The Ron Mueck exhibition and the Merchant of Venice
I went to the Ron Mueck exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy here in Edinburgh on Saturday. Mueck creates outside and undersize models of real-life human moments which are just brilliant. They face you with yourself in ways you don’t expect in an art gallery. Its very powerful.
That evening I saw the Royal Lyceums production of Merchant of Venice. This 300 plus year old play is about as contemporary as ever, exploring religious tension, love and power in an extraordinary pertinent way for the 21st century global village. In particular the place digs into the whole debate about the roots of anti-Semitism and the Jewish response to suffering in ways that a modern play would find very difficult.
Saturday was a timely reminder that the role of culture and the arts is to do much more than provide the basis for economically powerful festivals that provide jobs, income and economic growth for this great city. The significance of culture in all its forms is much more than a debate about money generated for the economy. But yet money is never far behind.
This week I had a very good initial meeting with the newly formed Alternative Independent Venues forum, a new body set up to support the work of the twenty or so big venues that provide the space for around 85% of Fringe performances. It was a very helpful meeting and I will be meeting them again in late October to put some flesh on the bones of a number of ideas we have about how the Council can support the Fringe and others. This will mean money but what I am sure about is that we need to spend our money wisely to get the return we all need. That means for me not simply subsidizing the companies but putting in place the infrastructure and incentives so that the Fringe and others can grow as they would hope. Ideas like the tented village, better co-ordinated and targeted marketing are just two of many.
That evening I saw the Royal Lyceums production of Merchant of Venice. This 300 plus year old play is about as contemporary as ever, exploring religious tension, love and power in an extraordinary pertinent way for the 21st century global village. In particular the place digs into the whole debate about the roots of anti-Semitism and the Jewish response to suffering in ways that a modern play would find very difficult.
Saturday was a timely reminder that the role of culture and the arts is to do much more than provide the basis for economically powerful festivals that provide jobs, income and economic growth for this great city. The significance of culture in all its forms is much more than a debate about money generated for the economy. But yet money is never far behind.
This week I had a very good initial meeting with the newly formed Alternative Independent Venues forum, a new body set up to support the work of the twenty or so big venues that provide the space for around 85% of Fringe performances. It was a very helpful meeting and I will be meeting them again in late October to put some flesh on the bones of a number of ideas we have about how the Council can support the Fringe and others. This will mean money but what I am sure about is that we need to spend our money wisely to get the return we all need. That means for me not simply subsidizing the companies but putting in place the infrastructure and incentives so that the Fringe and others can grow as they would hope. Ideas like the tented village, better co-ordinated and targeted marketing are just two of many.
posted by Councillor Ewan Aitken at
2:23 pm
