"IN A CREATIVE SCOTLAND, DON'T ERASE THE ARTIST"

Scottish Artists Union calls on MSPs to reject flawed Creative Scotland

The Scottish Artists Union is a registered trade union and the leading
representative voice
for visual and applied artists in the country with members from a broad spectrum
of
artistic disciplines. At this vital juncture in the development of Scotland's
cultural future
we will be in residence at the Scottish Parliament 16th-18th of December, taking
the
opportunity to speak to MSPs of all parties about the deeply felt concerns of
our members,
the lack of confidence in the wider arts sector and the pressing need to
redirect the
government's thinking about Creative Scotland.

In June this year, the SNP suffered their first parliamentary defeat when the
Creative
Scotland Bill fell. The legislation would have scrapped the Scottish Arts
Council and
Scottish Screen and replaced them with a new development agency charged with all
"creative industries", a tautology and false distinction designed to marginalise
artists who
do not fit with the entrepreneurial model the agency will adopt. Indeed artists
have been
unabashedly excluded from the language of the legislation, Culture Minister
Linda Fabiani
and her team of civil servants citing the word as "exclusive".

The Creative Scotland Transition Project, based in Dundee and headed by Anne
Bonnar,
has drawn headline-making criticism for its lack of results and sky-high
consultancy fees.
The decision to establish a precursor to Creative Scotland as a company and
place former
banker Euan Brown in charge has resulted in even greater disquiet and is the
clearest
signal yet that Creative Scotland will not best serve the artists soon to be
bereft of a
dedicated supporting body.

Creative Scotland will next pass before parliament in the Scottish Government's
Public
Services Reform Bill, expected early in the New Year. The previous Bill was
scant on detail
but was at least dedicated to one subject- Creative Scotland's inception. This
crucial
matter is likely to form just one sub-clause in a new and wide-ranging piece of
legislation. This will inhibit scrutiny and debate of Creative Scotland's
formation and leave
the many questions that remain over the new agency unanswered. The Scottish
Government is painting Creative Scotland as a "done deal" but artists and
organisations
across Scotland are waking up to the reality that the new bill may be opposed in
parliament and fail just as its predecessor did. The government forgets it is a
minority one
and displays regrettable arrogance when it claims artists suffering
"consultation fatigue"
eagerly anticipate Creative Scotland. In reality they are angry, frustrated and
aggrieved by
the shape Creative Scotland is taking and the long period of paralysis that has
afflicted
Scottish Screen and the Scottish Arts Council.

Since Creative Scotland's first mention in the previous administration's Draft
Culture
(Scotland) Bill we have contended the character of the proposal is fundamentally
unsound.
Scottish artists and audiences and the nation's culture and economy will only be
well-
served by this project if the new agency is markedly better than the existing
bodies- more
dynamic, more confident, outward-looking, artist-led and properly resourced. The
SAU
contends that no such assurances were given in the previous bill or since and
are unlikely
to be forthcoming from the Scottish Government, the Creative Scotland Transition
Team
or the Scottish Arts Council/ Scottish Screen Joint Board following introduction
of the
Public Services Reform Bill, which will deal only in very small part with the
new agency.
Therefore consultation with the arts sector should recommence and in the
interests of
transparency Creative Scotland's inception should not be enacted as part of the
Public
Services Reform Bill; any such clause should be voted down by the parliament.

Within this context, it is vital MSPs are reminded of the reality of Scottish
artists' working
lives and the potentially disastrous consequences for them if Creative Scotland
continues
to be mishandled. The SAU will be pressing the case for the artist practitioner
and
presenting work by our members during the three days in parliament. The SAU
will be
presenting work by a broad sample of our members. Visiting MSPs will also
receive a
limited edition print created by artists Chris Biddlecombe & Chris Kelly,
together known as
Site Insite.