Taxpayers splash out on Mexican rain study
WITH our weather, Scotland is well known for having plenty of water.
Yet thousands of pounds of public money is being spent on sending an artist to one of the world’s driest regions – to learn about H2O.
Arts quango Creative Scotland has given Holly Keasey £4,274 of lottery funding to go to New Mexico for the bizarre project. The 29-year-old, Dundee-based performance artist will spend three months looking at ‘the use and misuse of a substance that i s critical to everybody’s lives’.
The trip will see her swap damp Caledonia, with an average annual rainfall of 28 inches, for sunny Santa Fe, with a yearly rainfall barely half that.
Last night, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘It really is surprising that our authorities still seem to be struggling to grasp the importance of finding savings at a time when families are struggling with tax bills.
‘Barely a day goes by without taxpayers being told they need to dig deeper to fund essential services, yet our authorities seem to somehow find the money to fund ventures like these.’
Miss Keasey studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee.
Her graduate show included a pool with a floating artist’s book, alongside decking and a bench to relax at the water’s edge. She has also been l ead artist f or the Clyde River Foundation.
She was awarded £4,274 lottery funding by Creative Scotland to ‘attend a three-month residency as part of Santa Fe Arts Institute’s themed residency programme, Water Rights’.
Miss Keasey declined to comment, saying: ‘ I am not i nterested in partaking in an interview.’
But a Creative Scotland spokesman said: ‘Our funding will enable this emerging artist to undertake a structured residency at the world renowned Santa Fe Art Institute, benefiting both her creative and professional practice.
‘We find that many artists are interested in exploring environmental concerns and we believe it is important that our best creative minds can be supported in this endeavour.
‘The programme has attracted artists from across the world and we are delighted that an artist from Scotland has been selected to take part.’