The building was originally built in the 1930s as a formal assembly hall for the Glasgow School of Art. It has been used since the 1970s as the home of the Students’ Association and slowly built a reputation as one of the era-defining spaces in the city for the emergence of new acts and genres of music. From hosting The Clash in the late 80s to facilitating the rise of electronic music in the 90s, it underwent a substantial refurbishment to open in its current form in 2014. Since then, it has hosted household names from FFS (Franz Ferdinand & Sparks), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and Peaches, to breakthrough artists such as Julia Holter, Skepta and Honeyblood.

The Art School is a wheelchair accessible venue to all members of the public. Our stage and backstage facilities at the rear of the venue are not readily wheelchair accessible, but arrangements can be made with sufficient advance notice.