{"id":341304,"date":"2025-08-13T13:58:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/341304\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T13:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:58:10","slug":"glasgow-arts-centre-deeply-sorry-for-handling-of-palestine-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/341304\/","title":{"rendered":"Glasgow arts centre ‘deeply sorry’ for handling of Palestine protest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Protesters had planned to take over the building for five days<\/a>, hosting events, workshops and screenings exploring \u201cthe complicity of Scotland\u2019s cultural institutions\u201d in the ongoing genocide in Gaza<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE:<\/strong>\u00a0‘America could stop this horror today’: Protesters to welcome JD Vance to Scotland<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n However, the CCA announced a temporary closure<\/a> after the first day of the takeover led to the arrest of a 63-year-old woman and an injury to one individual. The centre has remained closed, though officials have now said they are \u201cdeeply sorry\u201d for how the incident was handled.\n<\/p>\n

\n \"PolicePolice vans outside of CCA on June 24 (Image: NQ) A statement<\/a> shared on the venue\u2019s website reads: \u201cCCA Glasgow acknowledges the disruption, confusion and harm experienced over recent weeks, particularly by our community, artists, staff, tenants and partners.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe sincerely regret the outcome of our decisions on June 24 and that an individual was injured. We recognise that a lack of clarity on our choices had real human consequences, and for this we are deeply sorry.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe apologise for the delay in external communications, as we focused first on internal dialogue so that we could provide clear and considered information when speaking publicly.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe are listening and know that trust cannot be repaired with words alone, but through consistent, honest, and long-term work.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Following on from the prolonged closure, CCA have said they are \u201caccelerating\u201d plans for leadership changes within the institution.\n<\/p>\n

\n A new finance manager is set to be appointed this month and once the current chair\u2019s term ends in October, the venue will seek a \u201cnew permanent leadership for CCA\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n New board members are also set to be recruited, with \u201can aim to widen the scope of experience, background, and representation, including global majority voices\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n Amidst the centre\u2019s closure, an independent bookshop housed within the premises has been \u201casked to leave\u201d after 17 years.\n<\/p>\n

\n Aye Aye Books<\/a> \u2013 whose aim is to think about the world we live in, how it works, what powers it, who runs it, and how we might need to respond to that \u2013 was asked to relocate by the centre.\n<\/p>\n

\n In an email from CCA shared by owner Martin Vincent, the centre said that whilst it undertakes discussions with funding sources to work towards reopening, \u201cit is probably sensible to accept that this period of closure marks the end of CCA\u2019s relationship with Aye Aye Books\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n Almost two months after the protest, the institution has decided to reverse its decision on stance on supporting PACBI measures, noting the \u201curgency\u201d of calls to endorse the movement.\n<\/p>\n

\n The CCA will reopen \u201cwithout formal endorsement\u201d, but said it is working towards \u201cadopting an ethical fundraising and programming policy\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE:<\/strong>\u00a0Row as gender-critical book excluded from National Library exhibition<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe condemn the violence of the Israeli<\/a> state, the ongoing occupation, genocide, and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza<\/a>\u201d, the statement continues.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe stand firmly against all forms of oppression and in support of the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.\n<\/p>\n

\n “We respect the calls for CCA to endorse PACBI (the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel).\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe are grateful to those who have challenged us and held us to account and have clearly and powerfully expressed the need for cultural institutions to take a stand.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n A provisional re-opening date has been set for August 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Protesters had planned to take over the building for five days, hosting events, workshops and screenings exploring \u201cthe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,918,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-341304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-glasgow","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115021814365988102","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}