New Chair takes reigns in Scotland

IFACCA/Artshub, 11 February 2005
United Kingdom

After an eight-month search, Dr Richard Holloway, a seventy-one year old former bishop, has been appointed Chair of the Scottish Arts Council. Culture Minister, Patricia Ferguson, said: ‘I’m delighted to announce Richard’s appointment. He is a well respected figure in Scotland and his drive and enthusiasm will be of real benefit to the Scottish Arts Council. I look forward to working closely with him in delivering the Executive’s cultural policies.’ The appointment of Holloway to the post has been largely well-received. During his 14 year tenure as the bishop of Edinburgh, Holloway – now an author and broadcaster – was no stranger to controversy and attention, and it is expected he will bring a personal flair and wealth of ideas to the job. A former chairman of the Scottish Book Trust, he has authored some 25 books. The Scottish Arts Council is responsible for a £74 million budget and employs over ninety people. Holloway’s post is for three years, with the Chair expected to take an active role in Council processes. Whether Holloway’s time in office will bring with it major changes in the bureaucratic structure of the Council is unclear, but the arts community have expressed confidence in the appointment. Said Donald Smith, of the Scottish Storytelling Centre: ‘We need big and bold ideas and Richard Holloway is the man to get into the debate. It raises the quality of the game.’ Cheif Executive of the Book Trust, Marc Lambert, was "delighted" at Holloway's appointment. 'Richard is a redoubtable character,' he said, 'and is going to need to be so.' In an official statement, Holloway stated: ‘I am highly honoured to have been invited to become Chair of the Scottish Arts Council, a body for which I have the highest admiration.’ Later, in an interview with Radio Scotland’s, the new Chair issued further comments concerning the Council. ‘Anything that we do for the love and beauty of it is an art. I think we need to get away from this name-calling approach and celebrate the fact that Scotland is enormously rich in its responses to life, which is what art should be. Football's an art, shinty's an art, ballet's an art, opera's an art, traditional music is an art.’ He added: ‘I get the impression that politicians, especially the first minister, want to liberate Scottish art and culture for all people . . . the poorest, a large sector of the population, are excluded from all the riches that people like myself enjoy. Can we not find ways of bringing them into the party instead of being outside in the cold?’ Scottish Arts Council Director Graham Berry welcomed Dr Holloway’s appointment. He said: ‘We are delighted that Richard Holloway has been appointed by Ministers as our new Chairman. He is well-known to us through his work as an author and as a former Chairman of the Scottish Book Trust. ‘He is also greatly respected throughout Scottish society, including the artistic community, for his formidable intellect, his ability to listen and his breadth of vision.’ For more information, CLICK HERE.

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