Strengthening Scotland’s cultural links with Berlin

19th April 2013

Scotland can learn from Berlin’s success in the visual arts, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs has said after a visit to the city.

During the trip, Ms Hyslop met Germany’s Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Cornelia Pieper, to discuss strengthening Scotland’s cultural connections with Germany.

Ms Hyslop also met Scottish Turner Prize-winning artist Douglas Gordon, who is based in the city, and given a tour of his studios.

Speaking after the trip, Ms Hyslop said:“Scotland is a creative nation, producing exceptional artistic talent while Berlin is world-renowned for its thriving international visual arts scene.

“There are already some good examples of cultural collaboration between Scotland and Berlin and I want to build on this following last year’s Edinburgh International Culture Summit. It was attended by Germany’s Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Cornelia Pieper, and when we met again in Berlin this week we discussed our shared ambition for stronger cultural ties between our two countries.

“My vision is to promote Scotland as one of the world’s great centres for the visual arts and we can learn a lot from Berlin’s success.

“Some of the world’s best artists now live and work in Berlin – including Scottish Turner Prize winners Douglas Gordon and Susan Philipsz – and I was hugely impressed on my recent visit by the range of creative talent that is evident everywhere in the city. I was also impressed by the partnership between Creative Scotland and British Council Germany, which has successfully promoted many emerging Scottish artists to the German market.

“My meeting with Douglas Gordon emphasised the strength of Scotland’s cultural connections with Germany, and both the Scottish and German Governments are keen to promote further collaboration.

“My visit to Douglas’s studio demonstrated that artists in Berlin are clearly inspired by working in such a stimulating environment while the city’s international reputation as a cultural hub is a major draw for the 10 million tourists who visit each year.

“The city has been transformed into one of the world’s great arts capitals as a result of substantial public funding and, while the Scottish Government has already protected culture funding as far as possible in the face of deep cuts in public spending imposed by Westminster, only independence offers the opportunity to realise our vision for the arts.

“The Scottish Government supports independence so that we can protect culture budgets from the impact of the UK Government’s spending decisions. We want the powers to ensure a strong economy can protect a strong cultural spend.”