Cultural Politics

Glasgow School of Art, Power and the Chumocracy Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 28 September 2021 How power is held to account has been a problem in Scotland, predating the Scottish Parliament and the independence debate – neither of which have aided the shining of a light into the recesses of public life which for too long have been in darkness. Many public institutions and bodies have fallen short and let down people, with their failings only brought to wider attention too late or long after the event – from deaths in hospitals such as the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Glasgow

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More than ever we need to come together and celebrate collective joy Gerry Hassan Sunday National, December 27th 2020 These are not exactly the happiest of times the world over - with crises, worry and anxiety all around us. In such circumstances never more have we needed to find light and hope, optimism and joy. As important in an age of loneliness and isolation is reaching out to others, recognising that we are more than mere individuals and are part of something bigger than ourselves – whether it be different communities and places. Over a decade ago the American writer

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What will art, culture and sport look like after the virus? Gerry Hassan Sunday National, April 26th 2020 The UK economy and life as we know it are undergoing the kind of fundamental shock the like of which we have never seen in living memory. The only comparisons of similar economic and human carnage in peacetime are of the depression of 1920-21 and Great Depression at the end of the 1920s. Literally we are living through what Naomi Klein called ‘the shock doctrine’ of ‘disaster capitalism’ at a vastly accelerated pace. All of this raises questions about what life will

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Letter from America: Civil society matters more than who wins elections in the UK, US and elsewhere Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, November 6th 2019 Britain from afar looks very unhappy and divided. This much is obvious from the USA - not exactly a benign, peaceful, harmonious world itself. But in its media coverage, and the people I have spoken to in the past week, there is a universal understanding that things are not going well in the USA or the UK. Everybody I have spoken to in America has heard of Brexit, knows that Boris Johnson is UK Prime Minister

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Dundee and the Limits of Cultural Regeneration Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, April 17th 2019 Dundee is the talk of the town. The once forgotten city of Scotland – certainly in the eyes of the Glasgow and Edinburgh chatterati – is now widely celebrated and recognised. It is winning piles of awards and attention, the latest of which being named ‘Sunday Times’ Best Place to Live in Scotland, with Dundee High School-educated Andrew Marr stating that ‘Dundee is certainly a very good idea’. Dundee’s moment in the sun is well-deserved and has been a long time coming. There is an undoubted

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A Vision of the Future comes to Dundee: A Tayside Renaissance? Gerry Hassan New Statesman, October 12th 2018 Dundee is being talked about. This marks a big change for a city that traditionally has been ignored or presented in clichés - of jute, jam and journalism, the Tay Rail Bridge disaster, and William McGonagall. Now Dundee is on the map, and not just the Scottish and UK one, but internationally as a tourist and cultural hot spot, and a must-see destination. The major reason for this sudden interest is the opening of the V&A this month. It has been a

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Who is going to champion Glasgow? Life after the GSA fire and the threat to the CCA Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, September 12th 2018 Glasgow hasn’t had to look too far to seek its troubles of late. There has been the devastating Glasgow School of Art fire (the second in four years), followed by the seeming abandonment of Sauchiehall Street businesses and residents. And if that weren’t enough in the last week there have been concerns that the acclaimed arts and cultural venue, the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), shut since the GSA fire, faces the prospect of closure. The

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