The Twenty-first Century

There is no doubt that the prospects for Scottish photography are now as exciting as they have ever been. The potential is enormous and stems both from the amount of evident talent available in Scotland and from the unprecedented commitment of institutions and individuals to the art.

The roll call of distinguished photographers from the last thirty years includes an impressive and wide range of approach and thought – there is no ‘Scottish school’ of narrow definition. Such teachers as Murray Johnston and Thomas Joshua Cooper have been generous in their approach, and students have been encouraged into often outstanding originality.

The names of today's photographers are increasingly known beyond the world of photography or even the visual arts. Calum Colvin, Ron O'Donnell, Andy Wiener and their contemporaries often transcend the conventional definition of 'photography' in pursuit of their means of expression as they use the medium to ever greater effect. But even within the bounds of the more traditional methods there are marvellously fresh approaches being adopted by photographers such as Patricia Macdonald, Jane Brettle, Maud Sulter and their contemporaries. The quality of work of many Scottish photographers remains the hallmark. David Williams, Robin Gillanders, Ruth Stirling, Iain Stewart, Glyn Satterley, Catriona Grant carry forward the traditions of Scottish photography at a most interesting and challenging time for the medium.

However, it is not only the photographers but also curators and administrators who hold the future in their hands. 2004 saw a joint initiative between the academic institutions interested in academic and creative photography, resulting in the Research Institute for Photographic Arts. New courses in the universities and colleges indicate the growing academic awareness of the importance and potential of photography.

All this energy and creativity is searching for an outlet and a focus and makes it all the more apparent that there is one crucial element missing from the Scottish photography, indeed cultural, scene. The proposed Scottish national photography centre is very much needed to provide the focus, the showcase, the means to celebrate and advance the art in which this country has been pre-eminent for so very long. Surely the time is overdue for the recognition of the art in which, uniquely, Scotland has been, and continues to be so successful.