2 days ago
Arts centre to overhaul leadership after pro-Palestinian occupation
An arts centre has pledged to appoint new leadership and condemned the 'genocide' in Gaza after it was occupied by pro-Palestinian activists earlier this summer.
Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) has been closed since Art Workers for Palestine Scotland occupied the building on June 24 after the venue could not come to a consensus on endorsing their cultural boycott of Israel.
The campaign group had planned to host an unofficial week-long programme of workshops and screenings at the centre, but police were called and a violent altercation ensued.
The CCA has now issued an apology and announced that plans to 'turnaround' the board would be 'accelerated'.
In a statement, a spokesman said the centre 'acknowledges the disruption, confusion and harm experienced over recent weeks' and 'we sincerely regret the outcome of our decisions on 24 June'.
He added: 'We recognise that a lack of clarity on our choices had real human consequences, and for this we are deeply sorry.'
Art Workers for Palestine Scotland had called on the CCA to back the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
But on June 6, the centre announced on Instagram that its board had not come to a consensus on publicly endorsing the boycott.
The CCA has now said it will 'revisit the decision on endorsement of PACBI when the new leadership is in place' and is now working towards adopting 'ethical fundraising and programming policy'.
The centre said it 'respects' and recognises the 'urgency' of calls to endorse PACBI and it is 'grateful to those who have challenged us and held us to account', though it will reopen without formal endorsement until the new leadership is in place.
It said new diverse board members would be recruited with an intention to 'widen the scope of experience, background and representation, including global majority'. The centre said recruitment would also be launched to replace the current chairman when she completes her term of office in October.
The centre, heavily subsided by Creative Scotland, added: 'We condemn the violence of the Israeli state, the ongoing occupation, genocide, and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. We stand firmly against all forms of oppression and in support of the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.'
The announcement was celebrated by Art Workers for Palestine Scotland, which said: 'CCA's leadership have agreed to almost every demand that has been made of them.
'We understand this statement to mark a vital and momentous change of direction at CCA – a signal towards real institutional decolonisation. It is a huge win, not only for our city of Glasgow's proud and defiant solidarity with Palestine, but also internationally.
'As Glasgow's contemporary art centre, CCA must be a beacon for our city's solidarity with Palestine, for anti-colonialism, and for art to stand on the side of liberation. We urge everyone to use the example and precedent of CCA to apply pressure to publicly funded arts organisations.'
The group had previously condemned the centre for calling the police, which led to the arrest of a 63-year-old woman and an injury to a person. 'The illusion has been shattered, all trust is lost, the mask has dropped,' it had said.
The CCA hopes to reopen from the week commencing August 25.
