The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA) operates from Thomas Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Founded in 1986 as the Chinese View Arts Association, it evolved into CFCCA by the late 1990s and has since become the UK’s longest-running space dedicated to Chinese contemporary art. Its programme focuses on artists from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the wider diaspora.

The gallery occupies a former textile warehouse, adapted into exhibition rooms, project spaces and studios. Its programming mixes solo presentations with curated group shows, often engaging directly with migration, identity and urban change. The highlight is the institution’s commitment to commissioning new work. Artists such as Cao Fei, Samson Young and Xu Bing have produced site-specific installations, films and public interventions through CFCCA, many of which went on to tour internationally.

Two current spaces stand out. The Upper Gallery, with its white walls and high ceilings, hosts large-scale installations and multimedia works. Recent projects have included sculptural environments built from industrial materials or immersive sound pieces responding to the politics of language. The Project Space, smaller and more flexible, supports emerging artists experimenting with performance, text or moving image. These shows often respond to fast-changing social contexts and are developed during short residencies.

A lesser known gem lies in CFCCA’s archive. Begun in the early 2000s, the archive preserves documentation from exhibitions, artist interviews, and community programmes over nearly four decades. It includes hand-written correspondence, installation photos and early catalogues—material that traces the development of Chinese contemporary art in the UK from a grassroots perspective. Though not a formal research centre, the archive is available by appointment and has attracted interest from students, curators and artists alike.

The building also houses a reading room and small shop focused on independent publications and artist-led editions.