Following the eviction notice handed to residents of the grassroots cultural centre Trongate 103, arts writer Derek McArthur assesses how far removed Glasgow is from what was once named the cultural capital of Europe.

In 1990, Glasgow was named the European City of Culture.

You would think that it was much more recently than 36 years ago, considering how the city has rested on the laurels of the title ever since.

What is left now after the constant Creative Scotland funding quandaries, the attacks on our communal arts spaces, the decimation of small music venues, public museums and galleries being left to rot, the dire lack of council preservation work, theatres having their funds frozen, or vital lifelines being pulled from arts community programmes?

There is not enough space here, even, to get into the neglect of the city’s strong architectural heritage, which Glasgow City Council are proud to allude to when it suits but with little actual interest in meaningfully preserving. No point in maintaining our past legacies if there’s a developer with a plan for student flats and an enticing offer.

Ask around and it’s hard to find arts organisations in the city that are happy and thriving currently, that aren’t commercial-minded and tied to industry and business. The city cares about the arts, but I suppose only when it benefits someone’s coffers.

Well, there’s always the grassroots, thankfully. A city that holds as many creative voices as Glasgow will continue to create and exhibit their work somehow, someway, regardless of whether it has had the stamp of approval from the council or public funding bodies.

But even the small bit of mercy afforded to the grassroots is slipping away. This week saw the news that cultural centre Trongate 103 (which houses art gallery Transmission, Street Level Photoworks, Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre, GMAC Film, and Glasgow Print Studio, among others) has been given four weeks to move out after its landlord terminated leases and proposed steep rent increases. Such little grace or respect for residents who were merrily building and assisting the city’s cultural ecosystem, who had a fair deal in place for sustainable rents and long-term leases, only to be snatched away with little recourse.

Residents at grassroots cultural centre Trongate 103 were given four weeks to leave (Image: Colin Mearns)

Groups face eviction as Trongate 103 landlord renews leases

Trongate 103 shows arty Glasgow dying before our eyes

GMAC chair appeals to film stars over Trongate eviction row

GMAC Film were particularly astute on what is happening, accusing building owner City Property of "attempting to shift the building from the originally agreed subsidised cultural model to a fully commercial footing". The council’s budget is in tatters, desperately trying to balance its books in any way it can, so why not sell out those who hold little power to fight back?

I hope the residents of Trongate 103 can effectively fight back against their eviction, but it points to the need for a major shift in mindset. The way the city cultivates and experiences its culture is changing out of necessity, as we can see.

And as it stands, there is little to gain from artists relying on institutional support, of pulling off what they want to do in an officially sanctioned way. Perhaps it’s the perfect time to stop looking up at the top-down managerial structure before us and take what the city wants to express into our own hands.

An artist doesn’t require approval from anyone, least of all from institutions. The artist makes it work, regardless of the hardships, resources, or whether anyone gives a damn. It’s not a safe existence, and there are no guarantees in any of it. The world does not value your art the way that it probably should, and most come to terms with it being a passion supplementary to the drudgery of the day job. It is not the society I would envision, but it’s the sad state of affairs that we live in and must work around.

Read more from Derek McArthur:

Letting Glasgow Film Theatre rot is sheer cultural vandalism

A monthly basic income for artists working in Scotland? What a marvellous idea

Our screen sector is booming but why does it all feel so hollow in the heart?

A nonsensical AI-generated mural is the last thing Glasgow ever needs

The result of our arts and cultural sphere being held at the mercy of councils and public bodies is endless sanitisation. Much has led to major concessions from artists towards what institutions want, and when institutions can no longer give support, as is happening now, it brings everything to a stalemate. Now artists have been placed in a position of fear and confusion, rather than the fearlessness and firm point of view we need and expect from the city’s creative voices.

Looking toward the council and central government brings the arts under the harsh capitalism that the rest of government adheres to. The political party space is not one that meaningfully allows the city’s art to progress and grow. It drowns then buries it, in fact. It is not an arena that the arts can fight in and win. There is simply no footing to move forward in this direction.

But there is plenty of arts happening in the city, and will continue to regardless of what state the city’s finances are in. Whether it’s film exhibitions anywhere with a wall and projector, pop-up art galleries, DIY music shows, communal poetry readings, plays in unconventional spaces, and so on. Glasgow has so much to give artistically and culturally, we simply cannot let some faceless authority tell us no.

© Herald Scotland