The smArts: What’s going on with Creative Scotland?

ANYONE with an interest in Scotland’s arts scene will surely have noticed that Creative Scotland, the main source of funding for this country’s artists, has faced a bit of flak recently.

“Mutton-headed bureaucrats,” was Joyce McMillan’s verdict in The Scotsman a couple of weeks ago. Leading playwright David Greig and jazz musician Tommy Smith have also been critical, Greig in an open letter to the media that talked of “a sector-wide loss of trust”. Other artists and commentators have been posting even more damning write-ups via blogs and social networks.

What is the problem? It’s complicated, but it is not – as Greig’s intervention made clear – just about a few companies complaining that their budgets have been cut, even though the criticism was kickstarted by news that 49 companies are to have flexible funding replaced by project funding.

Numerous damaging claims have since been made about Creative Scotland – that there is a lack of transparency in its decision-making, that it talks in impenetrable jargon, that it is trying to dictate what kind of work artists make.

What does Creative Scotland say to all this? “We welcome constructive debate,” wrote its chair Sir Sandie Crombie – in a response to an open letter to The Scotsman from Greig and five other playwrights. “We recognise that with change comes uncertainty and, in some cases, insecurity.” Note the choice of words. Not all the recent criticism of Creative Scotland has been constructive – some has been pretty personal. But, as one commentator pointed out, the recent funding row has certainly brought some widely held concerns into the open. Which, if dialogue is possible, is surely a good thing.