Scots Politics Can we have the Arts without independence? Posted: 11 Feb 2014 04:12 PM PST Glasgow’s Celtic Connections, a festival celebrating Scottish music and its broader reach to other cultures and traditions, has ended for another year. If you’ve dismissed Scottish music as being in great part about pipe bands and Dashing White Sergeants, all swaddled in Royal Stewart tartan then, dear friends, you’ve been missing something wonderful. I took in a couple of concerts on the final weekend, seeing Stockton’s Wing supported by Blazin’ Fiddles, and Shinty Heroes on the closing night of the festival. The finale saw each member of the house band kitted out in shinty shirts, and while some kits were dispensed very appropriately – Gary Innes, the accordion player, also plays shinty for Fort William and Scotland, and wore the yellow of the former – others were handed out simply because they were there. What caught my eye in all of this was the fact that almost all the shirts bore a ‘Yes’ sticker, that wee declaration of support for Scottish independence. And I’m not quite sure what to take from it. Firstly, I have absolutely no problem with the expression of political viewpoints, even in settings where others might think it inappropriate. On the contrary, I think it’s very important indeed that those who are eligible to vote in the referendum do much to foster frequent and sensible discussion with one another.I have noticed is a definite general leaning of Scottish creatives – our musicians, writers, artists etc. – towards independence, to such a degree that it sometimes seems to be a given that our artists are in its favour. Even that the presentation of their work is intended as a contribution towards the cause, a feeding of an emotional groundswell of support. That is how those discreet little stickers struck me. But why is it so? Does one have to be for independence in order to be a self-respecting purveyor of the arts in Scotland? Of course not. But browsing the National Collective site (tagline: artists and creatives for Scottish independence), you’d be forgiven for thinking so. Alasdair Gray, Frankie Boyle, Hardeep Singh Kohli, Iain Banks, Jack Vettriano – some of Scotland’s biggest names grace its 100 Artists page. Alan Bissett recently observed that the Scottish devolution referendum of 1979 coincided with a ‘flowering’ of Scottish culture, which he took to be a reaction against perceived restrictions imposed upon it by the British state. And I note that some of the more vocal and visible members of the current creative classes seem to be signing up for the same now, most probably increasingly so as mid-September approaches (c.f Alasdair Gray’s latest book, Independence, to be released in June of this year). I feel the question ought to be wrangled with (even more than it already has been): does Scotland really need independence to better express herself? Will she only begin to truly know who she is, with it? What is stopping us from telling her story now, to the fullest extent we can?
Posted on: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 18:28:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015