CREATIVE VOICES

Our quote wall features creative voices from across the arts in Scotland showing what creativity means to them.

  • Susan Montgomery sits on a sofa wearing a pink t-shirt - she is in conversation, with her hands in the air making gestures

    "Creativity is a necessity. It’s a necessary escape from what can be an overwhelming world sometimes and it provides a sanctuary for me - being immersed in music relieves stress, anxiety and brings an unparalleled joy."

    — Susan Montgomery, Music Publisher, 23rd Precinct Music

  • Freya stands in a yellow t-shirt smiling gently at the camera - the t-shirt says RSNO young creatives, and she has her arms crossed in front of her

    "Having the opportunity to be creative is so important for everyone, especially for young people and for the people that think it's ‘not for them’. The arts allow us to realise our individual potential. To see or hear or hold something that we’ve been able to create; and to form connections, to share ourself with others in ways that would otherwise be impossible."

    - Freya, a programming participant taking part in the RSNO’s Young Creative programme

  • "The arts lift our heads from the everyday. A writing exercise: ‘I have a small hope that …’ helped me imagine a life post-cancer. This is a process we are all facing now coming out of lockdown into a changed world and wondering how we will shape our ‘new normal’."

    — Anne Hay, New Writers Awards Alumni

  • "Music is essential for most people, it’s a part of daily life whether in a live setting, on radio or through Spotify. It connects people and is widely acknowledged as having a positive contribution to mental health and well-being. For music to be heard, it has to be created! This means that support for artists and strategic development are essential now more than ever."

    — Lisa Whytock, Active Events

  • "I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a filmmaker. That was over 30 years ago. At the time it wasn’t seen by many people as being a realistic career option, but it wasn’t just a hobby for me and thank goodness I did pursue it. I would have been terribly miserable otherwise. Being creative is everything to me; it’s in my DNA. Creativity then becomes, songs, books, theatre, film, TV; the list is endless. It is an industry after all and to people across the globe it plays a huge part in their entertainment and escapism."

    — Wilma Smith, Programme Manager, Little Pictures, GMAC

  • Magdalena stands in front of a tan background wearing a casual shirt over a t-shirt and a necklace - she is smiling

    “The arts and creativity are a way of exercising and unleashing peoples’ imagination and emotions. They allow us to imagine ourselves beyond our current situation, into a future where there is hope, perspective and connection. We need it now more than ever, to help overcome isolation, trauma and loss.”

    — Magdalena Schamberger, Theatre Director and Independent Creative Collaborator

    Image: Courtesy of Magdalena Schamberger

  • “I have been so lucky to have had a long career as a film and television producer, and then three years ago, I was invited to work at GMAC Film where I have the joy and excitement of continuing to work in the creative sector I love, and not only that but I am able to work with wonderful groups of enthusiastic and talented young people. What a pleasure and a privilege that has been!”

    — Paddy Higson, CEO at GMAC

  • Mystika Glamoor stands in a purple headress with many strands blowing in the wind, underneath a bright neon rainbow sign

    "Art is a healing, necessary expression of the human experience. Whether it’s a drag queen reclaiming her power on a small nightclub stage or a painting in a gallery, art helps us recognise our roles in the universe, of which we are an inextricable part. We are never alone. We are art itself. "

    — Mystika Glamoor, High Priestess of Edinburgh Drag

    Image: Courtesy of Mystika Glamoor

  • Judith Doherty sits at a table in a room with tiling on the walls and dark wood panelling

    "A Double Haiku for Theatre (with a wee question in the middle) Life is theatre. In making theatre live - We make life better. - Why? - Because we share love. Loss, happiness and pain. We heal, together. "

    — Judith Doherty, Chief Executive, Co-Artistic Director & Producer, Grid Iron

    Image: Credit Suzanne Heffron

  • Alan Bissett stands looking up to the camera from beyond a wall

    Alan Bissett, Author

    Image: Courtesy of Alan Bissett

    “Our Creative Voice is an important campaign, as it reminds us of the central place creativity has in all our daily lives.

    Who would you be without the songs, films, television programmes, novels and paintings which you have loved and which have changed your perspective on life? <br><br> Let’s celebrate that!”

  • AISHA wears a bright neon eyeliner and looks down at the camera with her red jacket slightly off her shoulders - she is outside and there is a slight wind in her hair

    AISHA, Resident DJ, Animal Farm

    Image: Credit - SOMA Records

    “Learning how to make electronic music helped me thrive as a person and set ambitions at a time it was needed most. Being creative helps you achieve your own goals, which positively affects every aspect of your life!”

  • “As art unlocks its doors across the country, we know it also unlocks human potential, new ideas, health and wellbeing and investment in our communities. Art can make you feel good, or help you approach and understand what makes you feel bad. In our neighbourhoods creativity can be at the heart of community and can help drive essential change.” 

    — Moira Jeffrey, Director, SCAN

  • "The last eighteen months have been challenging and life affirming in equal measure. Communities have displayed incredible imagination in their support to those in urgent need, they have shared powerful messages of hope, used their talents generously and inclusively, and shown that creativity is an important cohesive force in our society."

    — Jan-Bert van den Berg, Director, Artlink Edinburgh and the Lothians

  • Miss Annabel Sings stands holding a rainbow umbrella in an outdoor industrial area, wearing a coat and hat

    "Never underestimate the power of performance, it’s saved my life over and over again. From the moment I discovered the stage as a small child I found a place and the tools I needed to process the world and my place in it. We all deserve a safe space to create, be seen, feel heard and share experiences. The positive impact that has on individuals and communities now will be felt for generations to come."

    — Miss Annabel Sings, Queen of Queer Cabaret & Multidisciplinary Performance Artist

    Image: Courtesy of Miss Annabel Sings

  • "We live to create and create to live. The availability of funding helps us celebrate Scotland in its purest form, giving us artists a means to share our unique voices. No one is built the same and it’s genuinely inspiring to hear how everyone expresses themselves."

    — Mohsen Amini, Talisk

  • Kirstin Innes sits in a room with bookshelves in the background, slightly smiling as she looks at the camera

    "Right now, when everything seems fraught, we need to hear each others' stories and songs, and view the world through other people's eyes more than ever. Communicating and empathising through creativity makes us human."

    — Kirstin Innes, Author

    Image: Kirstin Innes by Becky Duncan

  • “Art is important because it gives people so much. Joy. A voice. Life. It colours our whole world and we see it all the time. It helps so many people through tough times and sometimes it’s the only time someone feels like they have a voice. It is the only time someone feels they are safe and loved and alive. It gives people hope, strength, a purpose.”

    — Outreach workshop participant, aged 14, Inverness

  • "Creativity connects us, the arts build empathy. Story, drama and music help us escape, and transport us in these times of global crisis. The creatives help heal. They turn your heart sideways and flick on the lightbulbs of understanding. Creatives inspire more creativity. Call them 'Doctors of the Soul' and they'll write you a prescription for a better life."

    — Ciara MacLaverty, New Writers Awards Alumni

  • Glenn Gibson stands wearing a parka jacket with a fluffy hood in front of a wall

    "Creativity helps cement Glasgow city as one of the best hubs for electronic music in the world, which our independent label contributes to by exporting Scotland's best musical talent across the globe. Without creativity, Scotlands thriving nightlife and music scene would not survive."

    — Glenn Gibbons, Managing Director, Soma Recordings / Avoidant / SPG Publishing UK Ltd

    Image: Credit - SOMA Records

  • "We make art in order to be thrilled by the exploration of the complexities of who we are, what has made us and how we think ourselves into existence, for ourselves and in order to know that while we are, of course, alone we are at least alone together."

    — Stephen Keeler, New Writers Awards Alumni

  • “Art is important because without it, we are forced into society’s boxes of who we should be. It gives us vital self expression and is also very therapeutic. Drama really helps with my confidence and lets me forget my own problems. It makes me feel free.”

    — Outreach workshop participant, aged 15, LGBT Youth Scotland, Edinburgh

  • "Culture and creativity have always been essential to imagining and achieving a brighter human future, and never more so than now. Creativity is culture’s beacon of light, illuminating communities and individuals through all that it freely offers by way of social meaning, self-expression, entertainment and enlightenment. Culture builds better lives and communities full stop. Together with creativity it is as essential to the health and wellbeing of our communities as any other social practice. Without culture, there is little hope of creating a better and more equal society; without creativity there is no way of imagining it. Building a country where everyone has an interest in participating in, and benefiting from, cultural and creative experiences is, very clearly, the great task of our time."

    — Marc Lambert, CEO Scottish Book Trust

  • "Creating music is not only my form of expression but it is also my means of escape. I can be taken away from everything else that is going on in the world for a few hours and just get lost in the creation, it has become a way of healing for me over the years. I also love collaborating with others, creating a safe space to explore and to grow as an artist through learning from others."

    — Tamara Schlesinger, MALKA / Hen Hoose

  • "‘Big or small there is always something only you can do.’ We found this quote in our daughter, Verity’s, notebook shortly after she died in 2008. It says that everyone is unique and important, that we are all creative and because of that each of us can make a difference. We witnessed, through her, how art and creativity helped her mental health and formed a charity, Teapot Trust, on that very premise. Since then Teapot Trust has helped thousands of children through encouraging creativity all inspired by that quote."

    — John Young, New Writers Awards Alumni

  • Will Anderson stands at a lectern in front of an illustrated character on a screen

    “Without creativity, I wouldn’t be able to really speak to the world. It enables me to try to explain the unexplainable. It's a reminder of what it means to be human… Creativity is personality.”

    — Will Anderson, BAFTA winning animator

  • "I love the power of books to provide the best type of escapism, taking me to different worlds and giving me new perspectives. The Scottish Book Trust supported my own journey to publication with its New Writers Award and its website is a constant inspiration."

    — Olga Wojtas, New Writers Awards Alumni

  • "My professional work as a social worker has inspired many poems on issues such as elder abuse and suicide. My writing process helps me reflect more deeply on those social problems and, in turn, it often leads to further research and new insights. Thus my creative writing increases knowledge and awareness, as well as providing me with an opportunity to draw attention to those taboo subjects through the publication of my poetry."

    — Olive M. Ritch, New Writers Awards Alumni

  • "Being creative is a feast for your well-being. The act of creating feeds your body and your mind. When you lay your work in front of others, they are treated to the joy of indulging and losing themselves in your creation."

    — Ann MacKinnon, New Writers Awards Alumni

  • “I think the arts is very, very important and I feel like it should be a basic thing everyone should have access to. It’s a way to express yourself and I feel it’s so important as it gives people confidence. It improves empathy. It allows people to have a deeper understanding of others and their own emotions. It gives people a space to vent, to be themselves and to not feel judged.”

    — Outreach workshop participant aged 14, Inverness