Glasgow’s historic Pollok House transforms for art festival

Visitors who remember Pollok House from before will find it completely transformed, given the sheer amount of art installations.

However it is still uncertain when the building will be seen in a more traditional way.

It shut in November 2023 to allow for roof and general building repairs and was expected to reopen last year.

That has since been delayed.

Pollok House is owned by the people of Glasgow, having been gifted to the city by Dame Anne Maxwell Macdonald in 1966.

The National Trust for Scotland has managed the house under contract to Glasgow City Council for more than 25 years.

For Cathie, part of the appeal of the Listening House lies in combining the building’s historic heritage with new music and art.

“I want people to be curious and I’m thrilled to see how they react,” she says.

“You go into the basement and hear the radio, you walk along and get pulled in by something like Ricochet and then the bells of Unearthed pull people up the staircase.

“Then they hear opera from one room, or another sound elsewhere. The sounds are drawing you around the house.”