Introduction Thoughts

Shortlist of Scotland’s inspiring ideas announced Read the full press release here. If you require any further information relating to Inspire please contact a member of our Lottery Department on 0131 226 6051.

Introduction

Inspire aims to fill people with energy and enthusiasm to experience the arts in Scotland and so become creative, imaginative members of a confident cultured nation

Inspire is an £8 million fund that has been developed as part of the Scottish Arts Council’s commitment to increasing participation and aims to provide more, wider, better engagement with the arts:

• More – increasing the number and range of people enjoying and taking part in the arts, particularly arts activity for and by children and young people.
• Wider – making the arts available to those who have had little opportunity to participate in the past; ensuring a fair geographic spread of activities; and supporting projects across artforms and technologies.
• Better – increasing further the quality of arts activities by supporting creative, ambitious projects. 

Inspire is a unique opportunity for a wide range of organisations, including arts organisations, voluntary and community groups, to apply for Lottery funding.

Priority will be given to applications which demonstrate that they extend the reach and nature of engagement with the arts, ensure quality artistic engagement and create potential for new, creative cross sectoral partnerships.

Inspired thoughts

Here are some inspirational thoughts from key members of the creative community in Scotland

Richard Holloway Ben Twist Gordon Maclean Andy Howitt

John Tiffany Jim Tough Mary McCluskey Louise Macdonald

Elizabeth Ogilvie Christine Pollock Jim Sutherland Morag Deyes

Inspire documents FAQs (pdf) Guidelines (pdf)

Richard Holloway  What would Inspire the people of Scotland to be more creative? The great thing about creativity is that it unleashes energy in others.  Most writers start out imitating others; and think of the actors who got their first role in front of the mirror in their own bedroom, trying to be Brando or Connery.  For Scotland to be more creative it needs to provide more exposure and support to the legions of creative people who are already in its midst.  What does ‘inspirational’ mean to you? The word ‘inspire’ comes from a root meaning to breathe, so when we call something inspirational it is because it breathed new life and energy into us.

Ben Twist Producer Prime Productions & member of the Joint Board of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen: What would Inspire the people of Scotland to be more creative? Doing things together more - inspiration comes to me when I am creating a show with an exciting group of people What does inspirational mean to you?   Moving from the ordinary to the extra-ordinary

John Tiffany Associate Director; New Work National Theatre of Scotland Inspiration is not just about having an idea but finding a way to communicate that idea through art so it becomes resonant: you might also say it is about allowing yourself to inhabit a vision, or pursue the inobvious.

Jim Tough acting Chief Executive Officer Scottish Arts Council What would Inspire the people of Scotland to be more creative? An educational system that from day one challenges the fiction that some of our most inspiring art ‘isn’t for the likes of me’. What does ‘inspirational’ mean to you? When we recognise something of our common humanity in a work of art – Rabbie Burn’s grasp of the universal or reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn sharing Huck’s journey on the river as he struggles with society’s rules and personal freedom. And then there are those magical and inexplicable moments where something makes you stop in your tracks and wonder, like the opening bars of the Tumbling Dice by the Rolling Stones!

Elizabeth Ogilvie Visual Artist Images discovered by man evolve slowly, painfully: hence Jacques Bousquet’s profound remark: “A new image costs humanity as much labour as a new characteristic costs a plant.’ Our minds are “repositories of dreams.’’ Nowhere else can we find such a storehouse of possibilities, which, utilized to its full potential, can lead each and every one of us on a voyage of discovery. This journey into intellectually unexplored territory is the supreme adventure, in which we are very willing to participate even although it involves uncertainty and risk.

Christine Pollock Executive Director of Learning & Leisure Services North Lanarkshire Counci & Chair of ADES Inspiration is an important part of arts and culture in Scotland and there has never been a better time to encourage creativity, enterprise and ambition in our young people to help them achieve their true potential. A curriculum for excellence requires learning approaches which will develop and enhance creativity in the widest sense.

Gordon Maclean I've worked in the arts for a number of years now and while I think that there is an amazing amount of inspirational work coming from Scotland across all the art forms, it's the underlying energy from all our artists and musicians that really gets me. It can't be the recognition (we all recognise each other in the street in a population of 5M), it can't be the money (I only know a handfull of artists who make a decent living from their work) and it seems to me that like most artists across the world, ours are simply driven to create - a bit like wild flowers on the machair, it's just what they do. Add to that the enormous energy put in by curators, promoters, technicians, marketers and administrators who all love what they do and the scene they are part of and it makes for an inspiring picture. We're very lucky to have so much fabulous talent and dedication in this country.

Mary McCluskey Artistic Director Scottish Youth Theatre Inspiration can come from anywhere or anything – a photo in a magazine, a word,  a piece of music, a smell, an object, a colour … etc.  The important objective for arts practitioners/companies and the ‘Inspire’ Fund, is to give folk the confidence to express their creativity through the arts.  To enable participants to realise  that their creative thoughts are valued and of significance to Scotland’s cultural landscape.  The ‘Inspire’ Fund will allow us to give more people in Scotland access to opportunities to explore and reach their creative potential.

Jim Sutherland Musician Inspiration can come from anywhere, you just have to be open to it and be prepared to think outside the box. We're so used to self editing and stifling our own aspirations. Sometimes all we need is need to be given permission to have ideas. A fund like this one gives us that permission.

Andy Howitt Artistic Director YDance What would inspire the people of Scotland to be more creative? We live in a country that is full of inspiration landscape culture and history but for me we have to inspire a nation to be more open to DANCE as a boy growing up in Fife my view and participation in dance was non existent I want everyone to be able to Dance What does ‘inspirational’ mean to you? It’s that moment when everything becomes very clear and true and you have to take that moment when everyone, location and you are ready to create Dance has always been the most inspiration thing you start with your body and make magic

Louise Macdonald Chief Executive Young Scot In our conversations with young people across Scotland, lack of information about creative opportunities and how people can get involved are often quoted as barriers to engagement with the creative arts. Young people across Scotland are buzzing with ideas and ambitions, so inspiration to me means switching on the light bulb that gives them the support and encouragement to make them a reality - no matter how large or small.

Morag Deyes Artistic Director Dance Base, Scotland's national centre for dance What would Inspire the people of Scotland to be more creative? Oh but Scotland itself is so inspiring! All that's required for the people of Scotland to be inspired is to take a look and listen around them. What an extraordinary place we Scots call home, and if its not so beautiful on your doorstep it's only a train ride away. What does 'inspirational' mean to you? I am inspired by integrity and generosity of spirit, and by people who can laugh at themselves.