Committee
Education and Culture Committee 08 March 2016
08 Mar 2016 · S4 · Education and Culture Committee
Item of business
National Performing Companies
Dr Krishna Thiagarajan (Royal Scottish National Orchestra)
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I say thank you to the committee for having us here and giving us the opportunity to speak about these important issues. I am honoured to be here. I am probably the newest face on this side of the table. I joined the RSNO only in August and I came here because of the funding model. Mary Scanlon is correct in pointing out that, if a single funder has a certain percentage, there is a significant risk if there are changes in that funding, but having the Government so invested in and, to be frank, proud of its national arts companies also allows for us to have greater public participation and public buy-in of what we do, which is incredibly important for all of us. The funding model that we currently have allows for stability both financially and in creative planning. Being allowed to plan years in advance has a beneficial effect on on-stage excellence. That allows the Scottish arts companies and the entire Scottish arts scene to punch significantly above their weight internationally, which is a very good thing. 10:15 In relation to contributed and earned income as opposed to Government support, the RSNO is trying to get to a place where the balance is 56 per cent from the Government and an even split of 22 per cent each between earned and contributed income. As my colleagues mentioned, we are all friends at this table, but when it comes to the contributed income we are all competitors because there is a finite amount of philanthropic money available in Scotland.
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
Our next item is to take evidence on the national performing companies, focusing on the main challenges and opportunities facing them as they look ahead to t...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I will first turn to the main issue of the day, which is funding, and I will then move on to performances. I will open the questioning by asking how direct ...
The Convener
SNP
A nice, simple question to start with.
Mary Scanlon
Con
I am trying to lump a few things together in order to get a general discussion.
The Convener
SNP
We noticed, Mary.
Alex Reedijk (Scottish Opera)
Thank you for that good question. I will do my best to address as much of it as possible. First, having run national companies in other parts of the world, ...
Mary Scanlon
Con
You might have a nice little increase in your budget this year as a result of what you have just said.
Alex Reedijk
I think that I am speaking for all of us when I say that we do not live, work or breathe in isolation. We are acutely aware of the pressure that local govern...
Chris Hampson (Scottish Ballet)
I second what Alex Reedijk has said. It is important to note that we all work together as a national portfolio. That is of enormous strength as we face chall...
Roy McEwan (Scottish Chamber Orchestra)
I agree with my colleagues. The relationship with Government has been extremely good, and we have developed close relationships with ministers that we did no...
Laurie Sansom (National Theatre of Scotland)
I will reiterate some of the comments that have been made. The NTS has only ever known direct funding because it is 10 years old this year. I will address a...
Dr Krishna Thiagarajan (Royal Scottish National Orchestra)
I say thank you to the committee for having us here and giving us the opportunity to speak about these important issues. I am honoured to be here. I am prob...
Mary Scanlon
Con
We have some figures here, which show a comparison between 2012-13 and 2013-14. We looked at the figures for sponsorship and funding, which obviously vary, b...
Alex Reedijk
I am happy to speak to that in general terms. It might be worth taking another look at the figures over a five or seven-year arc. It is inevitable, particula...
Laurie Sansom
The figures do not necessarily explain what the event is, and that is important because some events can capture a considerable amount of people. An event cou...
Mary Scanlon
Con
I am sorry: I only have the bare statistics and there is no further information. It is my duty to highlight the figures.
The Convener
SNP
Taking on Alex Reedijk’s point, is it fair to say that, if you are taking a new production on tour in the UK or internationally, there could be a sudden spik...
Laurie Sansom
That would be the typical pattern for us. Our model is a theatre without walls, so we do not have fixed model of how many performances and education events t...
Mary Scanlon
Con
So in future we would need to look at the figures over five, seven or eight years to be able to see a trend.
Laurie Sansom
Yes—a bit more analysis of what those events are is needed.
Mary Scanlon
Con
Yes, I am sorry that I do not have that.
Laurie Sansom
I am more than happy to provide further information to the committee with some qualitative analysis of what the figures represent if that would be useful.
The Convener
SNP
That would be helpful—thank you.
Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I have a couple of questions on funding and fundraising. How successful have the companies been in attracting funding from outside Scotland, particularly fro...
Roy McEwan
Outside Scotland, there has been some difficulty. In the run-up to the referendum, there was a fear—I do not know whether it was a real fear—that quite a lar...
Chris Hampson
With international touring and raising our profile internationally—and raising Scotland’s profile, which all five of us are proud to do—one area that can be ...
Alex Reedijk
I will share two small examples from Scottish Opera. First, when the company was founded, just over 50 years ago, an American friends of Scottish Opera group...
Mark Griffin
Lab
Members of the panel have talked about the difficulty of all the companies fishing in the same pond for private finance and private supporters. Are there any...
Roy McEwan
I do not think that we have done that. In some ways, I think that the instinct has been that we are likely to get more out of people if we hit them several t...
Laurie Sansom
There is perhaps more potential to gather together and make an impact in international territories. We have had some success in New York, for example, and th...