A Culture Strategy for Scotland: draft for consultation

2. A vision for culture in Scotland

Culture in Scotland is innovative, inclusive and open to the wider world. Cultural excellence – past, present and emerging – is celebrated and is fundamental to future prosperity and wellbeing. Culture’s empowering and transformative power is experienced by everyone.

Culture is sustained and the underpinning and intrinsic value of culture and creativity is widely understood. There is a recognition of the importance of sustaining the culture sector to thrive, first and foremost. Nurturing culture and enabling its development is an essential and powerful part of society.

Scotland is a place where healthy and distinctive communities flourish culturally, and creativity is central to how we imagine new possibilities that are transformative for individuals, communities, businesses and society.

Scotland places explicit value on formal and established forms of cultural expression and on activity that takes place beyond the mainstream and well-known. Culture is simply a part of everyday life for everyone. Creativity, curiosity and challenge are defining parts of Scotland’s character with everyone having the opportunity to create and take part in different types of culture, in a range of ways and in different places. Scotland supports culture to thrive so that residents and visitors prosper from all that culture offers. Those who create are valued and recognised for their unique role in, and contribution to, society.

The imaginative role of artists, designers, creative practitioners, producers and businesses, cultural organisations, makers and places is central to shaping a democratic, diverse, open and innovative society.

People who create have the right to earn a fair living from artistic and cultural professional pursuits.

Cultural excellence and pathways that enable people to develop technical skills and become outstanding in their chosen creative careers are open to all.

Culture and creativity are valued because they act as ways to learn from the past, so as to shape the future. They act as a powerful reminder that what society creates is the legacy it passes on for future generations. Heritage, history, the historic environment and languages are cherished and innovation, ideas and debate are part of civic and community life across the country.

There is no one story of culture in or from Scotland and each individual and community contributes to and shapes their own culture, and society more broadly.

What is your view of the vision as set out in the strategy?

What do you like or dislike or what would you change?