* Franz Ferdinand unveil new print for Glasgow Print Studio's Call & Response

Glasgow Print Studio is launching a new limited-edition print created in collaboration with Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand, with members of the band attending the launch at Trongate 103 on Thursday 5 November 2026, 6-8pm.

L'Olympia Paris, March 2026 takes a photograph of the band by photographer Julien Courbe, captured backstage during their March 2026 residency at the legendary L'Olympia in Paris, and transforms it into a photopolymer gravure print through Glasgow Print Studio's specialist printmaking processes.

The collaboration has particular resonance for Franz Ferdinand, whose early years were closely connected to Glasgow's visual arts scene around King Street (the current location of Glasgow Print Studio). The print brings their international touring world back to the city where the band formed, while reflecting the collaborative spirit that has shaped both their music and the creation of the work.

"We are delighted to work with Franz Ferdinand on Call & Response," s ays Claire Forsyth, Creative Director of Glasgow Print Studio. "With their art school background, Franz Ferdinand have a longstanding connection to Glasgow's visual arts scene and approached the project in a particularly intentional and collaborative way. Their print takes an image created during their recent world tour and brings it back to Glasgow, where it has been transformed through the specialist processes of our Master Printers."

Franz Ferdinand: L'Olympia Paris, March 2026

Franz Ferdinand's print, L'Olympia Paris, March 2026, brings the band's global touring world back to Glasgow.

Based on a photograph by photographer Julien Courbe, the image was taken on stage before a show during Franz Ferdinand's March 2026 residency at the legendary L'Olympia in Paris. It shows the band gathered in front of the stage set that accompanied them around the world in support of their 2025 album, The Human Fear.

The striking image reflects the band's longstanding connection to the visual arts. Designed by the band's lighting engineer Dan Williams, the stage set draws on Franz Ferdinand's love of Russian Constructivism, its angular forms and dramatic visual language providing the backdrop to Courbe's portrait.

Courbe developed the photograph using a cyanotype process in his Paris kitchen before the image was brought back to Glasgow, where it was translated into a photopolymer gravure print by Glasgow Print Studio Master Printer Alistair Gow.

The resulting work traces a journey from Glasgow to the international stage and back again, while reflecting the collaborative process behind both the band's music and the creation of the print.

Franz Ferdinand's bassist, Bob Hardy said: "We were honoured and excited to be asked to work with Glasgow Print Studio on their Call & Response project. The early years of our band feel so tied to the Glasgow art scene centred around King Street, where openings were often the springboard for nights out that frequently became the inspiration for songs.

"We wanted to use the opportunity to bring our touring world back to the Print Studio by asking our photographer friend, Julien Courbe, to take a portrait of the band on stage during our March 2026 residency at the legendary Olympia Theatre in Paris."

Hardy also reflected on the collaborative nature of the project and its connection to the way Franz Ferdinand create and share music

"The collaborative nature of this project feels similar to the collaborative spirit required to make music in a band and then take that music on tour. There's also something quite egalitarian about printmaking - creating editions of works that enable multiple people to own them - that chimes with making records.

"Not only is the print a document of our Human Fear World Tour, which spanned two years and took in 31 countries,but it also feels like a homecoming, reconnecting the band with the Glasgow art scene.

"Glasgow's role as a world-class centre for art and culture played a pivotal part in the formation of Franz Ferdinand, and being given the opportunity through this project to support Glasgow Print Studio, a non-profit organisation that provides access and opportunities to printmaking for all, felt particularly meaningful to us."

L'Olympia Paris, March 2026 is a photopolymer gravure print in an edition of 100, priced at £100.

Call & Response

Call & Response is an ongoing Glasgow Print Studio initiative bringing together some of Scotland's most distinctive cultural figures to create limited-edition original prints in collaboration with the Studio's Master Printmakers.

Spanning music, theatre, broadcasting and design, the project invites celebrated creatives to step outside their usual disciplines and explore the possibilities of fine art printmaking. Previous participants include Sanjeev Kohli, Bobby Bluebell and Kirsty Wark, whose works are all currently available to purchase exclusively through Glasgow Print Studio.

The wider project also includes collaborations with Greg Hemphill & Julie Nimmo, Ashley Jensen and The Pastels, with further works forming part of the project ahead of a major public exhibition at Glasgow Print Studio's main gallery in 2027.

Each collaboration begins with a creative exchange, with participants bringing their own ideas, imagery or words to the Studio and working alongside its Master Printmakers to explore how these can be translated into print. Whether a photograph, lyric, poem, drawing or other creative starting point, each edition offers an intimate glimpse into the participant's creative world, translated through the specialist processes of printmaking.

"This project is a true celebration of creativity and collaboration, building on our legacy of inviting cultural icons to engage with printmaking - as we have over the decades with polymaths such as John Byrne, Alasdair Gray and others - we're opening up fresh conversations across disciplines, while supporting the future of printmaking in the process."

- Claire Forsyth, Creative Director, Glasgow Print Studio.

Supporting Glasgow Print Studio

Income from the sale of Call & Response editions supports Glasgow Print Studio's work as a not-for-profit organisation, helping the Studio continue to provide professional printmaking facilities, exhibitions, education and creative opportunities.

Purchasing a Call & Response print offers an opportunity to own an original limited-edition work created through an unusual collaboration, while directly supporting the ongoing work of Glasgow Print Studio.

L'Olympia Paris, March 2026 will be available to purchase exclusively from Glasgow Print Studio from 6pm on Thursday 5 November, both online and from the gallery.

ENDS

For press enquiries:

Naomi Brown

Marketing Officer

Glasgow Print Studio

naomib@glasgowprintstudio.co.uk

Notes to editors

Event

Call & Response: Franz Ferdinand

Launch: Thursday 5 November 2026, 6pm-8pm

Venue: Glasgow Print Studio, Trongate 103, Glasgow, G1 5HD

Members of Franz Ferdinand will be in attendance.

About Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band achieved international success with their self-titled debut album and breakthrough single Take Me Out, which helped establish them as one of the defining bands of the 2000s post-punk revival.

Their debut album won the Mercury Prize and went on to sell millions of copies worldwide. Across seven studio albums, the band have continued to develop their sound while maintaining a reputation for inventive songwriting and electrifying live performances.

Over more than two decades, the band have become one of the UK's most successful and enduring musical exports, selling millions of albums and tickets worldwide and performing headline sets at major festivals across the globe.

Their most recent album, The Human Fear, was released on Domino in 2025. Franz Ferdinand are Alex Kapranos, Audrey Tait, Bob Hardy, Dino Bardot and Julian Corrie.

About Glasgow Print Studio

Glasgow Print Studio is a not-for-profit centre of excellence for printmaking, supporting artists at all stages of their careers through professional workshop facilities, exhibitions, education and creative development.

Founded in 1972, the Studio has played a central role in the development of contemporary printmaking in Scotland. Its gallery presents a changing programme of exhibitions and offers original fine art prints by leading established and emerging artists.

Media Contact

Naomi Brown

Glasgow Print Studio

0141 552 0704 / 07906 280 715

naomib@glasgowprintstudio.co.uk

Public information: 0141 552 0704

Glasgow Print Studio: glasgowprintstudio.co.uk

Call & Response collection: shop.glasgowprintstudio.co.uk/call-and-response/

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