The Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council, Richard Holloway, welcomed today’s announcement of the appointment of four new members to the Council. The appointments, which are made by the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Patricia Ferguson MSP, are as follows:
Jane Jeffrey works on the Isle of Skye as the Director of An Tuireann, the contemporary arts centre which serves as a hub for international connections and arts development across the west coast of the Highlands. She is a practising artist with over 30 years’ experience. She previously worked as a Scottish Executive civil servant in the post of Head of Arts and Creative Industries Policy, and before that was the Director of Tincan, the International Contemporary Arts Network, from 1994 - 2001.
Ms Jeffrey also has wide-ranging board experience including serving on Strathclyde Children's Panel and Knapdale Community Council. She has declared no political activities in the past 5 years and has no other Ministerial Public Appointments.
James McSharry has been a performing actor and writer for over 10 years as well as working for Theatre Workshop as Vice Chair between 1997 and 2004. He was a founder director of the Glasgow Centre for Independent Living as well as being involved in setting up initiatives for local communities in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Mr McSharry worked as a negotiator on pay and conditions for the Civil Service between 1980 and 1993.
He has been a board member of many organisations, including the Combined Arts/Strategic Development Committee of the Scottish Arts Council and several organisations operating in the fields of disability and inclusion. Currently he also serves on the management board of FABB Scotland. Mr McSharry holds no other Ministerial Appointments and has declared no political activity within the last 5 years.
Rab Noakes has been a performer, songwriter and recording artist for 35 years, during which time he has developed diverse skills and huge experience working in the arts industry in Scotland. He spent some years as a managing editor at BBC Radio Scotland where he was Head of Entertainment and helped the station win a Sony Award in 1994.
Currently he is a member of several industry-led forums which involve the communication of ideas in public. He also runs a successful music and media company, and is involved in the Musicians’ Union and a parliamentary cross-party group on contemporary music. Mr Noakes has declared no other ministerial appointments and has declared no political activity within the last 5 years.
Jennifer Waterton is a Mathematics and Statistics graduate. She has extensive experience within policy development, research and evaluation across a range of fields including health, housing and transport. She is currently involved in a major partnership initiative to develop research capacity and capability within the professions of nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions.
Ms Waterton is an active participant in the arts, particularly literature, theatre, film and the visual arts and, in her 20s, trod the boards at the Netherbow Theatre in Edinburgh. Ms Waterton holds no other Ministerial appointments and has declared no political activity within the last five years.
Richard Holloway said, ‘I am delighted to welcome these four new members to our Council. They will bring a broad range of gifts and knowledge to the organisation and will help us champion the arts for Scotland. I would also like to thank former Council members Dale Idiens, John Scott Moncrieff and Liz Cameron, who are leaving the Council at the end of their tenures, for the valuable contribution they have made'.
