This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scottish Arts Council
10/08/2006
The reappointment of four board members to the Scottish Arts Council was announced today.
The reappointments of Roy McEwan, Jennifer Hawksworth, Ben Twist and Steve Grimmond allows for continuity and expertise to the Arts Council Board as the Council progresses towards the transition to the new cultural development agency, Creative Scotland.
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Patricia Ferguson said:
"I am pleased that the four members have agreed to continue to bring their wealth of experience and knowledge to the Board of the Scottish Arts Council in what is to be a time of significant change for the organisation."
The board members are:
Roy McEwan is the Managing Director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has held numerous positions in the Arts world including Director of MacRobert Art Centre and Director of Arts Development, North West Arts Board, Manchester. He is Chairman of the ABO Scottish Forum and the arts audience development agency, Glasgow Grows Audiences. Mr McEwan holds no other Ministerial appointments.
Ben Twist is a free-lance theatre director and producer. He was previously Artistic Director and joint Chief Executive of Contact Theatre, Manchester. He was also Associate Director of the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. Mr Twist holds no other Ministerial appointments.
Steve Grimmond is Head of Community Services, at Fife Council. He is also Chair of the Voice of Chief Officers of Cultural, Community and Leisure Services in Scotland and CoSLA adviser on sport and the arts. He is a member of the Council at sportsScotland, which is. This is a non-remunerated post.
Jennifer Hawksworth runs her own Management Consultancy Business. Previously, she was a Director with Melville Craig and an Executive Director on the European board of Smith and Nephew. Ms Hawksworth holds no other Ministerial appointments.
These reappointments are for a further 3 years and will run from August 2006 to August 2009.
These posts are part-time and are not remunerated. The formal time commitment is 6 days a year.
The Scottish Arts Council is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) which was established by Royal Charter in 1994 and is also a Lottery distributor.
These Ministerial public appointments were made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice.
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.
Mr McEwan, Mr Grimmond and Ms Hawksworth declared no political activity, however, Mr Twist canvassed for the Labour Party within the last 5 years.
The Executive's cultural policy statement "Scotland's Culture" announced in January this year that a new cultural development agency 'Creative Scotland' will be formed in part through the transition of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen.