While I found your series of articles about puppetry very interesting (ArtsProfessional issue 28, June 17) I cannot help feeling that once again the term ?UK? all too often means ?England?.
The UK?s oldest and largest performing arts festival for children ? the Puppet Animation Festival ? is based in Scotland. Now in its 19th year it has just presented over 200 performances and workshops in more than 90 venues for over 16,000 people. The funding scene, both nationally through the Scottish Arts Council (SAC), and locally through district councils, is fundamentally different from that in the rest of the UK. 20% of all SAC funds disbursed for theatre must go to work for children and young people. SAC has just instigated a review of puppetry in Scotland, a fundamental part of which is a thorough consultation with professional practitioners about career development and training issues which most exercise them. While Rome was not built in a day, I believe there is a real willingness for all parties in the sector ? artists, funders, venues and administrators ? to work together for the further progression and recognition of the whole puppetry sector in Scotland. I hope that the consultations and initiatives going on in the rest of the UK will bear fruit too and I know that Scottish practitioners are always happy to share their experience and know-how with professionals from other parts of the sector.
Published: 01-07-2002