Glasgow's Burrell welcomes 600k visitors in year since revamp

The Burrell Colllection's party involved a giant card, a delicious amount of cake and the news that more than 600,000 people have visited since it re-opened its doors last year.

Pupils from St Conval’s Primary helped the world-famous museum mark its one-year anniversary following a multi-million pound refurbishment.

Pupils help the Burrell celebrate its birthday (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)

Visitor figures revealed almost three-quarters of visitors – 74% – were spending time at the Pollok Park attraction for the first time.

A total of 78% of visitors said they would return. Forty-five percent of visitors since it re-opened were from Glasgow, a further 45% came from outside Scotland, and the remaining 10% came from the rest of Scotland.

Glasgow Life, the charity which runs the city’s museums, found that everyone questioned rated their overall experience at the museum as ‘good’ or ‘very good, with all saying they would recommend a visit to friends and family.

Inside the Burrell Collection (Image: staff)

Delighted bosses, who ran a community collaboration involving more than 15,000 people to help shape the redesign, revealed feedback included comments on how hard staff and volunteers worked to ensure each visitor experienced a “real connection” to the artworks, from speaking in Urdu to one visitor and supporting a parent as her autistic son engaged with objects in a museum for the first time.

In other feedback, refugees referenced the joy of connecting with artworks on display that prompted memories from their homes and childhoods and many people participating in the LGBTIQ tours spoke of their joy at “being seen” in a museum for the first time.

Claire Wood, a primary six teacher at St Conval’s Primary, said: “For us, one of the real strengths of the museum partnership is the connections the children have made to the artefacts and the Burrell itself. 

“The incredible collection gives the children’s learning context and allows them to make real-life connections to the past. The children particularly enjoy seeing objects such as the Ming vases which have featured in their learning at school.” 

Bailie Annette Christie, chairperson of Glasgow Life said: “The Burrell Collection was one of the greatest gifts ever given to Glasgow and a game-changer for the city in becoming the thriving cultural destination it is today.

“Strong visitor numbers and the overwhelmingly positive visitor sentiment that the museum is inclusive, well-designed, family-friendly, and has displays that convey clear information to many different audiences is welcome reading.”