Scotland Street School was Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s last assignment in Glasgow. Organisers hope Mackintosh’s artistic genius will inspire a whole new generation to get creative and have a go at making something original.

Local designer/makers, including the Ok No Studio, Alice Dansey-Wright and the Squid Ink studio will lead hands-on workshops, encouraging adults and young people to learn some new design skills and to create something to be proud of. Young people will be encouraged to get creative at the fab fun Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired making stations, which will dotted throughout Scotland Street School. Think masks, moustaches, playground toys and party hats and face painting.

An element of surprise, humour and engagement will be added by the imaginative roving theatre performers, Mischief la bas. The actors will take on the role of The Four, Mackintosh, his wife Margaret Macdonald, her younger sister Frances, and Frances’ husband, James Herbert McNair. They are considered to be the principal exponents of a distinctive, internationally renowned variant of Art Nouveau centred on The Glasgow School of Art, called Glasgow Style.

Mini Manoeuvres, Glasgow’s original club for kids and parents, produced by local promoter Sarah Gibbons-Lurinsky, will be in residence, upstairs in the venue, with club DJs spinning cool tunes for kids (and their guardians!) to show off their best moves to. Downstairs in the drill hall the sensational gramophone DJ Lord Holyrude will be playing a selection of vintage tunes. To finish everyone will be encouraged to make some noise and join in a raucous Happy Birthday sing-along, complete with giant artist created birthday cake. Pizza Punks and Babu Street Food Kitchen will also be onsite.

Scotland Street School was Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s last assignment in Glasgow. Organisers hope Mackintosh’s artistic genius will inspire a whole new generation to get creative and have a go at making something original. Local designers will lead craft workshops, encouraging adults and young people to learn a new skill and create something unique. Glasgow based graphic design company Owned and Operated invite you to join them in producing giant banners to display on the day.

An element of surprise, humour and engagement will be added by the imaginative roving theatre performers, Mischief la bas. The actors will take on the role of The Four, Mackintosh, his wife Margaret Macdonald, her younger sister Frances, and Frances’ husband, James Herbert McNair. They are considered to be the principal exponents of a distinctive, internationally renowned variant of Art Nouveau centred on The Glasgow School of Art, called Glasgow Style.

Youngsters can show off their groovy moves at a mini manoeuvres dance party, with tunes provided courtesy of popular gramophone DJ Lord Holyrude. Little hands can get messy with birthday inspired pop up activities, including Mackintosh mask and party hat making and faces can be painted in preparation for the celebration culminating in a raucous Happy Birthday sing-along, complete with giant birthday cake. Councillor David McDonald, Chair of Glasgow Life, said:

The architect, designer and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh is rightly regarded as one of Glasgow’s greatest sons. As a city we are delighted to celebrate the incredible legacy and creative genius of one of our greatest cultural icons.

June 7 is the 150th anniversary of his birth and there is a lot going on to mark the occasion. The unique Willow Tearooms are set to reopen after undergoing a stunning four year restoration. Radisson Red will unveil a Mackintosh inspired mural and our beautiful exhibition at Kelvingrove Museum continues to draw crowds keen to learn more about Mackintosh’s ground-breaking work, which has come to be synonymous with Glasgow and lauded internationally.

As well as celebrating the man, our aim is to introduce a whole new generation to Mackintosh and to inspire people to follow in his footsteps and actually create something. The free family fun day at Scotland Street Museum is a wonderful way to introduce children to Mackintosh and a great way for those who appreciate his work to come together and toast this special occasion.

When Scotland Street School it opened in 1906 it educated the children of families working in shipbuilding in the south of the city. Today it draws Mackintosh aficionados from afar to admire the many beautiful features built into the stonework, staircases and classroom interiors. Ex-pupils speak of the uplifting effect the clever use of light and space created on those who went to school there.  

Almost 25,000 people have visited Charles Rennie Mackintosh Making the Glasgow Style at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum since it opened on 30 March 2018. The café at Kelvingrove is toasting Mackintosh’s 150^th anniversary with limited edition Maccucchinos, complete with a dusted chocolate moustache in keeping with the famous facial hair with which he is associated.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Making the Glasgow Style showcases the very best of Glasgow’s internationally renowned civic collections, alongside key loans from The Hunterian, The Glasgow School of Art, the V&A and a number of private lenders. Several of these works have never been on public display and the majority have not been shown in Glasgow for 30 or more years. The exhibition presents Mackintosh’s work in context to Glasgow, key predecessors, influences and Glasgow Style contemporaries and runs until 14 August 2018.

Happy Birthday Toshie is at Scotland Street School Museum on Sunday 10 June from 12pm – 4pm. It is free to attend and no prior registration is required. For more information visit www.glasgowmuseums.com