Exclusive:Creative Scotland launches new defence of how 'hardcore' sex film project was handled

Creative Scotland has launched a fresh defence of its handling of a ‘hardcore sex’ film project after being accused by MSPs of misleading the Scottish Parliament and damaging the case for public funding of the arts.

Its board has denied claims the funding body was not “fully open and transparent" over its decision to award theatre-maker and filmmaker Leonie Rae Gasson £84,555 for a project she intended to film “hardcore” sex acts for.

The Scottish Government’s arts agency has been criticised for not giving MSPs a “full picture” over its backing for the planned multi-screen film installation and a subsequent decision to withdraw its funding offer.

Leonie Rae Gasson was awarded £84,555 by Creative Scotland for her moving image installation project Rein. Picture: Julie Howden

The Scottish Conservatives have demanded Creative Scotland apologise for approving funding for a “graphic and pornographic film, and accused the arts agency of “deflecting and passing the buck”.

Creative Scotland's board has defended the agency's treatment of the artist and her team, who have denied they “misled” the funding body over the nature of the project. They claim Rein had been “misunderstood and misrepresented,” and said sexual elements had always been key to its “artistic vision”.

However, Creative Scotland insists it acted "sensitively" towards the artist and her team to avoid adding to the "febrile atmosphere" around the project, despite withdrawing support days after details of filming plans were made public and suggesting Rein was “considerably more explicit” than expected.

It later emerged, via responses to Freedom of Information requests, that Ms Gasson’s team, who insist they were transparent about Rein's explicit nature, had said in their funding application they wanted to film "a sex scene with genital contact".

Iain Munro is chief executive of Creative Scotland (Picture: Kat Gollock)

However, when Creative Scotland chief executive Iain Munro gave evidence at Holyrood last month he told MSPs “the mention of genital contact does not mean real sex”.

Widespread criticisms of Creative Scotland have since been raised with the chair of its board, Robert Wilson, by Holyrood’s culture committee. It has demanded to know what action would be taken to address the “reputational damage” done by its handling of the project.

Mr Wilson said the board had taken the concerns "very seriously", but insisted they were "unanimously supportive" of Mr Munro and his senior team.

Making Creative Scotland's fourth significant defence of how the project was handled, Mr Wilson has assured the culture committee, there is not a “systemic problem” over decision-making and funding programmes within the arts agency, which is due to decide on £87.4m worth of applications for long-term support in October.

Clare Adamson is convenor of the Scottish Parliament's culture committee.

However, Creative Scotland has pledged to take a "more cautious approach” over the future funding of projects with sexual content and has reviewed its "risk appetite" in the wake of the concerns raised about the handling of Rein.

Controversy flared in March when the Rein team’s call-out for performers with experience of sex work and pornography for a “non-simulated” sex scene was promoted by Creative Scotland, which approved the grant in January. The arts agency pulled the plug on its backing for Rein after culture secretary Angus Robertson told Holyrood there was “no way” it should have received funding.

At the time, Creative Scotland accused Ms Gasson and her team of breaching the conditions of the funding award by significantly changing the nature of the project, including giving “non-simulated” sex acts a central role in Rein. Mr Munro later told Holyrood that Ms Gasson and her team had not contested the reasons for the funding being pulled.

However, a statement from Ms Gasson’s team said: "The artists do not agree that they misled the funding body. Everyone involved in the project is deeply saddened that it did not seek clarification with the artists, or suggest working together to elucidate to third parties that the project is an artistic moving image film and not what has been widely reported or claimed.

"No opportunity was given to the artists to work towards a joint resolution or alternative outcome prior to the decision to defund the work.”

Clare Adamson, convener of the culture committee, told Mr Wilson: "Our view is that much of the controversy could have been avoided by Creative Scotland being more open and transparent around how it handled the funding of Rein once the decision had been publicly challenged.

"The committee also requests that the board considers the extent to which Creative Scotland’s handling of this matter has caused reputational damage not only to its own role, but also to the cultural sector more widely, and most importantly, the Rein artists. The committee would also welcome being kept updated on what actions both the board and the chief executive intend to implement to repair that reputational damage."

Megan Gallacher, deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said: “Rather than deflecting and passing the buck, Iain Munro and his Creative Scotland colleagues should finally acknowledge their mistake in approving this funding for the graphic and pornographic film.

“We have had clashing accounts of who knew what and when about the film’s contents, but have yet to hear any formal apology for this mismanagement of public funds. At a time when public funds are being stretched to their limits amidst a cost-of-living crisis, the least the public deserve is an admission from Creative Scotland that mistakes were made, as well as reassurance that this sort of error won’t happen again.”

Mr Wilson said: "We believe Creative Scotland has been fully transparent within the confines of legal processes, FOI legislation and our statutory requirements.

"We would also like to reiterate the importance of protecting the individuals involved in this matter – something we’ve taken great care to do throughout. Working within these parameters, we’ve shared the information requested in a timely manner.

"The point you raise about reputational damage is taken very seriously. The board is particularly concerned with the extent to which this matter has been damaging for the individuals involved, and the risk this poses to the case for future investment and support for the culture sector, which we’ve been so diligently advocating for.”

Mr Wilson said the Rein controversy had “exposed some unacceptable behaviour and opinions”, including abuse targeted at individuals involved in the project and “broader communities.”

He said: “We’ve publicly and repeatedly acknowledged the track record of the artist and their team, and have acted with sensitivity to avoid adding further to the febrile atmosphere surrounding the project.

"We’d like to reassure the committee of Creative Scotland’s consistent and ongoing adherence to our published processes, and the rigour and robustness of our decision-making. We also want to reiterate that one controversial award does not represent a systemic problem with our processes."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The culture secretary meets regularly with Creative Scotland and will be discussing the progress it has made in terms of its review, and changes to improve safeguards to ensure the recent issues are not repeated, at their next quarterly meeting."