Scotland’s arts go Dutch

A selection of Scotland’s leading arts groups and organisations are heading to the Netherlands this month as part of a cultural exchange to promote Scottish arts.

The exchange, which is being organised by the Scottish Arts Council, will see four initiatives in the Netherlands promoting Scottish arts while also allowing Scottish organisations to share areas of expertise and experience with Dutch arts organisations.

East Glasgow Youth Theatre, which is renowned for its positive and inclusive work with young disabled people, is the first Scottish group to visit Amsterdam this week and a group of five young actors from the company will take part in a series of collaborative workshops with ISH, a Dutch youth theatre group that works with culturally diverse young people, including some who have lived on the streets.  The project aims to bring the participants together to learn from each other while developing a new piece of work.

The National Arts Education Network (NAEN), will also be in the Netherlands this weekend as part of the programme, and will host a joint conference with their Dutch counterparts, Cultureel Jongeren Passpoort (CJP), to learn more about the benefits of including cultural awareness in the school curriculum as well as discussing the value of European Youth Cards to encourage young people to focus on the arts.  Mr Frank McAveety, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport will attend the conference alongside the Netherlands Minister for Culture, Mr Medy van der Laan.

The other arts initiatives in the programme include leading Scottish dance company SDT developing a relationship with Galili Dance in Groningen.  The two companies are similar in terms of size and the fact that they are located in cities outwith the capital and the exchange aims to look at how the two companies can develop a collaborative piece of work. 

Finally, children’s theatre company Wee Stories will visit the Netherlands to perform their acclaimed version of Robert Burns’ Tam O’Shanter while a special performance of their show is also planned for the Dutch community residing in Scotland.  Wee Stories will also host a storyteller from the Netherlands who will perform Dutch stories to Scottish audiences.

The arts exchange is part of the wider ‘Scotland in the Netherlands’ initiative organised by the Scottish Executive to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Scottish troops’ role in the liberation of Dutch towns during the Second World War.  The programme focuses on contemporary Scotland and aims to promote Scotland as an excellent place to live, work and study as well as a place to do business, highlighting the many things that Scotland has to offer the people of the Netherlands. 

‘Scotland in the Netherlands’ follows on from previous Scottish Executive ‘Scotland in…’ programmes in Sweden, France and Catalonia.  Previous programmes have consisted of an intense concentration of events over a four or five day period, but ‘Scotland in the Netherlands’ will run over a two month period in various towns and cities across the country.

Graham Berry, Director of the Scottish Arts Council, says: ‘We are delighted that we have been able to put together a great programme of arts activities in the Netherlands over the next two months.  This provides an ideal opportunity for us to showcase some of the excellent work being done by theatre and dance companies in Scotland while also allowing these groups to benefit from the experience of their Dutch counterparts and exchange creative ideas and examine possibilities for collaborative works in the future.’

Mr McAveety adds: “ ‘Scotland in the Netherlands’ demonstrates our commitment to raise our profile internationally and to generate positive interest and awareness in Scotland.

“We have a country with a rich and vibrant arts scene, and the youth theatre collaboration between the company from Glasgow and their Dutch contemporaries says much about what I believe about Scotland – that we have cultural experiences, artistic qualities, and unique talents that we can show to the world, and our young people are leading the way.

“It is vital we take our message out beyond our borders that Scotland has much to offer our European colleagues. ‘Scotland in the Netherlands’ provides us with a platform to take forward one of the Executive’s commitments to advance Scotland’s place in the Europe and the wider world by building links with other countries and regions and promoting Scotland as an attractive and exciting place to live and work.”

Contact email(s)

media.office@scottisharts.org.uk

Issued by: Scottish Arts Council