Priorities for crafts
The Scottish Arts Council Business Plan identifies priorities for 2009/10. We will work within these priorities to achieve a vibrant and sustainable craft sector.
We will direct resources towards fostering an increasingly confident, skilled and professional community of craftspeople and provide opportunities for them to create, promote and sell their work. A particular emphasis in 2009/10 will be to increase the scope and quality of support for makers.
We will:
- provide direct national awards for creative and professional development
- devolve funds, matched from local sources, to offer awards at regional level
- develop opportunities for the promotion and sale of Scottish makers’ work
- continue our support for craftscotland, which manages the national crafts web resource and the development of a brand for Scottish crafts, to enable makers to strengthen their business practices and promote their work nationally and internationally
- begin implementation of an action plan to develop audiences for crafts
- work with the Crafts Council to provide services and support to Scottish makers
- maintain support for the Own Art scheme.
As a result of our Strategic Review in 2005/06, we agreed funding in principle on a five year cycle (2007/08 – 2011/12) for Foundation Organisations which have a key role in creating and presenting work of high quality locally and nationally.
We support one crafts Foundation Organisation – North Lands Creative Glass – which is recognised as a national centre of excellence whose reach and role has a national and international impact. The organisation assists the development of artists at the highest level, promotes international networking, and acts as a resource for artists and communities in the north east Highlands. We will use our Quality Framework to help them to develop best practice in all areas.
In addition, the Crafts Department leads three cross-artform Foundation Organisations:
We recognise the need for inspirational and innovative presentation of crafts. We will provide support for IC: Innovative Craft to initiate shows for touring and intervene in non-conventional spaces to reach new audiences, complementing the activities of the wider crafts network.
To respond to new ideas, staff will build a comprehensive knowledge of practitioners and creative practice, through studio visits, exhibitions, wide research, and networking with colleagues in other agencies and organisations.
In addition, Crafts Department will lead on one cross-artform Flexibly Funded Organisation:
• Cove Park.
There is a network of around 12 publicly-funded galleries and arts centres in Scotland which incorporate contemporary crafts in educational and exhibition programmes. The current pattern of provision limits the ability to serve audiences throughout Scotland. To address this issue, we will encourage visual arts Foundation Organisations and other appropriate venues to include a crafts element, consistent with their artistic policy, within their programmes. We will continue developing curatorial expertise to enable this to happen, and support visual culture curators to travel to venues, events and studios nationally and internationally to extend their crafts knowledge.
Multi-partner initiatives to establish and maintain Craft Development posts will support strategic work with makers and the audience.
The formal process of merging our roles and responsibilities with those of Scottish Screen began in January 2007, with the formation of a new board, whose members were drawn from the two existing bodies. In January 2009, a new company, Creative Scotland 2009 Ltd, was established and, subject to legislation in 2009 (the Public Service Reform Bill), Creative Scotland will become the new lead body for arts and screen industries in Scotland in 2010, replacing the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. |