The Arches Expands: 2000 - 2004

This was a time of building works, mayhem, followed by new spaces and new toys to play with. For two years, as the building refurbishment went ahead, The Arches was literally a building site by day, transformed into a venue by night, then back to a building site. We had no choice in the matter - the reliance on income earned from all our events meant that clubs in particular, as well as concerts and similar events, had to be programmed as usual - more often that not with a backdrop of dustsheets masking heavy machinery and bags of cement. It was a very stressful and exhausting period but in early 2001 the converted premises were fully opened and The Arches took on a new lease of life. We now had a new box office and entrance on Argyle Street as well as the old one on Midland Street, a stylish new café/bar and a previously derelict basement converted into rehearsal rooms, workshops, dressing rooms, and stores. Most importantly, we were now a venue open to the public throughout the day as well as at night. Alongside the evening events, we were a place where people could come to eat, drink and meet, rehearse and work on projects, explore ideas, or just chill out.

A strong programme of multi arts events continued to develop and in particular, the venue started to stage an increasing number of festival projects. Such events as National Review of Live Art had already been up and running. After 2001, The Arches became a main venue for music festivals like Celtic Connections and Big Big World, and we established our own experimental music weekend - Instal. On the performance side, The Arches Theatre Festival was launched alongside a showcase event for young and experimental companies - Arches Live. In 2001, The Arches Award for Stage Directors was established - the only such award in Scotland. The regular programme of theatre, music and clubs continued to flourish. Arches Theatre Company staged promenade productions, Beowulf and The End Part One, classic seasons of Samuel Beckett and Tennessee Williams, tours around Scotland with Shakespeare and to Stockholm with Joy of the Worm and Prague with Tam O'Shanter. In 2004, just to demonstrate that not all the work was dark and sinister, a new winter festive show for young children, The Little Mermaid, was staged to great acclaim.

The music programme has got busier and busier in recent years - still eclectic and inventive - from a Brasil/Scotland collaboration and tour, and from Nordic folk music through to hard rock. Artists like Death in Vegas, Dirty Vegas, Talvin Singh, Cinematic Orchestra, At the Drive In, Arab Strap, Mr Scruff, Beverly Knight, Television, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Pere Ubu, The Gotan Project, and Angelique Kidjo, to name a very few have all enthralled audiences at The Arches. On the club scene, the year 2000 saw at The Arches the first Scottish gigs for the Big Chill, Fatboy Slim and Basement Jaxx, while the regular big nights like Insideout, Pressure, and Colours have continued to thrive alongside new clubs like Burly, and our in house clubs The Funk Room and Death Disco. A regular exhibition and visual arts programme now features in the foyer part of the building and corporate events are an ever growing feature - these are private functions but like everything else at The Arches, they tend to have an unique and atmospheric edge which can't be duplicated anywhere else.