Bill Wilson MSP

Dr Bill Wilson, SNP MSP for the West of Scotland, today commented on the recently released Homecoming Scotland Events Guide.  Congratulating EventScotland and VisitScotland on the programme, he said that it was clear that those organisations “value indigenous Scottish culture and language, but the same cannot be said for the Scottish Arts Council (SAC)”.

International visitors

Dr Wilson explained, “When you look through the Homecoming Scotland Events Guide you see just how many events depend upon writers, musicians and performers steeped in Scottish language, culture and music.  Obviously, as 2009 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, there are many events commemorating one of the world’s greatest poets.  He is justly internationally famous, and he is still seen as a major draw for Scotland.  What would our international visitors think if they knew that SAC had just cut funding for those organisations associated with Scots, the language he predominantly wrote in?

Disgrace

“It’s a national disgrace that Northern Ireland can find the means to support Ulster Scots — to the tune of some £3 million — but Scotland’s leading cultural body can find not a single penny for the Scottish Language Dictionaries and the Scots Language Centre, for example.  I believe the former is already starting the mothballing process.  I refer people to the many statements I have made on the value of the Scots language before!”

Dr Wilson continued, “Traditional music also features extensively amongst the Homecoming Scotland events, and this too the SAC clearly thinks of little value.  It has cut funding for various groups that have been sustaining our world-famous traditional music.  An example of their irresponsible vandalism is the Edinburgh-based Scots Music Group (SMG).  This excellent organisation — where my researcher has been learning to play the fiddle! — won the Community Project of the Year title in the Scots Trad Music Awards 2007, but the SAC has cut its funding.

Crumbs

“I believe Stan Reeves, one of the SMG’s founders, spoke eloquently at the last meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Culture and the Media.  He pointed out that Ireland, with a total arts budget of about €82 million, has allocated €4 million of this to the performance of its traditional arts, and €3 million, from another budget, to education in them, that’s a total of €7 million while the equivalent sector is left scrabbling for a few crumbs here!

“Mr Reeves also implied, I believe — and I agree with him — that the SAC’s obsession with innovation is wrong-headed, that both maintenance and innovation deserve support.  I would go further and ask where do innovators come from?  They rarely come from thin air.  Often they emerge from the very traditions the SAC apparently despises, traditions which, in any case, are evolving.  There are many brilliant young Scottish musicians and groups today who have come from the Scottish musical tradition.  Rather than single any individuals out, however, I suggest people browse the footstompin.com website.”

More than commerce

Dr Wilson continued, “I don’t wish to give the impression that we should fund Scottish cultural, language and music groups purely because of their commercial value, although this is undoubtedly considerable.  Just a short walk from the Scottish Parliament — and in many of our villages, towns and cities — you will find amateur musicians gathered to play in informal sessions.  Many of the musicians who play in these learnt to play in the Scots Music Group and similar bodies.  Yes, the venues are often packed with admiring tourists, but the most important thing is that the musicians are having a great time!  That’s what culture is for, as much as anything else:  it’s extremely valuable, and that’s what the SAC doesn’t appear to understand.”

Dr Wilson concluded with the remarks:  “I sincerely hope that whatever happens with SAC/Creative Scotland our indigenous language, culture and music groups will receive the secure long-term funding they deserve — or rather that we deserve!”

Notes to Editors

Homecoming Scotland programme

Newspaper articles on SAC funding cuts

Dr Wilson’s previous release on funding for Scottish Language Dictionaries

The Scots Music Group

Footstompin (many excellent traditional/innovative musicians here)