Culture
How to fix the Scottish cultural funding crisis?
“Budgets across the creative industries have been decimated by the state of the economy. Micro businesses and creative industries freelancers have borne the brunt of it. I know people in film and TV who haven’t…
The trouble with – and in – England
“It therefore seems plausible to suggest that the anomaly of the English – a powerful majority which often perceives itself as overlooked and ignored among the British nations – might play a role in explaining…
The Scottish Covenant at 75 should be revived
“Like Hamilton and MacCormick, most of the people whose names are on the Scottish Covenant are no longer with us. But it would be a fitting tribute to their efforts to find a place for…
George Orwell and Europe’s new normal
“We once believed that workers’ rights, the green transition and sustainable development were signs of wisdom and modernity. Today these are painted as ideological slogans bordering on madness,” writes Prof Zielonka on the outcome of…
Who is Lynda Myles?
Shining a spotlight on a trailblazer in film festivals who often goes un-recognised or even forgotten in Scotland
Blind men and the elephant
‘Scottish policy making remains too top-down, centralised with bureaucrats at the centre assuming their expertise trumps all others. Disconfirmatory evidence that things are not working is often ignored. Believers find excuses, blame others while their…
The war against Gazans continues unabated
“In short, the burst of tension over Israeli-Iranian relations and the risk of war has eased and the emphasis returns to the ongoing war, mainly on Gaza but increasingly in the West Bank as well.…
Peat Bog Soldiers: how a Scottish band contributes to a German concentration camp archive
Professor David Archibald takes a radical approach to history through ‘wild research’ which has one foot in higher education, and one foot in Glasgow’s vibrant music scene. “One aspect of this wildness is that it…
Patagonia 2023
Our colleague Jackie Kemp posts a guest blog by her partner, Rob Bruce, whose images often grace our pages on a trip to Patagonia…and more.
Cut to the bone. Is this what Scotland’s culture is worth?
“At the end of a year of confusing cuts, un-cuts and renewed cuts, the Scottish Government’s latest pledge is to invest £100m in the cultural sector over the next five years. How widely and how…
Remote? The Highlands? Get awa’
“Remote” seems to me to have a useful meaning in the IT sense of performing an activity when you are not there in person – eg a surgeon might operate remotely, or a teacher give…
Back to the National Gallery of Scotland after 30 years
Jackie Kemp revisits a once favourite haunt: ” I felt that what would be better was just to hang Scottish paintings among the European and world artists who influenced them. They should be enjoyed for…