'Stop the sale': the fight to stop the CCA archive being flogged

Massive stooshie as CCA Archive goes on sale

The ability of the arts-centre-formerly-known-as-the-CCA to score consistent publicity own goals is unrivalled in Glasgow. There’s an almighty row unfolding over the administrators’ decision to flog off the entire archive of CCA/Third Eye Centre (as it was originally known). But this is by no means the first PR misstep by those in charge of the Centre for Contemporary Arts. 

Following a prolonged period of closure in the winter of 2024/2025 due to funding shortfalls, this summer was meant to herald in a new era of sustainable finances, but instead it was marred by the bitter fallout between the CCA board and protesters who wanted the institution to boycott Israel over the nation’s military campaign in Gaza, widely recognised by experts as a genocide. This led to another prolonged period of doors closed and lights off, with near-silence from the CCA about what was going on. A raft of board-level resignations later, the CCA eventually reopened and appointed a new director, who herself resigned just 35 days later in the face of intense public scrutiny. And this is before you consider the saga of the CCA’s third-party bar, Saramago, and the union dispute that eventually led to its closure back in 2023.

Then, at the end of January this year, the permanent closure of the CCA and loss of all jobs — communicated to staff last minute and, in some cases, not communicated to touring groups who were booked to perform — compounded its PR woes and consigned it to the artistic scrapheap. But you might think the contemporary arts centre’s death would at least let its reputation rest peacefully. Not so. Since then, rumours over what the building at 350 Sauchiehall Street will turn into have raged, with a rock’n’roll museum widely reported as a surreal but very possible option. 

Fast forward to last week, and Creative Scotland, which owns the building that it formerly leased out to the CCA, confirmed it would be sold. It was on the open market — a “substantial opportunity” for private buyers with a few bob to spare. And now, the CCA’s archive is up for sale too. Along with office chairs, DJ decks, and hospitality equipment from within the bowels of the fallen CCA, individuals have the chance to purchase “film records… photograph records, flyers, posters, and ephemera” from the archive. Given the millions of public pounds that have been invested into the CCA via Creative Scotland and Glasgow City Council grants, out of all the PR missteps, this may yet be the biggest. 

“Stop the sale” reads the cry from anonymous campaign group Save Our CCA on their Instagram, while playwright and composer Davey Anderson says: “The archive is not, cannot, should not ever be for sale. It belongs to us, the citizens of Glasgow.” Most damningly, the 16-year veteran Creative Scotland portfolio manager Amanda Catto says the prospect of the archive being sold is “terrifying”. In an Instagram post, she pleaded with politicians to step in and safeguard the collection, writing “if an archive of this importance can be treated simply as an asset to be realised… what protection exists for the documentary history of other nationally significant cultural organisations?”

The outcry might be having an effect. Creative Scotland confirmed to The Bell that it is in conversation with Glasgow Life and technical archivists the Ballast Trust, based in Johnstone, to protect the CCA’s records and keep them in Glasgow, accessible to the public. On top of this, prominent art critic Clare Henry suggests that the archive itself, as a whole, has little monetary value. She asked The Bell, rhetorically, “who is prepared to take it?” The collection is large, over 100 boxes, according to the sellers. And it contains some unique cultural artefacts, such as the only known recording of Julius Eastman, an acclaimed composer, performing live, according to Save our CCA.

So what’s next? The Bell contacted MB Valuations, the company instructed by the CCA’s liquidators to sell its assets. An employee told us that they’re seeking “a lot of advice about what the right thing to do is”, and that they’re still “not sure yet” — but confirmed that the archive isn’t being auctioned off like the rest of the CCA’s assets. They also said that, in some cases, in this initial phase of seeking expressions of interest, interest dries up from individuals when they suggest keeping the archive together — implying that it will take an institutional effort to keep this half-century of Glasgow’s recent art history together.

As for groups like Save the CCA, there’s a petition circulating with more than 1,200 signatures to “keep 350 Sauchiehall Street as a public cultural asset”, and a protest is planned outside the building for this Friday.