1024RandomisedScottishElections by Paul Maguire

“This is a visual of a run of 1024 randomised elections of a population of 5,000,000 created in Processing.”
Paul Maguire _ Electronic Media Developer & Lecturer | The Glasgow School of Art

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“Democracy has spoken, my Heart may be broken, but it will remain intact, If only through the memory of the passion and solidarity that I have seen in the people of Scotland.”
Michael Sherrington _ Director | The Forest of Black

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“Forza Alba!”
Damien Smith _ Creative Partner | ISO

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“I voted conscious of my experience, compassion, intellect and beliefs, I have no bitterness or disappointment, no anger or blame, I have my relationship to my country and know where I stand. It is a night where democracy won, and that is wonderful. Fight again and again for justice, equality, peace, freedom, speak up where you can without fear, vote every time, it is your obligation to your past, present and future. I love Scotland and I always will, but perhaps for now it remains a work in progress. But for now no anger, fear, recrimination, introspection and no more talking ourselves down. I am very lucky, an artist in a Western country with friends, family, health, hope and a lot of happiness. I will never forget the summer of 2014.”
Alex Hetherington _ Artist, Curator, Writer | Modern Edinburgh Film School

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“I am disgusted at the sight of people celebrating more nuclear weapons, less equality, more food banks and the refusal to grow up and take responsibility for ourselves. For the first time in my life I am ashamed to be Scottish.”
James Young _ Founding Partner | D8

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“This morning I’ve woken up in a country that has engaged and educated itself in how the UK is run – the political establishment, the economy, the media – and knows that it isn’t run in our best interests. Our binary political contests provide a black and white result for the people we once trusted with the running of our lives – politicians, bankers, and those who used to be known as journalists. This referendum stopped being about them, and became all about us. Everywhere I turned there have been people who believed in creating a better society – creative, generous, community-minded people who I could only aspire to be a bit like one day, and regret not being more like now. These are the sort of folk who won’t sleep, won’t rest, if there’s an important fight to be fought…and there now will be many. If you missed out before, join them now. If you feel bitter towards those who voted a different way to you, remember we need all the friends we can get.”
Emlyn Firth _ Director | a visual agency

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“Disappointing…”
Mark Breslin _ Creative Partner | ISO

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“For the thousands of young artists, creative people, writers and others who engaged with the Yes campaign, with the National Collective, and the broader independence movement, last night’s result will of course be very disappointing. Many have put their lives on hold to campaign for Yes, and felt a wave of inspiration and enthusiasm not experienced before. To them, the No vote represents a chance for another kind of future, lost.

But not all artists and those in the creative industries were Yes voters. Today, for them, will bring a sense of relief, perhaps, rather than overt jubilation.

Some of the more well known supporters of the Yes movement have successful careers and those will continue.
Whether the coherence and organisation of the creative movement for Yes remains, and perhaps morphs into something else, can only be judged in the fullness of time.”
Phil Miller _ Arts Correspondent | The Herald

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Scott Monument by Andy Hepworth

“It has been a long road; sometimes contentious, mostly kind and inspiring from the point of view that people have simply cared. There was a strange but invigorating peace over the capitol yesterday which I don’t think I’ve encountered before – and that peace I suppose was the sound of a nation using its voice. This morning’s news that greater devolution has been proposed for all the UK regions actually gives me a sense of hope, and what I hope for – across the whole of the UK – is that the voices within nations will be heard, and will not remain dormant. The process has been an eye-opener; let’s not close them again.”
Andy Hepworth _ Illustrator

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“Punk is dead!”
Mark Bell _ Architect | NORD

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“It’s business as usual, but with a heightened energy and respect brought about by a country that came out in force to let its voices be heard – and, I’m proud to say, a population that is proving to be as graceful in victory as it is in defeat. The road ahead should still bring about change (let’s keep focus without cynicism!), and hopefully this will be realised right across the UK. And, on a side note, if the creative sectors get on top of this movement, we might even be able to turn one of our biggest issues of talent migration on its head. Exciting times.”
Simon Meek _ Creative Director | The Secret Experiment

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“As a yes voter I am deeply disappointed but Scotland has spoken and I respect that. We have had an amazing turn out of 97% of people registered to vote which is hugely positive and I hope that this brings more change to Scotland. Let’s hope Westminster stay true to their word.”
Rebecca Torres _ Director & Designer | Rebecca Torres

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“For me, this referendum was only round five of a fifteen round thriller. We’ve landed a big punch but not quite enough to floor the idea that money is more important than people. Lets gather ourselves, enjoy the sponge, sook a few oranges over the weekend. The bell will ring again on Monday and we’ll be back in the fray, fighting the good fight. There’s a lot of points on our card already. And the world is rooting for us. Hand in hand with our friends and neighbours in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we’ll do this.”
Paul Welsh _ Film Producer | Digicult & Edge City Films

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“Dear pals south of the border, we saw a chance for freedom from austerity, from unrepresentative governments working for big money not citizens, from illegal wars, from the systematic destruction of public services, from food banks and the demonising of the poorest… We saw that chance and we went for it. It didn’t work out, but look what we achieved against the overwhelming opposition of the media and the three big parties (who might as well be one): an energised, informed electorate, the engagement of the previously disenfranchised, a massive voice for change. The challenge is there for you to take up the fight and join us in bringing these Westminster shitebags to account next May, not to mention the ugly ugly threat of UKIP. Change is on the way. If we’re Better Together, let’s prove we really can be BETTER together.
Matt Lloyd _ Director | Glasgow Short Film Festival

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“37 publications, every TV station and Radio Station in the land lined up to quash an uprising of sorts. Is it a surprise that Scotland has voted No? Of course not. However the creative and inspirational message of hope that has sprang up in this campaign is not going away.”
Paul Crawford _ Head of offKILTR | KILTR

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“Despite the disappointment felt by so many Scots this morning, we can be really proud that we have collectively shaken the political establishment to their core and I honestly believe things will never be the same.

Scotland does not wake up today as an independent state, but the whole process of the referendum has empowered Scotland and our people to bring about significant and meaningful change to our political system.

This will affect the whole of the UK and I believe it will become a catalyst for greater social justice both here and in the rest of Britain. If we can
harness the incredible political energy generated in our wee country in recent months, and push hard enough, it can be a springboard for far greater democracy in Scotland and proper electoral reform within the UK.

We can’t let the Westminster political elite off the hook here and we should immediately begin a concerted campaign to bring proportional representation and an elected upper house in Westminster.

Power To The People!”
Michael Grieve _ Managing Director | Sub Club

Central Station covered the Scottish Indy Ref this week with events, showcases and features all relating to Scotland’s Big Decision. See more articles here.

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Paul Harkin is a Glasgow-based portrait and landscape photographer. Here, he details his Independence Referendum themed project, 100 Days…

100 Days: Kenny

In the months leading up to the Referendum, I became interested in hearing different perspectives on the choice facing the nation. One group that seemed to be absent from the range of voices routinely featured was those born outside Scotland who had decided to make the country their home. What was their experience of living in Scotland, I wondered, and what did they make of its possible future? Did their own experience, having roots elsewhere, afford them a different perspective, perhaps allow them to see the nation’s trajectory differently?

100 Days: Mari

100 Days: Doris

With this in mind, I began taking portraits and asking the sitters to write a little about themselves and to explain what the Referendum would mean for them. As a potentially exposed group and occasionally – even after many years – anxious that they would be perceived as foreigners who should keep their opinions to themselves, it was often a challenge to find people prepared to come out into the open and express their views. This took me a little by surprise and was a salutary lesson about the experience of many who call this home. My thanks are due to those generous enough to share their outlook.

100 Days: Costas

I began to publish the resulting images 100 days before the referendum, and also decided to include a few other voices – primarily those working in the arts. My aim was to be non-partisan and I did not seek out those with particular opinions. In practice I found it hard to find voices opposed to independence. Writing this before Thursday’s vote, I’m interested to see whether this will be reflected across the country.

100 Days: Scott

100 Days: Roanne

To see more images (and their accompanying posts) head over to the 100 Days’ project page here.

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Shorag is a small art film about independence by Brora based visual artist Craig Mackay.

Shorag is a Pictish Shamen figure she represents transformation, the elimination of existing, the creation of a new blank canvas, a transition, depicting a journey, starting with small steps expressing the trepidation and fears related to the journey and the future of standing alone, of being self sufficient but also considered about the past and the future.

Credits:
DoP – Steven Cook
Music Composition – Aidan O’Rourke
Direction, Editing & Grade – Alistair Ferguson

More:  Website | Vimeo | Twitter

YES:

Endless Yes by Alex Hetherington

Mark Osborne

New Scotland New Flag by Graphical House

Jenny Soep

NEITHER:

Mr Castro

Some of you may wonder why we haven’t featured any ‘NO’ works. The answer is quite simple, we did not receive any ‘NO’ submissions.

Stay tuned for more Indy Ref related content…

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KILTR is a social network for anyone with a Scottish connection. Head of offKILTR, Paul Crawford talks about how the social platform has engaged with the Indy Ref…

The Referendum has seen social media used in an unparalleled way in UK politics. KILTR engaged with the Referendum very early on. As soon as the date was announced, we decided to have a dedicated Referendum channel for our users to post and share content on the Referendum. We were very aware that there was a strong feeling amongst YES voters that the media in Scotland was very biased against them so we wanted the platform to remain completely impartial and welcome discussion and content from both sides.

KILTR also wanted to give a voice to an alternative view on the Referendum and steer clear of the “usual suspects” i.e. the politicians. We did this through a series of Referendum debates. We wanted to first engage with creatives. The first debate back in October, focused on the Creative Industries and had a panel made up of Stuart Braithwaite of band Mogwai and author and artist Alistair Gray on the Yes side. On the No side were Mark Hogarth Creative Director of Harris Tweed Hebrides and Pauline McNeil former Labour MSP. Our chair was Ken McCluskey from the Bluebells who’s indeed still young at heart. Interestingly the BBC had Stuart and Pauline doing a Q&A the following week on the BBC News website. What is it they say about imitation?

Our second debate, we staged a world first in taking KILTR to New York during Scotland Week, putting an international perspective on the big question. We held our debate at The Lower East Side Girls Club, a fantastic building and enterprise set up on the Lower East Side to give young girls in that area a safe place to go and learn life skills and generally hang out. Our debate featured on the YES side renowned Scottish photographer Albert Watson who now resides in New York and actress Pollyanna McIntosh. On the NO side we had Brian Wilson former Labour Minister for Energy and now Chair of Harris Tweed Hebrides and director of Celtic Football Club and actress Louise Linton who now resides in Hollywood. Live-streamed through KILTR, the traffic temporarily brought the site down, but we managed to get in live it again after 10 minutes or so. The debate was a huge success although in bringing the debate to the expat community and allowing them to have a voice, we also had our CEO Brian telling the audience that ‘Tartan Week has had it’s day’. These sentiments are at the very core of our cultural platform as we wanted to show a more contemporary vision and voice of modern Scotland.

The third of our debates took place in May returning to the CCA in Glasgow. Again, we brought together an excellent panel we thought would raise some really interesting issues. The panel consisted of on the YES side actor Brian Cox and YouTube sensation The Artist Taxi Driver Mark McGowan. On the NO side, we had heavy weight political advisor John McTernan and journalist Susan Dalgety. The future of the media was discussed and some sparks certainly flew between Mark and John. It was a great way to end our CCA debates as we’ve built a new media platform right here in Glasgow, Scotland driven by subculture.

Last but not least, we had our final debate centring the discussion around ‘Youth and Young People’ and taking the debate to Platform in Easterhouse. Once again we had a fantastic panel, Liam McLaughlin from Radical Independence and Katie Gallogly Swan from Common Weal represented the YES side and Heather Whiteside and Alan Grant represented Better Together. It was pretty lively, as expected!

We then installed an impartial real-time poll on our platform which so far has had nearly 3000 people vote on it. Pure democracy in action! Though not particularly approved by traditional media, as expected.

The pinnacle of our Referendum activity thus far has to be our exclusive live broadcast for The Yes Campaign of ‘A Night for Scotland’ featuring bands Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai, Frightened Rabbit, Stanley Odd and Amy McDonald. Over 7000 people logged in to watch a historic night of Scottish Music in support of the YES campaign.

The media attention has also been quite incredible. We had a Japanese film crew at Easterhouse, I was on Ch4 News and ABC Australia have been in the office filming. BBC News have requested to film us as well. We’ll see if it goes ahead. I was also speaking on BBC Radio Wales the other day. The democratic process is spreading and we feel we’ve played a sizeable part. I personally feel very proud.

What we are trying to do at KILTR is disrupt the traditional media landscape and show people that there is a new media emerging. Integrating shared content with exclusive original content is the future of media and this is what we are pioneering at KILTR.

In terms of content, rich visual content has to take centre stage in intelligent social media. The YES side have most definitely won the battle in supplying well designed original and creative content. Organisations, such as National Collective and The Common Weal through their designers at Tangent, have produced some outstanding pieces of design as well as our own team at KILTR.

It’s been a steep learning curve for us at KILTR and CollectivWorks (the underlying tech). We’ve been up against it at times but no-one can disagree that it’s not been worth it because what we’re witnessing is change.

If you’re interested in reading more about the Referendum on KILTR, head over to the KILTR Referendum Channel.

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Watch For A’That by Fraser Croall.

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After the Revolution, Who Will Clean Up the Mess? is a work created by Glasgow based artist Ellie Harrison for the Counterpoint exhibition at Edinburgh’s Talbot Rice Gallery. Since 1 August, four large confetti canons have sat at the ready in the gallery, awaiting the outcome of the Referendum. In the early hours of 19 September, in the event of a yes vote, the confetti canons will detonate in the presence of revellers at the Referendum Results Party and those watching the live webcast online. A no vote will result in the canons remaining dormant until the end of the exhibition on 18 October.

After the Revolution, Who Will Clean Up the Mess? aims to question the possibilities and consequences of radical political change. To hear more from Ellie, watch this interview about the project:

Ellie Harrison – After the Revolution, Who Will Clean Up the Mess? via arts-news

After the Revolution, Who Will Clean Up the Mess? runs at the Talbot Rice Gallery in Edinburgh until 18 October with a live event from 23:00 on 18 September. Find out more here.

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Find more events in our weekly bulletin here.

Central Station are all over the Scottish Indy Ref this week with events, showcases and features all relating to Scotland’s Independence Referendum.

We sent out an open call asking Central Station members for images of your work representing Scotland’s Indy Ref. The results are in the YES | NO | NEITHER feature here.

Happening now, Early Days: The Arches’ Referendum Festival offers theatre, exhibitions, events and more. See festival highlights on Central Station here.

The cultural social platform, KILTR have been covering the Big Debate with a dedicated section to all things Referendum-related. Paul from KILTR has offered an overview of their coverage for Central Station here.

No matter the outcome, we will have a response on Friday outlining the next steps for Scotland’s creative sector.

Are you running your own Indy Ref event? Let us know by email – hello@thisiscentralstation.com, tweet @CenSta the info or simply post it on our Facebook page.

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UPDATE 19.09.2014

Read what creative professionals living in Scotland felt the ‘No vote’ meant for them in Creative Sector Responses here.

Take a look at 100 Days, a project by photographer Paul Harkin exploring the thoughts of those born outside of Scotland.

For art films about independence, see these works by Scottish visual artist Craig Mackay and motion graphics artist and animator, Fraser Croall.

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