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Arts Development and Policy in Rural Scotland

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Arts Development and Policy in Rural Scotland Lu, Yu Tonia (2015) Lost in location: arts development and policy in rural Scotland. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5899/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Lost in Location? Arts Development and Policy in Rural Scotland Yu ‘Tonia’ Lu BA, MA Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Glasgow College of Creative Arts Centre for Cultural Policy Research January 2014 © Yu Tonia Lu 2014 Abstract 2 Abstract This thesis examines arts development and policy in rural Scotland in recent years. In this formerly unexplored field, it looks at the relationship between arts policy and arts development practice in rural Scotland and the impacts and (dis)connections that the nationwide arts policy has had on arts in rural Scotland, particularly during a period of major change in Scottish arts policy between 2010 and 2013. Nine rural regions with a population density of under 30 people per kilometre2 as of 2009 were selected as the key geographic regions in this research: Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, Argyll and Bute, Highland, Eileanan Siar (Western Isles), Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, Moray and Aberdeenshire. Examples and data on particular regions, arts organisations and events were drawn from the said regions to investigate the role of the arts in rural development and the role of local communities, local authorities and national agencies in shaping the arts in rural Scotland. This thesis will articulate and discuss the relationships between the arts and local communities and the economy in rural Scotland and further demonstrate how the arts in rural Scotland have been surviving. The thesis concludes with presenting the advantages and issues caused by common approaches in arts development for rural Scotland, advocating what is needed for the arts in rural Scotland today with suggestions for future top-level policy development. Table of Contents 3 Table of Contents Introduction __________________________________________________ 11 Why the Arts in Rural Scotland? ______________________________________ 12 Research Framework _______________________________________________ 14 Limitations and Other Issues _________________________________________ 16 Chapter 1 The Arts and Their Social Roles __________________________ 18 Discussions on the Political and Social Roles of the Arts ____________________ 18 Post-War: Modern Art Movements and Arts Councils ________________________________ 19 The 1980s–1997: Creative Industry and the Emphasis on the Economic Impact of the Arts 21 1997–2010: New Labour and Instrumental and Intrinsic Values of the Arts _____________ 24 Now ________________________________________________________________________ 30 Existing Literature on the Arts in Rural places in the UK ___________________ 32 Studies on Rural Arts Development between the Late 1980s and 1990s ________________ 32 After the Establishment of the DEFRA____________________________________________ 36 Conclusion _______________________________________________________ 42 Chapter 2 Rural Scotland and its Political Context ___________________ 47 Overview of Rural Studies and Rural Scotland ___________________________ 47 Demographic Statistics in Rural Regions ________________________________ 50 Rural and Arts Policies and Practice in Scotland since the 1960s _____________ 55 1960s-70s Arts for community improvement and cohesion ___________________________ 55 1980s – 1997 Rural Development and Environment issues, The Scottish Arts Council _____ 57 1997 – 2011 The DEFRA, SRDP, the LEADER Fund, and the Minister of Rural Affairs ______ 59 Now ________________________________________________________________________ 62 Conclusion _______________________________________________________ 65 Chapter 3 Methodology _________________________________________ 67 Key Terms _______________________________________________________ 67 Indigenous ___________________________________________________________________ 67 Rural and Urban ______________________________________________________________ 69 Community and Top-Level Initiatives ____________________________________________ 69 Desk Research ____________________________________________________ 70 The Strengths and Weaknesses of Desk Research ___________________________________ 72 Case Study _______________________________________________________ 73 Fieldwork _______________________________________________________ 76 Interview Design ______________________________________________________________ 76 Interview Selection and Access __________________________________________________ 76 Interview Data Analysis ________________________________________________________ 78 Professional Involvement ___________________________________________ 79 Ethics and Anonymity ______________________________________________ 82 Conclusion _______________________________________________________ 82 Table of Contents 4 Chapter 4 National Arts Policies and the Reform of the Scottish Arts Council ___________________________________________________________ 84 From the SAC to Creative Scotland ____________________________________ 85 Cultural Policies under the Newly Devolved Scottish Executive 1999 – 2006 ____________ 85 Cultural Policies of Scottish Government during the Transition from the SAC to Creative Scotland 2007 - 2010 __________________________________________________________ 90 Organisational Structure and Personnel Changes ___________________________________ 94 Vision and Priorities __________________________________________________________ 100 Creative Industries, Cultural Economy and the Sense of Business ____________________ 105 Investment Programmes ______________________________________________________ 105 The Response and Reflections to the Post-Devolution Cultural Policies in Scotland ______________________________________________________________ 108 Local Authorities ____________________________________________________________ 109 Core Funded Arts Organisations ________________________________________________ 117 Individual Artists, Creative Practitioners, Grassroots Organisations __________________ 119 Conclusion ______________________________________________________ 121 Chapter 5 Mapping the Arts in Rural Scotland ______________________ 124 South of Scotland – Rural Lowlands ___________________________________ 124 Dumfries and Galloway _______________________________________________________ 125 Scottish Borders _____________________________________________________________ 127 The Northeast: Aberdeenshire, Moray and Surrounding Areas ______________ 128 Highlands and Islands _____________________________________________ 129 Argyll and Bute and Eileanan Siar ______________________________________________ 130 Highland ___________________________________________________________________ 132 Orkney and Shetland _________________________________________________________ 133 Regional and Cross-Region Agencies __________________________________ 136 Conclusion ______________________________________________________ 140 Chapter 6 Development of an Arts Infrastructure in a Rural Region _____ 142 Arts Development and the Building of an Infrastructure in the 2000s ________ 142 The National/Cross-Region Agencies ____________________________________________ 143 The Region, Local Authority and Other Local Factors ______________________________ 148 Financial Support for Dumfries and Galloway’s Independent Arts Organisations in the 2000s ___________________________________________________________________________ 153 The 2011 Crisis and Dumfries and Galloway’s Recent Developments _________ 160 The Collapse of dgArts and the 2011 Crisis _______________________________________ 160 The Role of Creative Scotland in Forming Rural Arts Infrastructure __________________ 163 Conclusion ______________________________________________________ 169 Chapter 7 The Arts in a Scottish Rural Economy ____________________ 174 Scottish Identity and Cultural Tourism ________________________________ 175 Orkney and Shetland _________________________________________________________ 182 Creative Practitioners and Businesses _________________________________ 186 Practitioners in Rural Scotland _________________________________________________ 187 Craft and Design Businesses ___________________________________________________ 189 Support for Artists in Rural Scotland ____________________________________________ 196 Conclusion ______________________________________________________ 200 Table of Contents 5 Chapter 8 The Social Impact of the Arts in Rural Scotland ____________ 203 Where are the Arts in Rural Development? _____________________________ 204 The Challenges for Local Authorities__________________________________ 206 Community Involvement in the Arts __________________________________ 208 The Community and Artists as Leaders __________________________________________ 212 Community Engagement through Public Art and
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