Glasgow Life buys CCA archive as campaigners warn building is still at risk
Glasgow Life has successfully secured the historical archive of the Centre for Contemporary Arts, though campaigners warn the Sauchiehall Street building remains under threat.
Glasgow's contemporary arts scene may have been partially salvaged, according to recent reports, after a city charity successfully purchased the historical archive for the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) and its predecessor, the Third Eye Centre. However, active campaigners have warned that significant questions remain regarding the long-term future of the collection, and that the CCA's former home on Sauchiehall Street is still being jeopardised by potential plans to sell it.
Glasgow Life, the city charity responsible for running museums, library collections, and archives, announced on Monday (September 7) that it had formally secured the complete archive. The purchase was made possible through funding provided by Creative Scotland. The acquisition follows the arts hub's sudden closure in January, which occurred after months of uncertainty, financial trouble, and temporary closures that left businesses operating out of the building heartbroken and struggling to find alternative spaces to work from. That sudden closure also sparked the formation of the large campaign group known as Save Our CCA.
Media additions
The newly secured archive consists of a wide range of historical materials. These include exhibition records and programmes, photographs, film, posters and flyers, and artists' correspondence. According to Glasgow Life, the collection documents the people and creative practice that helped establish Glasgow as a major centre for contemporary art.
Scottish Culture Secretary Mairi McAllan stated that she was delighted the archive had been secured for public benefit. In an online statement, McAllan added:
"I have been clear that it should be publicly owned and accessible, given its importance to Glasgow and Scotland's cultural heritage."
Mairi McAllan, Culture Secretary, via UK News Yahoo and Glasgow Live
Despite the positive reception from government officials, campaigners remain highly critical of the handling of the wider situation. Owner of the Sauchiehall Street hub Creative Scotland (CS) has come under fire for potential plans to sell or re-lease the building, while a bid has been launched by group ScotsRock to turn it into a 'Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame'.
| Event / Milestone | Timing | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Venue Liquidation | January | Centre for Contemporary Arts goes into liquidation after months of uncertainty, financial trouble and temporary closures, leaving businesses heartbroken and workers to fight for months for redundancy pay. |
| Archive Acquisition | Monday (September 7) | Glasgow Life formally secures the complete CCA and Third Eye Centre archive with funding from Creative Scotland. |
| Current Tendering Phase | Ongoing | Creative Scotland puts the building out to tender, drawing heavy criticism from campaigners. |
The purchase and protection of the archive has not resolved these broader community concerns, according to a statement released by Save Our CCA on social media. The group's statement read:
"While of course, we are glad that the CCA/Third Eye Archive is safe for the time being, the announcement today still leaves us with many questions about the future of the archive and the CCA."
Save Our CCA, Campaign Group, via UK News Yahoo and Glasgow Live
Activists have raised multiple specific questions regarding the acquisition timeline and public access. They have asked why it has taken until September to purchase the archive, how the collection will be viewed by the public, and whether a digitised archive will be made available. Furthermore, campaigners maintain a firm belief that the archive should remain inside the Sauchiehall Street building, arguing that work should instead focus on re-establishing the site as a publicly owned arts centre.
The campaign group's statement continued:
"The archive does not need a new home; it needs to be kept in the building whose history it documents. Is any new operator who doesn't understand the importance of keeping the CCA/Third Eye archive in the CCA really a suitable cultural operator for the space?"
Save Our CCA, Campaign Group, via UK News Yahoo and Glasgow Live
In addition, the group also said Creative Scotland had only "cleaned up a small part of the mess they created when they allowed the CCA to go into liquidation, leaving workers to fight for months for redundancy pay". The group added that CA was "jeopardising the future of one of Scotland's most important cultural spaces by putting the building out to tender, rather than working with artists and the community to get the building up and running again".
What happens next remains uncertain as stakeholders navigate the fallout from the ongoing tender process, potential bids for the site, and continued community pushback regarding the future of Sauchiehall Street's cultural hub.
