New Creative Scotland chief backs Hyslop comments

Janet Archer, Creative Scotland's new chief executive. Picture: Neil Hanna/TSPL

The new head of Scotland’s arts funding body has thrown her support behind culture secretary Fiona Hyslop’s rejection of the arts being used as a “commodity” to help boost the economy.

• Janet Archer, new Creative Scotland chief, backs comments made by culture secretary Fiona Hyslop about rejecting the “commodity” approach to arts

• Comments are in contrast to those made by UK counterpart Maria Miller, who said organisations had to demonstrate their worth

Janet Archer said that it was“fantastic to be in a country where government is willing to put itself out” for the sector, in her first interview since being appointed chief executive of Creative Scotland.

In contrast, UK culture secretary Maria Miller said in April that organisations had to demonstrate their worth to the economy if they were to receive funding.

Ms Archer, 52, left her post as director of dance at Arts Council England, which saw its budget from Westminster slashed by 30 per cent three years ago, and a further five per cent last month.

Creative Scotland’s budget from Holyrood this year has reduced by just two per cent and her comments may be viewed by some as a veiled attack on the UK government’s huge cut in funding.

The former dancer and director sided with Ms Hyslop’s remarks on the huge difference between the way artists are now viewed north and south of the Border during a key note speech at Edinburgh University last month.

“I have enormous respect for what Fiona Hyslop has said and can empathise with all of it”, she told The Scotsman in an interview yesterday, when asked which view she favoured.

“It’s fantastic to be in a country where government is willing to put itself out and position the arts as being part of the country’s DNA and critical to the environment in the way that Fiona Hyslop has. That’s really exciting.

“That is the vision and now we’ve got to turn that into a plan and bring it to life.”

Ms Archer went on to say that “art doesn’t always have value to the point at which it’s created. If you look back in time there are any number of artists who are now regarded as greats, world greats, who in their time weren’t recognised at all.”

“Making money isn’t always the focus for people and we need to respect that”, she added.

Her comments also appeared at odds with those of Sir Sandy Crombie, the former Standard Life boss and Creative Scotland’s board chairman, who said in October: “They who provide the money have a right to ask what will result from that investment.” Selection process

Ms Archer was selected from nearly 100 applicants as a replacement for Andrew Dixon, who resigned in December following an artists’ revolt over the way the agency was run.

Creative Scotland was thrown into crisis after crime author Ian Rankin, playwright David Greig, Makar Liz Lochhead and around 100 leading arts figures issued an open letter detailing what they said were a series of substantial failures.

These included a major shift in funding affecting 49 leading arts organisations and the use of corporate jargon in funding applications. She said work was already underway to rebuild relationships with those it funds.

Ms Archer, who will move to Edinburgh with her husband to take up the £110,000 job, also admitted there had been failures on the part of the agency.

Funding applications are currently a “bit confusing” and the national arts body’s website has to be overhauled, she said.