Saramago Cafe Bar

General information

CCA: Centre for Contemporary Arts is Glasgow’s hub for the arts. Our year-round programme includes cutting-edge exhibitions, film, music, literature, spoken word, festivals, Gaelic and performance. At the heart of all activities is the desire to work with artists, commission new projects and present them to the widest possible audience.

Previously home to The Third Eye Centre (1975-1991), the building is steeped in history and the organisation has played a key role in the cultural life of the city for decades. We operate a unique open source programming policy where we offer organisations and individuals space in the building to programme their own events. In 2015-16, CCA worked with 244 programme partners across 1,011 events and 28 festivals.

In 2015 and 2016, CCA won the award for Best Cultural Venue in The Glasgow Awards highlighting the quality of the impressive programme presented by the venue and its partners. This broad and experimental programme encourages a diverse audience to experience the arts, with 334,511 admissions to the venue in the past year.

CCA curates six major exhibitions a year, presenting national and international contemporary artists in our gallery space. We are also home to Intermedia Gallery, showcasing emerging artists. Entrance to all our exhibitions and many events is free. We are committed to supporting the development of new work and offer a programme of artist residencies in our Creative Lab and internationally. CCA is proud to support the Paying Artists campaign, you can read our case study here.

In 2015, we launched our public engagement programme which aims to extend access to CCA and has – at its heart – the prospect of cultural and social change explored through art. In 2015-16, 60 activities took place in CCA and in communities throughout Glasgow, reaching 2,238 participants.

CCA is home to a number of other cultural and artistic organisations. Cultural Tenants include BHP Comics; Bloody Scotland; Camcorder Guerillas; Cryptic; Document; Electron Club; MAP Magazine; LUX Scotland; Paragon; Playwrights’ Studio Scotland; Scottish Ensemble; Scottish Writers’ Centre; The List; Tom McGrath Writers' Room; University of the West of Scotland and Voice Business.

Saramago Café Bar offers a relaxed environment and a great menu during the day as well as lively place to hang out in the evenings. Free wi-fi is available throughout the building. Independent shops Aye-Aye Books and Welcome Home are located in the entrance area, offering a wide range of publications, craft and design to take home.