Visual arts review reveals challenges for Scotland

Joined-up relationships, partnership approaches and collaborative initiatives will be key to Scotland maintaining and developing its ambitions for its visual arts sector in the face of challenges ahead, according to the first ever comprehensive study of the sector.

The Visual Arts Sector Review has concluded that stretched resources mean the visual arts could benefit from a more networked approach to leadership and professional development, joint marketing and audience development initiatives, shared posts and services, and sector-led advocacy.

The Review is published by Creative Scotland and is the culmination of a process that worked with the Scottish Contemporary Art Network (SCAN) to gather evidence from more than 1,000 artists and organisations through discussions and online surveys.

It has found a range of indicators that demonstrate the health of the sector, which is notable for its “highly skilled and educated professionals who are nationally and internationally connected, ambitious, motivated and resourceful in their work.” Audiences for the visual arts are growing, and 23,000 secondary school students are studying art and design, making this the most popular arts subject.

Challenges ahead

But as well as identifying the factors underpinning the sector’s strengths and achievements, the study highlights some of the challenges that lie ahead. It raises concerns about the sustainability of careers in the sector and the problems faced by artists and other freelance professionals, which are being compounded by increasing financial pressures on the galleries, workspaces and others that commission, exhibit, collect and represent artists’ work. 

Leaders from across the sector are finding it more difficult to meet the ambitions and expectations of artists and invest in the development of audiences, as their income remains static or reduces while costs continue to rise. Opportunities to generate earned income are limited by staff time, skills and expertise, especially for organisations with small teams.

In order to retain its position as a recognised international centre of excellence, the Review identifies as a priority the need for the sector to be “enabled to maintain and grow the resources required to sustain its work.”

Amanda Catto, Head of Visual Arts at Creative Scotland, said: “Building resilience will require high levels of creativity and ambition; strong, effective and connected leadership at a national and local level; new alliances and connections; and longer term strategic partnerships, between the public and the private, and within Scotland and beyond.”

Catto sees maximising earned income and securing new forms of investment as a vital part of this, meaning that organisations will have to establish new ways of working, both individually and collectively. She told AP: “This is a resourceful sector, and it’s important now to start thinking differently about how we talk to the private sector – both businesses and individuals. The visual arts have been quietly successful over the years, but it’s time to start getting others more excited by this. Artists have always been central to our thinking and we need to ensure that Scotland continues to be a country where artists live and work in our communities as a matter of course.”

Action plans

Sector representatives and partner bodies will be meeting next month, in partnership with SCAN, to discuss the findings of the report. Catto said: “Our aim is to establish a collective and collegiate approach to future development, strengthening the sector for the future.” The meeting, she says, will be “the next step in drawing up a route map that will set out a timescale for action on the priorities set out in the Review”.

She continued: “One of the first priorities is to consider how connected leadership – at a national and local level in the sector – can be more effectively harnessed and used to best effect. There isn’t one single solution to achieving the ambitions of the sector, and we need partners who can take the lead in the areas where they can bring their expertise and influence to bear.”