Why Summerhall should pay back taxpayers' £600,000 if it wants to cancel people like Kate Forbes
Public funding for arts venues like Summerhall should come with a requirement to be open and tolerant
Sequels are never a good idea. The 2002 film Panic Room starred Jodie Foster as a mother forced to retreat with her daughter into a specially fortified space when burglars invade their home. In comparison, this August’s follow-up is frankly a bit of a let down.
This time a bunch of cry-bullies take refuge in a safe space to protect themselves from danger. That takes the unlikely shape of Scotland’s Deputy First Minister and mother-of-one, Kate Forbes. All 5ft 2in of her. You see the problem? It’s just not a story anyone would believe but that hasn’t stopped Edinburgh arts venue Summerhall from making it the hill they will die on.
Kate Forbes appeared at Summerhall last week as part of a Fringe event but the venue now say that was an “oversight” and she won’t be invited back because of her views on trans rights. During her appearance, staff reportedly set up a safe space to protect themselves from her presence and management have pledged to develop “robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies to protect the safety and wellbeing of artists and performers we work with”.
Censorship fuelled by hysteria
It's a funny kind of inclusion that doesn’t allow the presence of a democratically elected senior government minister with a 15,000 majority in her constituency.
Far from being the open and tolerant place it claims to be, Summerhall is instead showcasing the worst kind of intolerance and exclusionary policies. It is censorship fuelled by hysteria. Regardless of her politics or her views, Kate Forbes has a right to be heard.
READ MORE: Kate Forbes to stand down at next year's Scottish Parliament election over strain on family life
What exactly did the staff have to fear from her? Anyone who feels threatened by a woman talking openly about her opinions is part of the problem, not the solution.
Of course as a private venue, it’s up to Summerhall how they run their business. But wait a minute, isn’t this the same Summerhall that faced closure and was only saved following a £608,302 injection from Creative Scotland? That organisation has its own chequered history. Remember the £85,000 given to an arts project involving ‘non-simulated sex’?
You might have expected that shambles would have produced more rigour when it comes to handing out funding… and yet here we are again. Another rogue and out-of-control entity seemingly run by the staff, not the management, is in receipt of public funding.
Two options for Summerhall
Summerhall doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The funding to keep the doors open comes not from profits made or even really from Creative Scotland. It comes from us – we, the taxpayers, are keeping the lights on.
Well, everything in life has strings attached. Kate Forbes has shared her opinions on same-sex marriage and abortion and faced trenchant criticism. That goes with the territory.
But similarly, receiving public funding comes with some basic requirements to be open and tolerant of all views and opinions and to ensure freedom of speech and oppose censorship. If that is not written into the contract, then it should be.
Summerhall now has two options. Pay back the cash and continue to censor based on the whims of their staff or take the money and use it to provide a venue funded by the public for the public. It’s really that simple.
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