Scotland?s First Minister has established a Cultural Commission to investigate ways of making the arts a democratic right for all members of society. Jim Tough outlines the Scottish Arts Council?s response to the Commission and looks at the value it places on cultural rights.
We have been offered a great opportunity in Scotland, an invitation from our First Minister Jack McConnell to consider how we can achieve his vision to ?make the development of our creative drive, our imagination, the next major enterprise for our society. Arts for all can be a reality, a democratic right and an achievement of the 21st century?. The brief for the Cultural Commission extends beyond the arts and considers the wider aspects of cultural rights and entitlements. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that must not be dismissed nor denied to a public that is increasingly interested in the arts.
This concept of cultural rights is positive and welcome. But even with a commitment to legislation in support of this aspiration there are real challenges. Culture isn?t tidy, and may not be amenable to a legislative framework, however well intended. The Scottish Arts Council?s (SAC) submission to the Commission has suggested an approach that retains dynamism at the heart of creativity but acknowledges the factors that inhibit the opportunities to experience and enjoy the best that our arts and artists have to offer. And, before looking at our suggestions in detail, let?s remember we are all already involved in our own cultural lives without the benefit of state intervention ? otherwise we would still be paddling in the primordial soup. Fame Academy may not be everyone?s chosen slice of reality, but it is undeniably part of the cultural milieu.
In establishing a network of entitlements, one option is to establish a minimum provision approach for standards of cultural provision. There is much that is attractive in an approach that sets clear standards but the counter risk of such an approach is that it leads to box-ticking, the acceptance of minimum as also maximum and a dull mechanistic approach. SAC has counselled against such a ?minimum provision model?; it is hard to define and harder to enforce; instead we advocate a more pro-active way, with three basic strands.
The first strand is to look at the scope, range and quality of what our artists, and the cultural sector, have to offer. What is on the menu? Is it varied, challenging, exciting, approachable, relevant? We believe the cup is half full: we have much to celebrate and be proud of ? from the world?s premier performing arts festival(s) in August to unique and still evolving traditional arts that effortlessly underline Scottish identity. But let?s not be shy about the financial realities. Many arts organisations and many artists are not working to full capacity because of a lack of financial support and limited facilities. An ambition to increase both opportunity and quality alone will not allow the First Minister to achieve his aspiration. It is not going to assert our place as a nation on a world stage, so let?s belie our national caricature for parsimony, and spend more.
The second strand, to use the popular bureaucratic parlance, is audience development. What is the point of a mouth-watering menu if social, geographical, cultural, and financial circumstance means you can?t get into the Scottish cultural restaurant, and are left with nose pressed up against the window looking in. The solution here isn?t just about better transport, improved physical access, better understanding of audience behaviour and preference, or cheaper tickets. It is also about a fundamental change in the organisational mindset in many arts companies, from the front door to the Director?s chair.
Our final contention is the most fundamental, the most ambitious and the most challenging. Talk of cultural rights and entitlements is empty if the role of arts in the education of children is not properly attended to. Schools form the agenda for citizens? lives. It is crucial that increased understanding and provision of the arts in schools is addressed. And this is not simply about intellectual access through better knowledge and understanding of the arts and letters. It is the confidence that this understanding brings. The school, and any other learning setting, can be a springboard for cultural emancipation. And the bonus factor, of course, is that creativity at the heart of learning can give wee countries like Scotland an edge in the global marketplace.