The Scottish Contemporary Collective
It is rare that one gets the opportunity to be involved in a project that has the potential to reach well beyond the scope of their own artistic practice, and make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. All artists dream of making a lasting impression on the world through their work, but the sad reality is that most artists live in relative obscurity and are forgotten by history after they’re gone. Only a very few are able to leave any significant mark on the creative landscape of their times, so when my friend Ross Poole approached me early last year to ask if I would consider working with him on a new project he was developing to support emerging artists in Scotland, I was immediately interested - if a little puzzled as to why he wanted me to be involved.
Ross is not the kind of person you would immediately tag as a potential mover and shaker in the Scottish art world. A working class guy who overcame the disadvantages of his youth to build a life as a successful businessman, he is as down-to-earth, unpretentious and big-hearted as they come and despite making his living selling and installing fireplaces, his first and greatest love is of art. I first met Ross at the awards ceremony of the Scottish Prize for Fine Art in 2023, for which he donated the funds awarded to the overall prize winner.
It was at that awards ceremony that the seeds of the idea that would later germinate into the Scottish Contemporary Collective were sown in Ross’s mind. He later told me how he had been blown away by some of the young talent on display at the exhibition and how speaking to some of those artists made him realise that he wanted to do more to support the Arts in Scotland than simply donating prize money and collecting art. He wanted to create a platform from which emerging artists could launch their careers. Once the idea began to take shape, he started to put out feelers to his contacts in the art world, and when those contacts started making positive noises in response, he went and bought a gallery in Tighnabruaich.
So what is the Scottish Contemporary Collective? Simply put, it is an organisation designed to help young artists to establish their early careers. Every three years, a cohort of emerging artists will be selected to receive various forms of support, including exhibition opportunities, residencies, mentoring, technical workshops and financial assistance. Members of the cohort will be able to sell their work through the gallery in Tighnabruich at a heavily discounted rate of commission, alongside a roster of more established artists who will pay commission at standard market rates. The difference will go toward funding the Collective and providing money for materials etc.
Members of each cohort will be assisted in their development by a group of working artists who will offer their knowledge and expertise across various areas of art practice. These will likely include a number of guest mentors and tutors, but will primarily consist of a group of 4 core mentors, who will work with members of the cohort throughout their 3 year membership: print-maker Ade Adesina; painter Dale Bissland, painter Denise Findlay and; me.
In future years, artists will be selected for the cohort via an open application process. For the inaugural intake, however, the cohort has been selected from among the exhibitors at the Scottish Prize for Fine Art, and they are: Kirstin MacKinnon, a graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design; Vlada Popescu, also of Duncan and Jordanstone: Eva Hewitt, a graduate of The Glasgow School of Art, and; Innes MacLellan, a soon-to-be graduate of Grays School of Art in Aberdeen.
Suffice to say these are all exciting and talented young artists and it is, from my perspective, a immense honour to be called upon to help in some small way to set their futures upon a firm foundation. Building a career as an artist is hard. Becoming established in the springtime of your career is even harder. Most Art School Graduates do not go on to make a living as working artists, and that’s a travesty. Alan Moore has argued eloquently that, far from being a decadent and unnecessary extravagance, art is an essential human need. Once a primitive people has established a place of shelter, a source of water and a supply of food to eat, the next thing they invariably do is to start producing works of art. Art is the plough that tills the soil of our souls, yet there is a staggering dearth of support for young people who choose to dedicate their lives to tending to that basic human need. That is why projects like the Scottish Contemporary Collective are so important, and why I am so proud and excited to be a part of it.