Scotland in the summer of 2014 was, of course, a nation in conversation and debate about independence. But it was also a nation expressing this through every kind of cultural form - touring Yestivals, animated virals, Twitter-length plays, thumping rock gigs, a tsunami of books and blogs, posters and pamphlets. And most of those cultural makers were articulating the Yes position. National Collective, the organisation who most actively mobilised artists and creatives for independence, gained over 4000 active members, starting with the Scottish Makar Liz Lochhead and working their way downwards and outwards throughout the artistic community. Why were Scots artists so overwhelmingly supportive of a Yes vote? In my view, the most elemental reason may be their positive attitude to risk and possibility. Freelance self-starters, who accept a degree of precarity and openness in their lives, could easily live with competing accounts of the outcome of independence. But they also knew, deep down, the rewards of autonomy, of shaping your life according to your own lights. And how a sense of vision can transform your reality.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 18:40:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015