(Not) Creative Scotland
Artists Need to Get Their Heads Out of the Sand
There has been some attention paid in the press to the closure of the Creative Scotland Open Fund. The Open Fund was one of the only pathways available to independent artists for public funding. Understandably many are upset. Whilst I sympathise I could easily argue this was a long time coming and those who find themselves caught out have not been paying attention. What happens from here however could spell utter devastation unless more artists do not wake up and speak up.
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In the past five years the Scottish Arts sector (and its funding strands) have been dominated by ideological capture- be it for gender/trans, anti-racism/colonialism, or climate ‘justice’. Those who have not fallen in step have been left out. Personally I have been subject to my own cancelling as I dared to question the very exceptionally narrow social justice narratives being espoused by funders as I sat in meetings where young 'creatives' demanded pronouns like good Maoist Red Guards. Nothing I did previously mattered only that I adhered to the strict parameters set out, and speak the words they determined were necessary.
I have seen 'inclusivity' funds given to the same artists again and again who met the tick box parameters (cancels out the inclusive tag when it becomes a tick box 'club') at the expense of a wider array of artists who were doing (what I view to be) better work. And I have watched the audiences of these ‘inclusive’ artists get smaller and smaller as the parameters of ‘inclusivity’ narrow to the point of (dare I say it?) exclusion. Is this really what we should be doing?
I reported Rein - the porn film - to my contacts who leaked it to the press. Rein whose 'artistic' team refused to have *any* accountability for the public's response to the project - which *the public* funded - rather deriding the electorate for not being 'enlightened' enough. The attitude of many of these artists and projects is thus, not to see themselves in service but as saviours and makers of society.
I said it many times, the arts should be in service to the public if they are in receipt of public funds, not arbiters of morals and ethics THEY deem to be appropriate or worthy.
And then here we have the incredible poet Jenny Lindsay who has consistently led honourably in the face of the most vile cancellation campaign. Jenny Lindsay has been subject to a witch hunt lasting YEARS by the literature sector. Her crime: not being ‘trans inclusive’ in writing about her own experiences of being female. She did not centre men in her work. I mean, seriously? Are we living in another century? The thing was so unbelievable she wrote a book about it aptly titled ‘Hounded’. (you can pre-order your copy release date October 2024)
Even in the face of an incredible campaign of abuse, standing singly against bullies within the sector - she was not vindictive as she sought to continue working. Honourably Jenny went to Creative Scotland to address the systemic failings thinking they were following up on this only to find she was lied to by the self same organisation.
In a deeply ironic twist, it has just been reported that the LITERATURE OFFICER AT CREATIVE SCOTLAND called a bookstore telling them NOT to sell Jenny Lindsay’s book (!).
And there we have it. This is not the time to protect Creative Scotland - in the same way the discovery of the Catholic Church abuse scandal was not the time to 'protect' the Catholic Church. We need to be honest about what is happening. We have an organisation which is rife with corruption of power. And artists have got to stop sticking their heads in the sand.
You think if you 'use the pronouns' that's enough to 'just get on with things'. Eventually lies rot. Eventually totalitarian systems eat their own. The arts industry led by Creative Scotland has become a propaganda arm for the state. This is not a sign of a healthy or thriving society. Collectively we all need to do better or things will just get worse. History tells us that.
I am reading Ray Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451’ right now. Funny how literature from 75 years ago can contain resonances of today. It’s almost as if great works speak to the struggle we have always met as humans (ahem). The book tells of a society where books are outlawed and burned and society is heavily regulated by the state. Sound familiar?
Bradbury wrote in the shadow of the McCarthy era and the ideological repression of the Soviet Union. We can see how the claws of totalitarian communist regimes led by ideology allowed tremendous suffering and deaths. It is estimated in the 100 years of Communist regimes 100 million were killed. This did not start with death camps and gulags however - but with the ideological capture of populations.
I do not think it is the extremists that are to worry about, they are - in number - few - but the ‘Good Germans’ - those who ‘go along to get along’. It is their complicity upon which devastation is wrought. I consider how few of us there are up here - out in the open speaking against the abuses in the arts sector. And I wonder what kind of future we will face. I think about China’s ‘Great Leap Forward’ and how many similarities I am witnessing. This is not a time for artists to be complicit if they care about the future of our children and society.
So what happens with this Open Fund closing? On the one hand perhaps it is good as artists will be forced to be brought back to the grassroots of their art form, having to be responsive to people and place.
On the other hand large organisations loom with their infrastructures and bureaucracies to maintain. In the interest of self preservation will they seek funds where ever they can? Does art lead this search? Or something else?
I was unsurprised to see that Scottish Ballet is in partnership with the WHO (World Health Organisation). They could be forgiven for feeling very good about themselves as they promote ‘Healing Arts’. But doctors they aren’t. Are the therapeutic aims of ballet going to override the art form itself? Are WHO going to dictate what ballet should be? Do we want an international agency dictating artistic output in Scotland? As I have written about before the only school touring project Scottish Ballet has right now is ‘Safe to be Me’. Not about ballet but about ‘making kids feel more safe’ (the entering premise is ‘kids you are not safe’).
We also have Imaginate in a partnership with the United Nations! Imaginate is the National organisation for the creation and promotion of performance for children. Like Scottish Ballet we see a large organisation signing up with another international agency who will dictate Scottish Artistic output via its funding strands.
As I have voiced in my previous writing about LGBT Youth Scotland (and more to say on that in future posts) - many quangos aims are TO SURVIVE. And because of that they shift and jiggle their core purpose to fit into funding parameters. Some people call that ‘ambulance chasing’. (ie. a lawyer soliciting for clients at a disaster site, Amar Aamer Anwar ‘celebrated’ Scottish ‘human rights’ lawyer being a prime example of that).
As artists and organisations hustle to keep going are they going to leave their morals, ethics and public duty at the door? We have seen that with LGBT Youth Scotland. And I would suggest Scottish Ballet and Imaginate are far down that path already. With an increase in funding cuts artists must be ready to calibrate in new ways, ways that do not provide a ‘Great Leap Forward’ but invest in what we have here. Do not become part of the propaganda machine. Resist. And use your talents and your time to find ways to bring people together in spite of differences. Speak out and speak out. Truth ultimately will out, the question is - at what cost?
Special thanks to current subscribers, if you are a free subscriber could you consider becoming a paid subscriber? A yearly subscription is just £25 per year, £3.50 per month or founding membership £250. Every penny makes a difference & allows me to continue advocating for children & childhood. It is much needed and much appreciated. Or buy me a coffee? Thank you!