The organisation grew from a need by a group of teenagers in what has been called Dublin's culturally bleak mid-20th century, with particular issues for those from a working-class background, which was the case for most of the Grapevine founders.

Grapevine's artistic programme grew alongside its philosophical awareness and was diverse and multifaceted, taking place within the centre, around the suburbs of Dublin and throughout Ireland.

[1][2] Declan McGonagle was hired as director, and under his leadership the centre began a process of cessation, starting with its closure for 2 years, with all staff made redundant and all activities stopped.

[3] McGonagle launched a 'Civil Arts Inquiry' (a two-year series of "conferences and recorded public debates") meanwhile earning €50,000 per year.

[6][2] The centre's building and property on Moss St in central Dublin was sold in 2003 for more than €4.2 million, making it the richest arts organisation in Ireland at the time.

[2] After the sale, the City Arts Centre spent the next few years in a basement office and in 2007 bought a smaller building on Bachelor's Walk.

At this time the organisation had spent nearly all of its savings on operational costs, archiving, the 'Civil Arts Inquiry', redundancy packages, and the new building with renovations.

This book, edited by Sandy Fitzgerald, goes into some detail about the history of community arts in Ireland, backed up by essays on the theory and practice of this movement.