of this project, CFCCA appointed a working group of artists to help co-design the new organisation. The group, who were all of East or Southeast Asian heritage, was formed of Enoch Cheng, Whiskey Chow, Yuen Ling Fong Gayle Chong Kwan, Eelyn Lee, Erika Tan, and Jack Tan. The artist working group was later dismissed after raising concerns of institutional racism, and following an accusation from the centre that the artists' complaints were harmful and threatening to white staff. The artists highlighted a concern previously raised by the artist JJ Chan, that CFCCA normalised racism within its own organisation and contributed to the normalisation of racism in British society more widely. Under the new leadership, the organisation rebranded as esea contemporary (referring to the term ESEA and its broader focus on art from diaspora communities) in 2023 and announced a new slate of exhibits that year, the first since the centre's closure in 2021. Controversies and criticisms of the centre The centre has faced criticism over its focus and the content of its programme: In the early 1990s, the centre made an effort to remain politically neutral so as not to exclude any member of the east Asia diaspora due to their origins. However, the review in 1993 highlighted that this had affected the status of the centre as it had developed a reputation of not dealing with anything political. As a result, some artists and art organisations avoided the centre as they felt its stance was a form of censorship. After the move to Edge Street, the centre moved away from its original community focus, which has been seen to have alienated members of Manchester's Chinese community. In its recent history, the centre has begun to try to bridge the gap and gain back trust from the community which originally founded the centre. In March 2020, artist JJ Chan issued an open letter to the centre, highlighting the artist's perceptions of systemic problems with the centre and how the dominant voices in conversations in the UK about 'Chinese' arts were predominately white voices. The criticism was expanded further in an article in the ArtAsiaPacific magazine. In May 2021, an international panel of artists, who were recruited to an Artist Working Group set up by the centre to help revision the organisation, called for a public boycott and immediate defunding of the centre by Arts Council England, after the group was