The CCA began as the Lucy Lloyd Archive, Resource and Exhibition Centre (LLAREC) in 1996 at the Michaelis School of Fine Art.

[2] Its establishment followed two Pippa Skotnes exhibitions related to xam folklore—"Sound from the Thinking Strings" (1991)[3] at the South African Museum, and "Miscast: Negotiating Khoisan Identity and Material Culture" (1996) at the South African National Gallery.

[4] The exhibitions led to books, both of which were edited by Skotnes—Sound from the Thinking Strings: Visual, Literary and Archaeological and Historical Interpretation of the Final Years of /Xam Li (1991, Axeage Private Press) and Miscast: Negotiating the Presence of the Bushmen (1996, UCT Press).

[7] The CCA works with several institutions in the realisation of its projects and curates exhibitions both in South Africa and abroad.

The CCA collaborates with Iziko Museums of South Africa in the delivery of the BA Honours in Curatorship programme.