Scotland: Creative Nation Cultural Summit

Scotland’s biggest conference for artists and arts organisations will descend on Edinburgh for the Scottish Arts Council’s three-day Scotland: Creative Nation Cultural Summit beginning today (Monday, 25 February 2007). The Summit is an opportunity for exploration, discussion and debate of pertinent issues in the context of the development of Creative Scotland.  Over 400 guests will attend each day, which are themed around Impact, Innovation, and Participation in the arts and creative industries.

Topics that Scotland: Creative Nation will address include:

Impact (day one)

• How does a nation value its arts and creative output and what benefit does it have for the nation?
• How do we measure the impact of arts and creativity? Is it through economic, cultural or personal measures: or is it all three? How can these be ‘measured’?

Innovation (day two)

• Art is about pushing boundaries, taking risks – how does that happen?
• What are the best conditions to make it happen and how do we create them? Does it matter that these risks may not pay off?

Participation (day three)

• Why do we want people to participate and how do we let them feel it’s for them?
• How do we encourage, or cajole, participation?

Jim Tough, Acting Chief Executive, Scottish Arts Council commented: ‘Scotland: Creative Nation is an important event for our country’s creative community.  Over three days we’ll be debating and discussing what Scotland’s 21st century landscape will look like and listening to the views of those who will be most able to make it a success.  Issues such as excellence, innovation and the transformational power of the arts are intrinsic to how we shape our cultural identity and I am looking forward to hearing some different perspectives from world-class speakers.’

Minister for Culture Linda Fabiani said: 'I am delighted to open Scotland: Creative Nation and share the Scottish Government’s fresh ambitions for our cultural sector.  We are determined to advance Scotland’s prosperity and success based on a new, confident sense of cultural identity.  This conference provides a timely opportunity to look forward with anticipation to Creative Scotland, a new cultural body with a vital task to develop Scotland’s creative talent and excellence.'

Delegates will hear from a range of high profile speakers through keynote speeches, debates and a wide series of seminars, performances and breakout sessions.

Key speakers will be:

• A Creative Cultural Policy for Scotland – John Knell, Co-founder of Intelligence Agency.
• The Excellence Debate - Sir Brian McMaster, Vicky Featherstone, Mark Cousins and Janet Smith, chaired by Scotsman Theatre Critic, Joyce McMillan.
• Off the Wall, Out of the Box: A Few New Ways (Maybe) To Make a Difference - Artist and writer Suzanne Lacy.
• Getting Under the Skin; Creative Encounters between Art, Ethics and the Body - NESTA Fellow and Chair of Arts Council North East Tom Shakespeare.
• Assessing the Intrinsic Impacts of a Live Performance - Alan Brown, Principal, WolfBrown.
• The Transformational Power of the Arts Debate - Chair of the Joint Board of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, Richard Holloway, Chair of Live Music Forum and CEO of British Music Rights, Feargal Sharkey and Gregor Hendeson,  National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing at the Scottish Government. Chaired by Sheena McDonald.

Full details of the Scotland: Creative Nation cultural summit can be found here:
http://www.scottisharts.org.uk/culturalsummit

Notes to editors

1. The Scottish Arts Council is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) which was established by Royal Charter in 1994 and is also a Lottery distributor. The organisation serves the people of Scotland by fostering arts of excellence through investment, development, research and advocacy. Our corporate aims are: to support artists to fulfil their creative and business potential; to increase participation in the arts; and to place the arts, culture and creativity at the heart of learning. We invest £60m each year, including £15 million of National Lottery funding. For more information visit: www.scottisharts.org.uk
2. Scotland: Creative Nation cultural summit takes place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Morrison Street, Edinburgh between 25 – 27 February 2008.
3. Media wishing to attend the conference or interview speakers should contact the Scottish Arts Council Communications team in advance to confirm attendance and registration details.
4. A member of the Scottish Arts Council’s communication team will be available at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre to facilitate access and interviews with speakers etc.

Contact email(s)

media.office@scottisharts.org.uk

Issued by: Scottish Arts Council