Latest news: Scottish artists 'need more support'

The Scottish Artists Union (SAU)  has added to the scorn poured on arts funding body Creative Scotland  by prominent artists worried about the future of creative arts in the country. 18/10/2012

Discord between artists and Creative Scotland first hit the headlines in the summer. The arm's-length organisation was criticised for the way it was managed, its perceived lack of transparency and suggestions art in Scotland may become more profit oriented.

Creative Scotland currently has an annual budget of approximately £75million worth of government and Lottery funding.

Earlier this month, 100 artists wrote an open letter to the agency, expressing their concern over how it was being run.

The SAU has now called for more transparency in the work done by the body, as well as better rates of pay for artists and more involvement of artists in decision making.

Commenting on the situation, Anne Bonnar, who supervised the transition of Creative Scotland from the merger of Scottish Screen and the Scottish Arts Council, suggested an independent artists' academy could be beneficial in the long run.

She told The Herald, 'Establishing a national artists' academy with a role in national cultural leadership could bring artists in from the cold and allow more balanced and considered setting of cultural policy.

'This would loosen the singular dependence on Creative Scotland and create a more balanced system for artistic and cultural leadership in Scotland.

'Alternative structures involving artists would signal government recognition of their importance and reduce the singular focus on what is just one part of the cultural landscape.'