside in 1884.

Glasgow Corporation purchased the building in 1954. Its first civic use was as a library, containing both the Stirling and Commercial Library collections.

The New Exchange. Pic: Glasgow Museums

The New Exchange. Pic: Glasgow Museums

Councillor David McDonald, Chair of Glasgow Life and Depute Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “The 25th anniversary of Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art in 2021 is a significant milestone that allows us to reflect on the incredible and vital contribution that GoMA has made in championing Scotland’s rich history of modern and contemporary art.

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“From staging insightful exhibitions by local and international artists, to the hugely popular creative workshops such as GoMA’s Saturday Art Club, and the recent work that has been undertaken to highlight under-represented communities and provide opportunities to reflect on the venue’s historical links to Glasgow’s Slave Trade, GoMA is a place that is loved by locals and visitors to the city.”

He added: “Reflecting its position as a place where people can enrich their lives by engaging with world class art and the experiences it reflects, inspiring dynamic conversations about the world we live in today, GoMA is currently developing innovative ways to respond to the ongoing global pandemic.”

The Queen in July 1996 Pic: Glasgow Museums

The Queen in July 1996 Pic: Glasgow Museums

What are your favourite memories of Glasgow’s GoMA? Were you at the Royal opening? Get in touch to share your stories and photographs.