Christopher Barron’s Olive Branch

In today’s Herald, there’s an interview with Christopher Barron, chief executive of Scottish Ballet, under the headline Ballet offers Tramway olive branch. A closer reading of Barron’s comments reveals that his ‘olive branch’ is nothing of the sort.

First, he feigns surprise at the strong reaction against the proposals, as if to suggest the outrage felt by artists, gallery-goers and the wider public is a storm in a teacup. If the reaction is such a surprise, why didn’t the Scottish Ballet allow public scrutiny of their proposals before submitting them? Could it be that they knew full well that hijacking Tramway would be controversial, and preferred to slip in under the radar? It certainly wouldn’t be the first time the Ballet has been criticised for making ill-conceived decisions behind closed doors. Indeed, a report by the Scottish Parliament’s Culture and Sport Committe branded the Ballet’s handling of a 2001 change in artistic direction ‘truly appalling,’ highlighting the fact that their attitude to consultation was at best ‘flawed,’ at worst ‘arrogant and secretive.’

Next, Barron takes a swipe at Tramway:

…what I do know is that building has a large problem, and that is that there is not enough going on there.

Yes, Tramway is underused, thanks in part to the fact that the main space presents a challenge to artists and each show requires significant investment which is rarely forthcoming from the public purse. But to suggest that Tramway is close to a waste of space borders on the offensive. A quick glance at the website shows that the space not only plays host to a vibrant programme of visual art, from both emerging and established international artists, it’s also a valuable resource for the local community and encourages young artists with a programme of residencies and opportunities to show new work. Even if, as Barron seems to suggest, visual arts programming is to be judged on quantity not quality, Tramway can hardly be accused of not pulling its weight.

Then comes a closer look at the plans for the site, and it turns out that Scottish Ballet plan to sink millions into new buildings to house a dance centre. This is a great idea. I truly believe Scotland would benefit from a purpose-built centre devoted to ballet and contemporary dance, on an international scale. Imagine, it would be just like the Tramway, only for dance. And there’s the rub - if extensive new building is required to house such a centre, why destroy an existing resource in the process? Why not scale back the plans by half a million and buy another site?

In the end, it looks to me as if Barron is being disingenuous with his talk of ongoing dialogue with the artistic community in Glasgow. His aim with this interview was to downplay the vital importance of Tramway, suggest that the reaction to the Scottish Ballet’s wrong-headed proposals is over the top and offer a halfway-house solution relegating the visual arts to a back room at the ballet.

Disgraceful.

As mentioned above and below, if you feel as strongly as I do about these proposals, please vist SOS Tramway for more information. And apologies to readers outside Scotland for the recent focus on matters Tramway. But just imagine if the North East was being robbed of Baltic, or that plans were afoot to turn Tate Modern into a new home for the English National Ballet. You’d be up in arms too, I bet.

Posted at 2pm on 17/10/03 by Jack Mottram to the art and culture category.
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