SCOTLAND could have a significant presence in the cultural events surrounding the Olympics in Brazil next year as well as Tokyo in 2020, The National can reveal.
Culture chiefs from both countries confirmed Scotland could play a part in the events after they paid fact-finding visits to the Edinburgh festivals.
Their trips were a result of efforts by Momentum, a programme aimed at building relationships between Scotland’s cultural sector and leading cultural policymakers and practitioners from around the world.
Managed by Festivals Edinburgh, British Council Scotland and Creative Scotland with additional support from City of Edinburgh Council, Event Scotland and the Scottish Government, Momentum has also succeeded in establishing solid cultural links with New Zealand where Glasgow’s Visible Fictions recently opened the Christchurch Arts Festival.
As a guest of Momentum, Carla Camurati, head of culture of the Rio 2016 Committee and Marcelo Calero, secretariat of culture in the city of Rio de Janeireo, visited Edinburgh Festivals this year and said they were “impressed by the diversity of performances” they saw.
“I think that with the British Council’s assistance we really can work together to create a beautiful synergy between Scotland and Brazil during the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Camurati.
“It would be wonderful to have at least one of the international co-productions present, such as the Chinese-Scottish show The Dragon, and I would love to have a bagpipe orchestra!”
Calero said it was the first time he had been at the Edinburgh Festivals and it had been a “fantastic experience”. He added he would be “very pleased” to see Scotland represented at the Brazil Olympics.
Despite being five years away, Yuko Ishiwata, the Olympic culture strategy director of the Arts Council of Tokyo, also paid a fact-finding visit to the Scottish capital and said afterwards that Scotland could be represented in the cultural events in Tokyo.
“Of course, many Japanese artists and producers have already done projects with Scotland. But with the Olympic culture programmes, I feel there is more potential,” she said, adding that she had particularly enjoyed the performing arts programmes and the Tattoo, and was “impressed” at the “high quality” of raunchy comedy Wendy Hoose, part of the Made in Scotland showcase.
“The Momentum programme is really helpful for me,” she said, adding that it had given her a “clear image” of how to collaborate with Edinburgh Festivals, Creative Scotland and the British Council for Tokyo’s Olympic culture, education and artist exchange programmes.
“The network I made this time is really important,” she said.
Momentum is also having considerable success in New Zealand which brought a major showcase of work to Edinburgh’s Festivals last year.
Visible Fictions’ Douglas Irvine said the programme had helped “further our company’s reach across the globe: building international connections, and understanding how our work and artists’ stories and experiences connect with other cultures and nations”.
“Projects like this open up connections, assist business growth and increase cultural diplomacy and joint learning,” he said.
Irvine added that it was because of Momentum that he had been able to build a productive relationship with Craig Cooper, Christchurch Festival’s artistic director.
“It has resulted in me having the greatest pleasure collaborating with a range of artists and producers here that I would never have been able to engage with otherwise,” said Irvine. “Momentum is a positive and worthwhile part of the Scotland’s cultural networking events and I believe its role in helping to build bridges between Scotland and other nations is considerable. I certainly hope it is allowed to continue the work it does and to develop further in the future.”
Dana MacLeod, head of art at British Council Scotland, said Momentum was an attempt to be more proactive about making sure Scotland had a significant place in the world’s cultural mix.
“Scotland’s artistic community rose to the occasion during the Commonwealth Games and we are hoping we can maintain this ambition and make the right connections for Rio and looking ahead to Japan in 2020, so Scotland is well-placed to have a profile in these major international platforms,” she said, adding the fact that the Tokyo and Brazilian Olympic delegates had come to Scotland was “very promising”.
MacLeod said the Edinburgh summer festivals had been a huge part of putting Scotland on the global cultural map as they were “a magnet” for international programmers.
“Through Momentum, we have seen a steady increase of cultural professionals from all over the world visiting Edinburgh during the peak festival period who are drawn by the rich range of work, the unique creative encounters and networking potential.
“We will continue to build opportunities for Scotland in New Zealand and many other countries,” said MacLeod.
As well as New Zealand, Tokyo and Brazil, where Jo Clifford’s The Gospel According to Jesus Queen of Hearts is to tour in October, Momentum has also had success creating links in Mexico.
This year, Scottish Dance Theatre will take its production Innocence to Mexico’s La Teatreria which is also to stage Catherine Wheel Company’s White and Tortoise in a Nutshell’s Feral.
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