Closed since 2023 for a major refurbishment, Pollok House remains closed to the public while renovation work continues and plans for its future operation as a visitor attraction are developed. For Sonica, audiences will have a rare opportunity to enter the historic house for this one-off, time-limited event (24 Sep - 4 Oct more info here), experiencing it in an entirely new way while work towards its eventual reopening continues. Across three storeys, its rooms, corridors, gardens and hidden corners will become a stage for artists from Scotland and around the world, creating new encounters between contemporary art and one of the city’s most remarkable historic buildings. 

Pollok House is an 18th-century Palladian mansion located in the south side of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated within the 360-acre Pollok Country Park, it is widely celebrated as the ancestral home of the Maxwell family and the birthplace of the National Trust for Scotland.

For nearly 300 years, Pollok House has seen and heard generations of Glasgow life. Now, Sonica invites audiences to listen to the building itself, and to discover spaces that have not been viewed in decades, as artistic responses transform the house into a living, breathing environment for sound and image.

Cathie Boyd, Artist Director of Sonica, spoke at the opening: “For Sonica, we’ve always been interested in what happens when music and contemporary art is experienced somewhere unexpected. Pollok House gives us an incredible opportunity for artists to bring sound, moving image and installation into a building with nearly 300 years of history.  

The Listening House gives artists opportunities to experiment, for us to bring international artists to Scotland, and to support Scottish artists to develop and present ambitious work, ultimately creating memorable experiences for audiences. We hope you’ll wander, listen, discover things unexpectedly and experience both the artworks and the House in a uniquely Sonica way.” 

Culture Secretary Màiri McAllan said: "This year's festival showcases more Scottish artists than any previous edition, while continuing to build international partnerships and cultural exchange. That combination of local talent and global outlook is one of the reasons why the Scottish Government is proud to support Sonica.

"Festivals like Sonica matter because they bring world class art directly to communities across Glasgow, giving people right here in Scotland the chance to experience ambitious, boundary-pushing work without having to travel to see it. This year's programme marks a particularly significant milestone, with Sonica presenting its own commissions for the first time, backed by Scottish Government investment. These new works, including Rachel Maclean's They've Got Your Eyes and Martin Green's Folding Songs, mean that some of the most exciting new art being made today is being created here, by artists working in Scotland, for audiences in Scotland, before it goes on to be shared with the world.

"Beyond the festival itself, this investment supports Scottish artists to develop their careers, helps build skills and opportunities in our creative sector, and strengthens Glasgow and Scotland's reputation as a place where ambitious art is made. I want to thank Cathie Boyd,  Claire Moran and the whole Cryptic team for their work in making this festival, and its benefits for artists and audiences alike, possible." 

Across the festival, audiences can experience performances by artists including Ayrshire-born, Glasgow-based singer Isa Gordon, electronic artist SHHE, experimental musician Thomas Ankersmit, Lara Jones, Sonia Killmann, Alliyah Enyo and Mark Vernon. The programme also 
includes a conversation with legendary electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani, alongside curated listening tours led by Arusa Qureshi and Femke Dekker, inviting audiences to discover Pollok House through new perspectives. 

Free installations to explore take up room after room. Visitors might encounter a flock of mechanical birds, 400 tinkling bells suspended overhead, a vintage radio transmitting radical sounds from Glasgow-based Radiophrenia, or a world turned upside down in AES+F’s Inverso Mundus. Elsewhere, Boris Labbé’s Ito Meikyū, Konx-om-Pax’s Colour Sound, Ban Lei’s 153 Returning Birds, Jett Ilagan’s sonic_{imprints}°, Paul Russell’s Ricochet and Lomond Campbell’s MŮO will weave sound, image, technology and imagination through the fabric of the house. Outside, Scott Douglas Gordon and Adrian Murray’s site-specific Centrip invites visitors to make sound themselves. The mysterious sculptural object is an idiophone, producing sound through its own movement: as people interact with it, chimes ring out across the gardens, drawing others over to discover it. 

Among the highlights is Sara Vrugt and Ensemble Klang’s Unearthed, where visitors can lie beneath hundreds of chiming bells arranged like the roots of a tree, accompanied by a soundscape from Ensemble Klang. Lomond Campbell’s MŮO offers another kind of deep listening, turning cosmic radiation into music through a unique instrument of circuitry, walnut and filament bulbs.

With listening workshops from Sonia Killmann and opportunities to explore the building through guided tours and talks, The Listening House encourages audiences to pay attention to the building – its history, its acoustics and the unexpected sounds that emerge when artists are given the freedom to reimagine the space. Contemplative Hours, dedicated times for deeper attention and quiet reflection within The Listening House will ask visitors to place phones on silent and away, and welcomes exploring the house in socks or soft slippers.

Sonica will transform Pollok House itself into an artwork, playing the role of setting, collaborator and instrument. The result is a rare opportunity to discover this jewel in Glasgow’s crown in a way it has never been experienced before: a house filled with sound, image, music and possibility, where every room and doorway offers the chance of a new encounter. 

Sonica Glasgow is Scotland’s leading 11-day biennial festival of audiovisual art and experimental music, produced by Cryptic. Taking place across Glasgow from Thursday 24 September to Sunday 4 October 2026, this year's edition brings together more than 170 artists from 22 countries, with a particular focus on artists pushing the boundaries of electronic composition, live performance and immersive sound. 

The festival will unfold across a wide range of venues and spaces throughout Glasgow, including Pollok House, Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow Film Theatre, The Glad Café, The Hidden Gardens, The Hunterian Art Gallery, The Rum Shack, Glasgow School of Art, Govanhill Baths and Rutherglen Old Parish Church, alongside Tramway, which is proud to be Sonica’s main presentation partner.

Tramway will host some of the festival’s major performances and installations, including Dinos Chapman’s first new work in a decade on Sonica’s opening night; Brian d’Souza / Auntie Flo’s Plants Can Dance; the Royal Scottish National Orchestra performing Philip Glass’s The Bowie Symphony (No.4), conducted by Patrick Hahn with live visuals by Tatsuru Arai; Paraorchestra with Charles Hazlewood performing Steve Reich’s monumental Music for 18 Musicians; American composer, producer and vocalist Alif Hilal (fka Lyra Pramuk) makes her UK premiere and electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani bringing Sonica to a close at Tramway with her Scottish debut. 

Elsewhere, artists from Scotland and around the world present performances, installations, films, talks and workshops across the city. Sonica Glasgow 2026 is supported by funding from the Scottish Government’s Expanded Festivals Fund through Creative Scotland, alongside a host of partners across Scotland’s cultural sector, including Glasgow Life. This support enables Sonica to bring an ambitious international programme to audiences across Glasgow and to work with artists and cultural partners throughout the city. 

A 2025 finalist for Best Large Festival at the Scottish Event Awards, for over a decade, Sonica has presented pioneering work at the intersection of sound, image and architecture, transforming venues across Glasgow into immersive environments that challenge and inspire audiences. All installations are free to explore. Full programme information, Sonica Pass details and booking information for performances and selected immersive experiences are available at 
www.sonic-a.co.uk