NEWS
The Arches faces clubless future
With Glasgow’s iconic venue losing its clubbing wing, key fi gures on the scene share their concerns with Rosie Davies
COMING UP
• There’s plenty of it out there already, but the full Edinburgh Fringe programme for 2015 is released on Thu 4 Jun. Don’t forget The List festival guide is out Wed 8 Jul, giving you a heads-up on the best of the various fests. Look out too for our free weekly festival issues throughout August as well as extensive coverage online at list.co.uk/festival • The Edinburgh International Book Festival programme is announced on Wed 10 Jun, with the festival running 15–31 Aug.
• The Scottish Album of the Year Award is announced on Wed 17 Jun. See feature, page 33. • The UK’s i rst major retrospective of the work of Dutch graphic artist MC Escher runs at Edinburgh’s Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two) from Sat 27 Jun to Sun 27 Sep.
• The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival runs from Fri 17 to Sun 26 Jul, with performers including George Benson and Jools Holland with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra featuring special guest Marc Almond.
• Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden hosts three nights of outdoor i lm screenings in September: The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fri 4 Sep); Mamma Mia! (Sat 5 Sep) and Back to the Future (Sun 6 Sep). • Glasgow’s Sonica festival of ‘sonic art for the visually minded’ runs Thu 29 Oct–Sun 8 Nov, with new work by Indonesian artist Jompet Kuswidananto at Govanhill Baths among 12 days of performances.
• The Turner Prize 2015 exhibition will be held at Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 1 Oct–Sun 17 Jan. See page 11 for the Turner shortlist.
T he Arches is one of Europe’s most respected and revered cultural venues – and the news that its clubbing wing may have been forced to close permanently, due to the restriction of licensing hours following two well-publicised incidents relating to drugs and alcohol, comes as a massive shock to the city.
On Friday 15 May, Glasgow Licensing Board restricted the venue’s licensing hours, compelling it to close at midnight with immediate effect. The result is the unavoidable closure of the space as a club venue – and the knock-on and very real concern as to whether the organisation’s internationally renowned contemporary live performance strand, which receives 80% of its funding from club events’ revenue, will be able to survive. The public have responded with a mixture of outrage and genuine sadness: 400 cultural i gures from Scotland have signed an open letter criticising the move, and an online petition has attracted nearly 40,000 names. We asked some of the key people in Glasgow’s clubbing scene to share their thoughts on the decision, and their fears for the future.
Keith McIvor (Optimo Espacio) This seems to be an ill-advised, ill-thought-out and regressive decision. I am fully aware that the Arches has faced drug-related problems but it has worked harder than anywhere to address these issues, and closing it as a club venue is not going to stop the problem but rather make it less visible and less easy to address.
Alan Miller (aka DJ Hushpuppy) The police seem to have subjected the Arches to an inordinate amount of scrutiny, and despite some Herculean efforts on the part of the venue to react positively, look pretty determined to be satisi ed with nothing but the closure of the club arm. It’s shocking because the Arches is not just a nightclub – it’s a key venue in the remarkable story of Glasgow’s artistic renaissance of the past 25 years, an internationally respected venue, and a unique venue in the UK. Dave Clarke (Manager, Slam) I sincerely hope that common sense and justice will prevail in the near future. Already the public have made their voice heard. The Arches should not be made a scapegoat and a pariah for society’s shortcomings because the venue is the safest and strictest in the city – a role model of how a licensed premises should be run.
Ben Coghill (Elastic Artists, Glasgow club promoter) I am not at all surprised that the powers that be continue to stick their i ngers in their ears when it comes to progressive and sustainable drug policies. Regardless of my own or anyone else’s opinion on illegal drug use and how we manage it as a society, it’s so sad for the vibrant, thriving cultural scene that the Arches sits at the heart of in Glasgow. Jobs will be lost and a massive hole will be ripped from the city’s creative community. For a longer version of this article, visit list.co.uk
12 THE LIST 4 Jun–3 Sep 2015