Creative Scotland’s first official event opened in dramatic fashion at the Roxy Art House with a stunning aerial demonstration by Suspended Motion, accompanied by music from Rod Jones of Idlewild.

It was followed by a lively audience discussion with Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive and Sir Sandy Crombie, Chair, facilitated by Kaye Adams. A collaborative piece between Suspended Motion and harpist Corinna Hewitt rounded-off the event.

Over 200 members from the creative community asked key questions on a range of topics, including film investment; Creative Scotland’s vision, and international cultural collaborations.

Andrew and Sandy confirmed that the Creative Scotland board would meet in August to set out objectives, with a firm set of strategic plans expected early in the new year. There was also a commitment made to reduce bureaucracy.

Andrew added that there would be some quick decisions made about new partnerships with the broadcast sector, including BBC and Channel 4.  When the discussion touched on investment in film, he said Creative Scotland would invest where it was most effective, which may mean investing in new talent or promoting the economic development of the sector to enable others to do the investing.

Andrew spoke about the year of Creative Scotland in 2012 which would bring new opportunities for the whole country to see something  special.  Culture is Scotland’s calling card and Creative Scotland would look for investment streams from new public and private partnerships.

He further said that Creative Scotland is a national organisation, but   would recognise and celebrate the contribution that local creativity made to the national identity; from St Magnus in Orkney to Pittenweem in Fife.

When asked about success, Andrew said that in two to three years time, he hoped we would see a confident sector celebrating itself, with   increased growth of festivals and the Fringe.

In time, he hoped Scotland would have the highest level of participation in the arts across Europe and be seen internationally as a cultural place.

Launch video  - Enjoy a video of the Creative Scotland launch at the Roxy Art House .

Creative Scotland Launch from Creative Scotland on Vimeo.

Video produced by Great Silence Media

View more photos of the launch event on the Creative Scotland Facebook page