Yesterday, it was announced that Andrew Dixon, the current chief executive of the NewcastleGateshead Initiative – the festival and tourism body for the north-east of England – will lead Creative Scotland, the result of the long-mooted merging of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen that will support the arts and creative sectors with about £60million of public funds.
The money available to him in Scotland will be much more than the £20m he had when he was chief executive of Northern Arts, with which he was instrumental in the revival of the arts along the quayside on the Tyne, with successes such as the Angel of the North sculpture, the Baltic gallery and the Sage music centre in Gateshead. In his 21 years in Newcastle he has overseen or supported capital projects worth more than £200m.
It is understood that Mr Dixon, 51, beat three Scotland-based candidates to land the post: Roanne Dods, the former head of the Jerwood Charitable Foundation; Ken Hay, the chief executive of Scottish Screen; and Blair Jenkins, the former head of news at BBC Scotland.
Mr Dixon told The Herald he would be moving with his wife and two daughters from Newcastle to live in Edinburgh.
Mr Dixon said he knows Scotland well, having spent an estimated 34 weeks of his life on holiday in the country. He has family links to Edinburgh and Arisaig in Invernesshire and has travelled widely in the mainland and Highlands and Islands, as well as promoting acts at the Edinburgh Fringe in his student days.
“Obviously, I look at the list of cultural organisations in Scotland and I only know 25% at the moment, but I am looking forward to getting to know the other 75%,” he said.
In his career in the north-east, Mr Dixon garnered much experience of mergers. He initiated the merger of three film agencies to create Northern Film and Media and when the regional arts boards became part of Arts Council England, he oversaw the merger of Northern Arts into the new organisation.
Mr Dixon says his favourite artist is Andy Goldsworthy and once said the things that made him miserable were “bureaucracy, form filling, jobsworths and people who are terminally negative.”
He said he knew that the early debate around Creative Scotland was “antagonistic” but now feels people in the arts community are more interested in the “art of the possible.”
“I see Creative Scotland as a rallying call for the culture sector, and the people of Scotland, to be proud of its cultural production and creativity,”
he said.
“If its going to be successful it will have created something bigger than is already there, something that is leading in the world.”
Anne Bonnar, the leading arts consultant who led the transition project for Creative Scotland, said: “The appointment of a chief executive for Creative Scotland is more than an important milestone, it’s putting a driver into the car. Having a CEO who can speak for and not just about Creative Scotland means that it can get motoring.
“I worked with Andrew Dixon on several projects when he was CEO of Northern Arts. He brings some great experience to the role and for me, one of the most important aspects is his skill in brokering partnerships, engaging local authorities, enterprise agencies and creative organisations to make things happen. Developments like Angel of the North, The Sage and Baltic are testaments to that.”
She added: “It doesn’t matter where Andrew Dixon comes from – what matters are his skills and experience and how he connects them with the creative community in Scotland.
“He will be working with a team of staff who are embedded in Scotland and, I expect, the chair and board when appointed will have deep and wide Scottish connections.”
Mr Dixon’s appointment will be effective once Creative Scotland is officially established. At present he is chief executive designate, and he will take part in board meetings from next month.
Ewan Brown, the chairman of Creative Scotland 2009 Ltd said: “In Andrew Dixon we have found someone with the qualities essential to lead our new national arts and culture organisation.
“I am delighted we have been able to secure someone of Andrew’s calibre, with experience grounded in cultural policy, cultural regeneration and partnerships, both local and international.”
With a budget of roughly £60 million, including Lottery funding, Creative Scotland will support:
l More than 100 of the country’s leading arts organisations and venues.
l Scotland’s leading theatres, including Glasgow’s Citizens and Tron, and the Royal Lyceum and Traverse in Edinburgh.
l Leading art galleries such as Dundee Contemporary Arts, the Fruitmarket in Edinburgh and Tramway in Glasgow.
l Dance organisations such as Dancebase, Scottish Dance Theatre and Scottish Youth Dance.
l Music organisations such as the National Youth Choir of Scotland and the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.
l Film and script development funding.
l Literature support, publishing and author funding.
l Industries such as advertising, architecture, design, computer games and software.
