A new voice from Creative Scotland
There was a lot of discontent when the old Scottish Arts Council morphed into Creative Scotland. People missed the modest handouts for research and travel that had been so useful, and doubted that the slicker, more business-orientated body that replaced it could do the same job. The doubts swelled to a tide of protest, and heads duly rolled.
In the place of the headless is a new CEO, Janet Archer, the Director of Dance for the English Arts Council. Janet was the unanimous choice of the Creative Scotland Board for a post which attracted almost 100 applications. She currently chairs the artists-led organisation, The Work Room, based at Tramway in Glasgow. A former dancer and choreographer herself, she conceived and ran the ‘Dance Mapping’ project that surveyed the work, challenges and opportunities of over 1400 practitioners, companies and promoters throughout England.
This week, Janet sent out a friendly letter, summarised here.
First and foremost, I’m humbled and delighted to be appointed to lead Creative Scotland. It’s brilliant to be living and working in Scotland, where the arts, screen and creative industries are recognised and appreciated for being intrinsically important by both the government and the public. The quality of work coming out of Scotland is extraordinary, across all areas of creative practice.
It’s clear that we have issues to resolve. The Board have recognised this and work is underway to deliver the commitments made back in December 2012. The open sessions earlier this year have provided a rich source of useful and powerful guidance on what artists, film-makers and creative people want and need from us.
Creative Scotland will listen, learn and adapt, working with artists and creative businesses as partners to continue to grow opportunities to enrich the cultural lives of people in Scotland. I want to stimulate an environment that grows confidence and enables the very best work to develop across the arts, screen and creative industries.
Warmest wishes,
Janet
