Horsecross Arts on Arts Council programme

Feb 2 2010 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

HORSECROSS Arts is one of 51 Arts organisations which have been accepted on to the Scottish Arts Council’s £1million Ambition Scotland programme.

Horsecross Arts – the organisation which runs Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre – and the other Ambition Scotland partners will receive support for digital development and sustainable change to encourage and improve levels of public engagement.

The aim of Ambition Scotland is to enhance organisation resilience and effectiveness whilst increasing the overall level of the digital technology base in the arts sector across Scotland.

The Ambition Scotland programme has admitted organisations across two levels, engaging 40 ‘associate’ members and 15 ‘partner’ members. Horsecross Arts Ltd is one of the 15 partners alongside the likes of Edinburgh Printmakers, the RSAMD, Craftscotland, the Scottish Poetry Library, Stellar Quines Theatre Company and Catherine Wheels Theatre Company.

The 15 ‘partner’ organisations will benefit from five days consultancy with a specialist adviser who will conduct an in-depth audit and diagnostic of current digital activity and then work with the organisation to develop a business case to submit for further Scottish Arts Council funding to implement digital developments.

Overall, Ambition Scotland members will benefit from access to a series of events, networking opportunities, access to a wide knowledge base about the use of digital technologies in the arts and creative industries and advice at a strategic level on the use and development of digital technologies. A series of publications will be produced on the subject of Getting Digital alongside other themed events in 2010 and a bespoke Ambition Scotland website will provide an online resource to disseminate a growing knowledge base about the use of digital technologies in audience, organisational, artistic and business development.

Iain Munro, the Scottish Arts Council’s co-director of Arts, said: “The arts sector in Scotland is using technology to communicate differently with audiences to create innovative artistic content and the partnerships and new ways of working that Ambition Scotland presents is extremely exciting.

“Ambition Scotland aims to enable arts organisations to utilise technology in a more effective, integrated way and to support sustainable approaches to public engagement. Encouraging resilience and supporting sustainable organisational development in the arts is essential and we look forward to seeing digital technology in the arts sector become an integral element to future working.”

The Macrobert in Stirling, Dundee Rep Theatre and Dundee Contemporary Arts are among the Associate organisations.