Centre for Contemporary Arts

The Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) is an arts centre in Glasgow, Scotland. Its programme includes contemporary art exhibitions, cinema, live music, book launches, festivals, spoken word and performance. The CCA also commissions new work from artists.

History
The CCA began as the Third Eye Centre in 1974, founded as a multi-media arts centre by Tom McGrath. Notable performers at the Third Eye Centre included Allen Ginsberg, Whoopi Goldberg, John Byrne, Billy Connolly, Edwin Morgan, Kathy Acker, and Alan Davie.

The Third Eye Centre included jazz and experimental music in its arts programming of the 1970s and '80s, seeing performances from Derek Bailey, Julius Eastman, Brotherhood of Breath and Keith Tippett. The Guardian newspaper described the Third Eye Centre as "a shrine to the avant garde."

In the 1980s, the Third Eye Centre played an important role in the rise of the new Glasgow painters Steven Campbell, Ken Currie and Peter Howson. It also hosted shows by Susan Hiller, Sam Ainsley, Damien Hirst and Sophie Calle. The Third Eye Centre was also the home of the National Review of Live Art. A number of music albums were recorded there including Ivor Cutler's Life in a Scotch Sitting Room Vol II in 1978, and the centre also hosted the launch event for Alasdair Gray's Lanark in 1981.

The CCA was established in 1992.

The period of 1999-2001 saw the redevelopment of the building. The CCA took over a neighbouring villa and a building on Scott Street, doubling the size of the arts centre.

In 2014, the CCA was temporarily closed after a ruinous fire at the nearby Glasgow School of Art but reopened in October 2018

In 2023, the central Saramago café and social space closed after industrial action supported by Industrial Workers of the World.

A new "Third Eye Bar" opened on the upper floor in April 2024, featuring a room with murals by Fraser Taylor.

Location and Building
The CCA is situated on Sauchiehall Street and houses a number of cultural tenants, including the cafe space, independent shops Welcome Home and Aye-Aye Books,  and a flat for visiting artists.

The CCA is housed in the Grecian Chambers, a category A listed building, designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson in 1867 to 1868 and substantially renovated for its present use by Page & Park in 1998.

Activities
The CCA operates an open-source programming policy where organizations and individuals are given space in the building to direct their own events. In 2019-20, the CCA had 256 programme partners across 1,304 events and 28 festivals.

The CCA curates six contemporary art exhibitions per year in its gallery space. The building is also home to Intermedia Gallery to showcase emerging artists. The CCA offers a programme of artist residencies in the Creative Lab and internationally.

In 2015, the CCA launched a public engagement programme.

The CCA is home to several other arts and culture organizations including LUX Scotland and the Scottish Writers Centre.