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It’s taken a full six months but the wait to have a new head of Creative Scotland, the country’s national arts funding body, is finally over. Janet Archer, currently director of dance at Arts Council England, will move into her post in next month. A former dancer and choreographer, she was a founder and artistic director of the Nexus Dance Company.
The organisation has been without a leader since Andrew Dixon resigned in December last year, following a protest by artists. 100 people, including novelist Ian Rankin and poet Liz Lochhead, signed an open letter attacking both the management and the running of the organisation. They claimed the whole operation was in an “ongoing crisis” and condemned the decision-making process. The protests began after a range of arts bodies, including the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and the Edinburgh Mela, were told by letter that they would no longer receive a regular grant from the Spring. Ms Archer now faces the challenge of rebuilding confidence in Creative Scotland, but said she was “thrilled and excited” by her new role.
Her appointment came as a surprise. She hadn’t even been amongst those rumoured for the job. But she said she was “thrilled at the chance to take on this important role for the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland. The passion and intelligence emerging out of recent debate has reinforced the vital role Creative Scotland has to play as a partner and facilitator. I’m simply delighted to have the opportunity to contribute towards Scotland’s creative future and look forward to working with people everywhere to unlock talent, drive opportunity and grow artistic and cultural capital for this amazingly ambitious nation.”
Sir Sandy Crombie, Chair of Creative Scotland added that she would take over “at a time of huge opportunities to highlight Scotland’s artistic excellence and achievements in the run up to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and beyond.”
Janet Archer is no stranger to Scotland having worked frequently here in the past, most recently at the artist-led organisation The Work Room, which is based at the Tramway in Glasgow.