Dear all, In order to support the work being carried out in Glasgow to oppose Scottish Ballet's bid to take over Tramway 2 we have put together a letter which we will be sending to the following people:
Ashely Page : Director : Scottish Ballet Bridgit McConnell : Director: Cultural and Leisure Services, Glasgow City Council John Lynch : Convenor : Cultural and Leisure Services, Glasgow City Council Graham Berry : Director : The Scottish Arts Council Alasdair Morgan MSP : Convenor : Committee for Enterprise and Culture, The Scottish Parliament We will also be sending it to various Scottish newspapers. We have pasted the letter below and are calling on you to add your signature to the letter so that we can emphasize the level of opposition from the artistic community, and not just from within Scotland. All you need to do is to type your name, city and/or country at the bottom and send it to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . We will then add your name to the letter and send it to the people above. By collecting a large number of signatories we hope to emphasize the level of opposition that exists to the Scottish Ballet's bid. We would really appreciate your support in this matter as the E m e r g e D team feel very strongly that this is an extremely important fight and one that we must win. Please forward this to others that you feel would like to oppose the bid by signing the letter. E m e r g e D team E m e r g e D www.emerged.net E m e r g e D is an artist run organisation originally set up in Glasgow. The co-founders of the organisation, amy SALES and lucy GIBSON, are not native to Glasgow but came to the city from Australia and England as a result of its excellent visual arts and cultural reputation. When you look at Glasgow from the perspective of other cities, nationally and internationally, it is astounding to realise how the different elements of this city's cultural network feed in to each other and create a place which is quite unique in its breadth of arts activity and the support structure that sustains it. E m e r g e Ds existence is testimony to the way in which Glasgow encourages and breeds an efflorescent visual arts community. The Tramway is a crucial component in this network of galleries, organisations, events, residencies, and studios. For the young artist, studying at the Glasgow School of Art, the Tramway glitters with its treasure of an artistic programme, introducing you to the likes of Salla Tykka and Julian Opie. Holding their heads high alongside these artists are Christine Borland, Douglas Gordon, Henry VIIIs Wives, the Glasgow School of Art MFA, witness to the quality of artistic activity being generated in and from Glasgow. But the Tramway is a solid and attainable goal. The Project Room and Tramway 2 have played host to a large number of our contemporaries, launching their careers within the context of a highly respected venue. It is with this in mind that we have left the Glasgow School of Art and decided to remain in Glasgow, joined by many others who have made their way here with talent and ambition. E m e r g e D would like to raise its voice in opposition to the proposed takeover of Tramway 2 by Scottish Ballet. We acknowledge Scottish Ballet is without suitable facilities and this is a need that has to be addressed. However, to squarely wrestle against the visual arts by bidding for Tramway 2 is to upset the balance of cultural activity from within. We have laid out above the role that Tramway plays in Glasgow and alongside this we raise the issue of public access and suitability of this area as a dance studio. We are concerned about the compromises that will need to be made to this historical building and its closure to the general public. Signed lucy GIBSON and amy SALES and the E m e r g e D team ------------------------------------------------- a m b i t : networking media arts in scotland post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] archive: http://www.mediascot.org/ambit info: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and write "info ambit" in the message body -------------------------------------------------
