Arts Diary: Efficiency savings might be on the way but job titles are already overworked

NEVER let it be said that Creative Scotland was merely a merger between the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) and Scottish Screen.

It is clearly greater than the sum of its parts, particularly when it comes to job titles.

Creative Scotland (CS), launched in July after the longest labour of any quango in history, has now appointed ten "portfolio managers". Eight are former employees of the former SAC and two former employees of Scottish Screen. The faces may not have changed much (CS rightly set out to save jobs and expertise from the previous organisations) but the job descriptions have been amplified.

Anita Clark, for example, formerly SAC's plain old head of dance is now Creative Scotland's portfolio manager for festivals, touring and dance. Dr Gavin Wallace was simply head of literature before, but now he's portfolio manager for literature, publishing, and language. Ian Munro, former head of music, now runs music and IP development (that's "intellectual property").

The titles are a mouthful and have been the source of wry amusement. But will they also represent a heavier workload?

Wallace already has a pretty wide brief. Amanda Catto, SAC's head of visual arts, now has "international, cultural export, and visual arts" on her larger portfolio plate. Joan Parr has gone from head of education at the SAC to head of "education, learning and young people" - just to clear up any confusion.

Portfolios abound

Creative Scotland's chief executive, Andrew Dixon, says the restructuring has already saved 720,000 a year. "At the moment that is money we are able to put straight back into arts expenditure. Clearly, with cuts ahead, it gives us some flexibility to respond to what might be happening."

Of the job titles, he says: "We are trying to get away from the single art form silos of the past." Portfolio managers will combine a speciality with a "cross-cutting flexibility".

On top of their current roles they will also take a geographic responsibility for particular cities or regions of Scotland, as part of his drive to take an overall look at arts provision in places as well as sectors.

The Scottish Government's detailed reaction to the Comprehensive Spending Review comes next month. One question has been whether civil servants will move to an overall cut in arts organisations or cherry-pick the strongest.

"Our general message is we are very keen to protect the strong foundation in Scotland," said Dixon, suggesting a "first priority" would be protecting the "foundation-funded" organisations."The Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen funding of key organisations has been one of its most successful strategies," he said.

One notable staffing shift has seen David Taylor, formerly the SAC's head of drama and co-director of arts, move to special projects, with particular responsibility for the cultural offerings tied to the London Olympics and the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

He will also work on planned policy reviews in fields like traditional arts. By contrast Dr Helen Bennet was head of creative industries at the SAC, and has exactly the same role at CS.

After Dixon, CS now has three senior "directors of creative development", Venu Dhupa, Iain Munro, and Caroline Parkinson.

Scott Donaldson is the portfolio manager for special projects development, while his former Scottish Screen colleague Morgan Petrie is head of technology, digital media and market development. Caroline Docherty, of the SAC, has the local government, external partnerships and research portfolio.

There are four portfolio roles currently vacant. Drama has given way to theatre and broadcasting partnerships, along with: participation, equalities, and audience development; film skills and talent development; and organisational change and development.

Jura invite to write

A MALT whisky company on Jura is reviving a writer's retreat on the island, where George Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four .

Isle of Jura is offering a budding author the change to win a stay at the island's exclusive Jura Lodge, where the likes of Liz Lochhead and Will Self have found inspiration.

There's a catch, however. The writer must compose a short story set on the island, with a link to local myth and legend, to be penned in just 1,984 minutes - 33 hours and four minutes.

The experiment in rapid writing won't be "massively scientific", says a spokesman, though a stopwatch will be deployed. Staff from the distillery and the Jura pub will be enlisted to check that the writer is keeping sane.

To enter, writers must submit the first 300 words of their proposed short story to [email protected] by 31 December. To enter the competition, entrants must register as a Diurach, or honorary citizen of Jura, at www.isleofjura.com and submit their Diurach number along with their entry for the purposes of verification.

When Orwell arrived on Jura in 1946, he'd been working on Nineteen Eighty-Four off and on for three years.

He rewrote it obsessively as he battled with TB before completing a manuscript in October 1948, saying it "really wasn't worth all this fuss". He died in January 1950.