State of Play


‘State of Play – Art and Culture in Scotland’

A series of three Symposia carried out over a period of 12 months to provide a platform for discussion about where contemporary art and culture stands today in Scotland. These are being held in different locations in Scotland to enable as broad a participation as possible and, as a series, to build a cumulative view of that question.

Symposium 1
Saturday 9th October 2010, Gilmorehill, Glasgow


In Symposium 1 we looked at the view from within Scotland in relation to the current situation for art and artis. There were four keynote presentations by Christine Borland, Dr. Neil Mulholland, Prof. Philip Schlesinger and AHM.

Symposium 2
Saturday 2nd April 2011,
Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh


Symposium 2 had an international emphasis, and we invited renowned expatriate Scots to reflect on the current situation from outside Scotland. Keynote presentations were given by eminent Scottish artists, critics and curators who live and work abroad, namely Douglas Gordon, Berlin, Peter Hill, Melbourne, Margaret Hunter, Berlin, Thomas Lawson, Los Angeles and Dr. Jim Mooney, London along with video presentations by Neal Ascherson London and Liz Ann Macgregor, Sydney.

Symposium 3
Saturday 1st October 2011, DCA, Dundee


This symposium will aim to bring together the key issues and other threads from 1 and 2 to offer a possible way forward.