ARTISTS, culture workers and activists have launched a “cultural takeover” of Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Organised by Art Workers for Palestine Scotland (AWPS), the move was prompted by the CCA’s refusal to join the more than 190 Scottish cultural institutions endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign or PACBI, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

Frustration grew further when it emerged that the CCA had entered a private hire agreement with MUBI, a company partially funded by Sequoia Capital, an investor linked to the Israeli arms industry.

Announcing the takeover, which will feature a full programme “centred on resistance, learning, and artistic solidarity with Palestine” until Saturday, a spokesperson for Art Workers for Palestine Scotland said: “We cannot stand by as our cultural spaces are used to sanitise genocide.

“We are here to show the depth and breadth of solidarity with Palestine in Glasgow and beyond. 

“Through this takeover, we centre Palestinian voices and culture while holding our institutions to account. Another CCA is possible and urgently necessary.”

The CCA has been approached for comment.