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TEA FOR TWO/ CHÁ PARA DOIS – Mackintosh Queens Cross

12 September – 2 October 2025

An exhibition showcasing the tearoom designs of two world-renowned architects

Mackintosh Queen’s Cross, 870 Garscube Road, Glasgow, G20 7EL

Graeme Nicholls Architects are excited to announce Tea for Two / Chá para Dois, a new exhibition exploring architectural and cultural connections between Scotland and Portugal. It places Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s original Willow Tearooms in dialogue with Álvaro Siza’s Casa de Chá da Boa Nova teahouse, offering a reflective study of design and ritual, and the ways they are shaped by craft, place, and memory.

Bringing together new drawings, models, film, photography, and artefacts, the exhibition explores a rich history of cultural exchange between Portugal and the UK, with tea as its central thread. Beginning with Catherine of Braganza, the Portuguese princess who introduced tea-drinking to the British court, it examines how this shared ritual has been interpreted and reimagined through architecture.

Presented within Mackintosh’s only built church, the exhibition offers a uniquely fitting setting in which to reflect on architecture as a social and cultural act.

A programme of four public events will accompany the exhibition:

Exhibition Opening Event: Álvaro Siza Film Premiere & Exhibition Preview

Tea for Two- Square- Casa de Cha Exterior

Thursday 11 September 2025, 7pm

A special launch evening featuring the premiere of a filmed interview with Álvaro Siza, in which the Pritzker Prize-winning architect reflects on Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s influence, the design of his own Casa de Chá, and his wider architectural practice. The screening will be followed by a first look at the exhibition.

Talk: Isabel Stilwell – Raise Your Teacup to Catherine of Braganza

Thursday 18 September 2025, 7pm

Portuguese author and journalist Isabel Stilwell discusses her bestselling historical novel ‘Catherine of Braganza – The courage of a Portuguese Infanta who became Queen of England’. Known for her widely read biographies of notable Portuguese women, Stilwell explores the life of the 17th-century princess who became Queen of England, highlighting her cultural legacy and role in popularising tea drinking in Britain.

Tickets available via Eventbrite

Talk: Oliver Braid – Mackintosh at the Willow

Tea for Two- Square- Willow Tearooms Exterior

Wednesday 24 September 2025, 7pm

Based on the popular public tours, this illustrated talk by Oliver Braid, Creative Learning Manager for Mackintosh at the Willow, will guide guests through the story of the original Willow Tearooms building, now Mackintosh at the Willow, with stories of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret Macdonald, and their patron, the Edwardian entrepreneur Kate Cranston.

Tickets at Eventbrite

A Final Cup: Conversations Across Cultures

Thursday 2 October 2025, 7pm

A panel discussion on the cultural significance of tea and the tearoom, both in Glasgow and further afield. Chaired by Stuart Robertson of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, the panel includes architect Graeme Nicholls and Dr Lindsay Middleton, a University of Glasgow food historian specialising in Scottish food culture. The discussion will be followed by a short guided tour offering a final opportunity to view the exhibition, with commentary on selected highlights.

Tickets available via Eventbrite

Presented with support from:
Camões – Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, I.P., The Anglo-Portuguese Society, The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, The Glasgow Institute of Architects, Friends of Glasgow Museums, Mackintosh at the Willow, National Trust for Scotland, João Morgado Photographer, Lebond Watches, Craft Design Construction, Seventeen House, and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.

Tickets available via Eventbrite

Poster image credits:
Mackintosh Photograph by Rachel Keenan
Siza Photograph by Joao Morgado
Graphic Design by Meg Waterston + Connor O’Donnell Archibald

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