Memories & Matinees: Thomas McGoran's Glasgow Exhibition at Mini-Festival Hub, Edward House, 199 Sauchiehall Street, G2

Step into Glasgow’s cinema-going past through the beautiful drawings and prints of Thomas McGoran, who grew up in the east end of the city in the 1930s and 1940s, and still lives there today.

Now 98, Thomas began working in cinemas as a young spoolboy before becoming a projectionist. His lifelong love of cinema began with a childhood visit to the Annfield on the Gallowgate, where he remembers being “more interested in the back of the cinema, where the light came from.”This special exhibition brings together Thomas’s warm, nostalgic and imaginative depictions of old Glasgow picture houses, streets and everyday life, preserving memories of a time when the city was known as a true Cinema City.

Presented as part of Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival 2026, the exhibition connects closely with this year’s theme Glasgow Goes Out: The Places That Made Us celebrating the cinemas, streets and shared experiences that shaped generations of Glaswegians. Visitors may also recognise Thomas’s work from Glasgow Life Museums, including Provand’s Lordship and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and will have the chance to browse his captivating book, A Glasgow Memoir, also available to buy.

Hosted at Edward House, GDODF’s new Mini Festival Hub, this exhibition offers a special opportunity to enjoy Thomas McGoran’s deeply personal reimagining of Glasgow’s cinema-going past.

The Glasgow Building Preservation Trust wholeheartedly thanks Thomas and his family for their generosity in allowing us to display his joyous and beautiful prints for all to see, discuss and savour at our Mini Festival Hub at Edward House, 199 Sauchiehall Street.

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Lost Glasgow In Conversation With Artist Thomas McGoran Fundraising Talk + Book Signing, Main Festival Hub, ARC, 11 Chapel Lane, G11

Times & Date: Sunday 20 September: 13:00 -14:00

Thomas and his pal Norry Wilson, Lost Glasgow will also be in conversation at our Festival Hub at the ARC, located at the University of Glasgow on Sunday 20 September.

This is one of three GBPT Fundraising Talks, raising money to help keep the festival sustainable and free for all. Thomas and Norry have both generously given their time for free to support GBPT’s vital fundraising efforts. All ticket proceeds, after transaction fees, will go directly to GBPT, proud organiser of Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival for the past 37 years.

To find out more and book tickets click here

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