Arts venue boss warns Glasgow is facing cultural ‘blackout’ unless trend for cuts is reversed

Francis McKee is stepping down from the CCA after 18 years

Francis McKee has been director of the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow for the last 18 years.

The outgoing director of one of Glasgow's leading arts centres has delivered a damning verdict on the treatment of culture in Scotland, warning that shrinking public funding is "dismantling" vital infrastructure and accusing politicians of losing their nerve over support for the arts.

Francis McKee, who is stepping down as director of the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Sauchiehall Street this month, said Glasgow was facing a cultural “blackout” unless current trends were reversed.

He warned that cutting support for artists and galleries, closing libraries and shutting down venues would "smash the mirrors that reflect our lives."

Francis McKee has been director of the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow for the last 18 years.

Concerns have been growing over the impact of proposed cuts on Glasgow museums and galleries, while a 10 per cent funding cut was imposed on Creative Scotland this year.

McKee said it was "easy" for politicians to make promises around culture and issue "grand statements" on wellbeing and diversity, but "harder to deliver on the ground in a meaningful way."

He suggested politicians were afraid to support the arts in hard times in case funding was perceived as "an indulgence."

The CCA brings together visual art exhibitions, films, music, literature events and festivals under the one roof at its complex near Glasgow School of Art.

Peter Howson is among the artists whose work has been championed at the Centre for Contemporary Arts and its predecessor, the Third Eye Centre, in Glasgow. Picture: Greg Macvean

McKee, CCA director for 18 years, said "real change" was needed across the cultural landscape to reflect the "waves of migration" in Glasgow and across Scotland in recent years.

The CCA dates back to 1974 when the playwright and musician Tom McGrath opened the then Third Eye Centre.

Artists, writers and performers championed include Simple Minds, Ivor Cutler, Allen Ginsberg, Whoopi Goldberg, John Byrne, Billy Connolly, Edwin Morgan, Kathy Acker, Alan Davie, Alasdair Gray, Douglas Gordon, Jarvis Cocker, Ken Currie, Peter Howson and Steven Campbell.

Writing on the CCA website, McKee: “In 1973, arts infrastructure in the city was sparse and mostly focused on history.

"The establishment of the Third Eye Centre redirected attention to the present and what was unfolding in Glasgow at that very moment.

"Early films within our archive document staff working in candlelight during the power cuts in 1973, illuminating thriving activity across the arts – at a time when exhibitions, music, poetry and literature were gaining momentum.

"By the early 1980s, the building blocks of a new cultural confidence were in place.

“The CCA archive charts the growth of arts infrastructure over several decades, indirectly revealing the emergence of other organisations – The Print Studio, Wasps, Transmission, GOMA, Tramway, SWG3, Market Gallery, David Dale Gallery, Celine and French Street among many others.

“Now, sadly, we’re beginning to see a dismantling of that infrastructure as public funding shrinks.

"This comes at a time when recent waves of migration to Glasgow require the rethinking of cultural provision."

First Minister Humza Yousaf promised arts funding will be “more than doubled” in Scotland at the SNP conference in October, however the government is yet to set out when and how additional support will be allocated.

McKee added: "Closing libraries, shutting venues and cutting support for artists and galleries will smash the mirrors that reflect our lives. In that kind of blackout, a city is meaningless. Talk of independence, identity or culture has no weight.

"Politicians seem to have suffered a loss of nerve when it comes to art funding. They aren’t grasping the economic benefits or the enormous social impact of the arts in general.

"They also seem afraid to be seen to support the arts in hard times, as if the fractional amount of public funding it receives might be perceived as an indulgence. And yet, many of those politicians brag about Scotland’s culture and promote independence.

“It’s always easy to make promises around culture and issue grand statements citing wellbeing and diversity. It is harder to deliver on the ground in a convincing way.

“Arts organisations are used to working hard on minimum rations, but some real action would make an enormous difference."

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “We will continue to do everything within our powers and resources to help those in the culture sector most affected by current economic challenges.

“However our ability to respond to the cost crisis is limited by the inactivity of the UK Government and the financial restrictions of devolution.

“In spite of the incredibly challenging picture, we have prioritised our investment in culture, to support the sector, acknowledging its vital contribution to our economy, and to ensure everyone has the opportunity to experience the transformative and empowering potential of culture.”

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Like any other council across Scotland, Glasgow’s budget is under significant pressure - not least of all due to the highest inflation rates in 25 years.

“No part of the public sector is immune to that challenge – however, Glasgow has invested significantly in its culture over the past 10 years.

“It is home to five of the six national performing arts organisations and recognised as the UK’s top cultural and creative city in a European Commission Report in 2019.

“Investment in culture has remained strong in Glasgow with the £68.25m refurbishment of Burrell Collection leading to it being named Art Fund Museum of the Year and just on Friday it was crowned best Scottish Attraction at VisitScotland’s Thistle Awards.

“Glasgow is working with the National Lottery Heritage Fund with the aim of securing investment for People’s Palace and Winter Gardens, and on its Heritage Places projects which could see the area around Sauchiehall Street receive a share of a £200m fund targeted at preserving and promoting cultural heritage.”