Creative body must rebuild confidence

It has been a somewhat rocky road for Creative Scotland in recent years. Now the body’s chief executive has stepped down following stinging criticism of funding decisions.

Janet Archer described working with Creative Scotland as an honour, but gave precious little insight into the reasons behind her rather sudden departure.

However, the organisation has not had its troubles to seek during her controversial tenure.

Chief among the disputes have been issues surrounding the rather all-encompassing and critical role of decision making.

It is worth remembering, of course, that Creative Scotland’s most vital function – indeed its raison d’etre – is to make funding decisions.

Yet Holyrood’s Culture Committee recently found the body was falling well short in this regard.

That came as little surprise to many baffled artists who had criticised what they saw as baseless decisions to cut funding earlier this year.

There is no doubt Creative Scotland has a crucial role to play in the nation’s vital artistic sector and the departure of one figure, however senior, is unlikely to be a panacea for all its ills.

However, what it might do is provide the opportunity for a fresh start, not to mention the chance to rebuild hitherto shaken confidence within the nation’s cultural circles.