Hansard

That brings us on to the petition that we very nearly started earlier but stopped midstride. PE2030, lodged by Denise Hooper, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to review the funding it provides to the Scotland + Venice project and ensure that Scottish artists can contribute to the Venice biennale in 2024. The petitioner notes that Scotland has participated as its own entity in the Venice biennale since 2003, with people attending the festival specifically to see the Scottish contributions. The Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development has responded to the petition, saying that the decision to pause involvement in the biennale in 2024 is to allow for an important period of reflection and review. The review was expected to begin during the summer just past and was to include a process of sectoral engagement to explore new approaches to the project for the longer term. The petitioner has also provided a submission highlighting recent comments by the First Minister about the value of culture, and is urging a greater focus on the benefits of Scottish culture and arts being promoted on such a prestigious international stage. I am tempted to ask what the important period of reflection and review was about. I presume that it was on wider considerations than just this one contributory event. Do colleagues have any suggestions? We could certainly write to the Scottish Government asking for an update on its work to its international culture strategy. The Government submission refers to the decision “to pause ... involvement” to allow “for an important period of reflection and review.” I would be interested to know what that means. What was important about it and how long is it reflecting, and what is it reflecting on that is important? We might also write to Creative Scotland to seek information on the review of the Scotland + Venice project. I would also be interested to know what the outcomes of our past participation have been. I do not think that that is terribly clear. What have we seen? Maybe Creative Scotland can tell us how that compares with our participation in other events. It may well be that that is what the Scottish Government is reflecting on. If we heard from all of them, that would be helpful. Does anybody else want to comment?