The Future (and all that).

by Ruth Barker, 4 Jan 2010

Hello,

back to work properly, and does anyone else find writing ‘2010’ a bit strange? It feels very futuristic. And kind of looks wrong, if you know what I mean. Hmm.

I feel like this one’s going to be a good one, though. It’s a Gi Year for a start, and the preparations for that are already starting to fill me with a certain anticipation. A new Gi director, and a rejuvinated sense of the ambition and possibility offered by the festival add to the sense that Glasgow will remain the place to be this April. I keep hearing murmurings of fantastic sounding projects, so I can’t wait till the official ‘unveiling’ of the programme when we’ll be able to see exactly what will be on offer. Save the dates, ladies and gents: 16th March – 3rd April. Be there.

Stop Press
PAR+RS will be running a season on Temporary Projects during Gi, and we’re looking for articles! Reviews / commentaries on the Festival itself (a temporary project composed of temporary projects, as all Festivals must in essence be) on things you’ve seen, or done, or been involved in. Let us know! Email me or leave a comment below if you have any ideas of what we should be covering.

So what else is happening in 2010? Upmost in the minds of many will be the Creative Scotland changeover, which is scheduled to start this year, although I reckon it’ll take a while before we can guage the full effects. I’m as much in the dark as everyone else seems to be about the detail of this, but I’d be glad to hear your comments, and I’ll certainly keep you up to date should I hear any news (actual news that is, rather than rumours, which I’m trying to stay away from).

What else will happen in 2010? Well lots of things, I imagine, but not least a General Election. Though I wouldn’t like to predict the outcome, it seems certain that there may be political changes on the horizon – no matter which party is successful at the polls. With everybody talking about spending cuts, I wouldn’t be suprised to learn that some cultural budgets may be affected.

On a slightly related note, I did hear at the end of December from Maggie Bolt, director of Public Art Online, who told me (after my previous Blog posting below) that Arts Council England have now confirmed that they will continue to fund PAO at least until March 2011, so that’s a real cause for celebration. Maggie, and all her readers, must be very relieved. As, it must be said, am I.

So, lots to look forward to in 2010, and plenty of changes which may be on the way this year. What are your highlights of 2009? And what are you most looking forward to in 2010? As always, do let me know.

more later,
Ruth.