The Scottish Arts Council and British Council Scotland announced today (1 July) the appointment of Norah Campbell, until recently Director of the An Tuireann Arts Centre in Portree, as their new Head of International Arts. The post will be jointly funded and managed by both organisations and will be responsible for developing a strategy for promoting Scotland's arts abroad.

The establishment of the new post is part of a move for closer collaboration between the Scottish Arts Council and British Council Scotland, which follows on from a number of successful joint projects including Zenomap, Scotland's first national presentation at the Venice Biennale. The joint post will enable the two organisations to pool resources, play to their strengths in terms of their complementary networks within Scotland and worldwide and strengthen their contributions to the international promotion of Scotland.

British Council Scotland Director Michael Bird said:

"This is a natural next step in the development of our partnership with the Scottish Arts Council. In all our joint projects so far, we've proved that we work most effectively for Scotland when we work together. It's also a timely next step, given the establishment of the Cultural Commission and the importance of the international dimension to its work. I'm delighted that we've recruited someone of Norah Campbell's calibre to the post".

A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art and a visual artist by vocation, Norah Campbell has been Director of the An Tuireann Arts Centre for the last seven years. During this time, she has managed the re-development of the Arts Centre, promoting contemporary Scottish visual arts, crafts and music within Skye and overseas. Prior to that, Norah worked for the Visual Arts Department of the Scottish Arts Council.

On accepting her post, Norah Campbell said:

"It is an exciting and challenging new position. I aim to be ambitious for Scotland's contemporary and traditional art forms, building on the success of previous collaborative projects between the Scottish Arts Council and the British Council."

Scottish Arts Council Director Graham Berry said:

"The arts are an international language and immensely valuable in the overseas promotion of Scotland as a cultured confident country, attracting visitors and inward investment. The arts are also a powerful generator of a dynamic creative environment in Scotland, which will attract people to come here to live and work. The Scottish Arts Council already works closely with British Council Scotland to promote Scotland's artists internationally through many activities such as showcases in Scotland and abroad, and  we are therefore delighted to have established this new joint post which will strengthen our international work. We are confident that Norah Campbell's appointment will ensure even closer working relationships and be of enormous benefit to the arts in Scotland."

Norah Campbell will take up her post at the end of September.

For further information please contact : Davina Shiell, Communications Manager, British Council Scotland T:0131 524 5717 E: davina.shiell@britishcouncil.org