Contemporary Urban Centre

Love the CUC, some might be put off by it being a little out of town but it’s only a hop, skip and a jump from china town and a great venue to hold festivals, music and film.

The CUC is an incredible not-​very-​well-​known creative hub. The building itself is extraordinary, some of the rooms are absolutely beautiful. It seems like it’s picking up momentum as the coolest place for creative and arty types to hang out.

What is the Contemporary Urban Centre? Well, it just about sums up everything creative about Liverpool in one venue — and that’s a heckload of creativity. The remarkable space itself is owned by an excellent charity with inspiration and innovation at its core, and the idea of the CUC is to capture the imagination of its visitors and offer performance space, art galleries, unusual cinema facilities and studios alongside elegant restaurants, bars and even conference areas. In fact the place is particularly popular for conferences, parties, events and weddings alike.
If you put together an event here the staff will go all out to help you, offering attractive rooms and even refreshments and biscuits on arrival and throughout the day as well as sandwich and salad buffets. The charity-​owned element means that there’s a real sense of integrity to the building and all those who work in it, and the raw talent and cutting-​edge creativity that’s exposed due to the centre means that there’s always something new and diverse to feast your eyes on. Whether you’re just visiting or looking to set up a studio yourself, a trip here is more than worthwhile.

The Contemporary Urban Centre is a stylish charity (Novas Scarman Group) run creative space that combines bars, restaurants, art galleries, a cinema, studios and conference suites. The purpose of the centre is to promote change and diversity whilst developing talent. They have a range of events including dance, music, theatre/​comedy, film, arts and exhibitions.
The cinema set in site an old Victorian building looks great with a high ceiling and exposed brickwork and beams. What a venue! It is available for corporate events and private hire. The CUC has a range of office and creative space in of different sizes and with additional business services. This is somewhere I would not mind working.

This is a vibrant cultural hub that is a great space owned by one of the UK’s most inspiring charities. The Contemporary Urban Centre is a venue that captures your imagination and showcase raw cutting-​edge talent. Inside t the centre is world-​class, with great a massive amount of space; with bars and restaurants, art galleries that are alongside a unique cinema and not forgetting the studio space next to conference suites.
This place does exactly what it says on the tin ‘creates change and encourages diversity’. This is the place that showcases the unexplored talent and promotes multi culture. It is great at encouraging new and creativeness and to express yourself through music, dance & theatre, contemporary art and cinema.
In addition they offer private party or special event hire, so if you want a place to have a wedding ceremony this could be it, or even if you are looking to have a conference or study day then this is the place for you. The staff are great and couldn’t be more helpful, I would recommend this place.

The CUC is part of a wider regeneration effort that is taking place in the former warehouses on the outskirts of the city centre.
It is a huge complex that has attempted to utilise the most of the building that they have converted from derelict, worn down warehouse to multi floor gallery, cinema and theatre space. The exhibitions span over several floors with a range of international as well as local artists included among its recent displays.
I first came here two years ago to review some of the collections and they continue to provide an array of intriguing pieces on a regular basis. I am particularly intrigued by the addition of the Damn Good Movie Club which screens new and classic movies often in a double bill format.
With an emphasis on community inclusion, you canoften find workshops and courses running here alongside the art such as the recent circus skills classes.

‘Helping people learn, thrive and fulfill their potential.’
Based in a renovated Victorian warehouse on Greenland Street, the Contemporary Urban Centre is an impressive 15,000 square metre space with an art gallery, café and performance spaces for theatre, film, music and literature. Run by charitable organisation Novas Scarman Group, the aim of the centre is to inspire and engage the local community — particularly the marginalised, the excluded and the disenfranchised — through the arts.
Whilst I appreciate the ethos and ambitions of the CUC, I don’t think I’m alone in thinking the venue could be a lot busier if only they had longer opening hours and a busier programme of events. They’re currently open seven days a week but one glance at the website shows they only have a handful of events this month. There’s an exhibition of work by local artists (Local Produce) and dramas by award-​winning playwrights Tom McLennan and Joshua Sobol but unfortunately, very little else. I’d love to see more gigs, more book readings, more films and more performance art!