3
The open letter
from the artists
Elsie Inglis statue charity under fire for U-turn in selection process
Artists block AN OPEN letter to donors and the
Board of Trustees for the Elsie Inglis
Statue and the council.
“We are writing this open letter
on behalf of the campaign supporters,
those who have donated money,
and artists blocked from entering
the commission.
“We thought it was a fantastic
idea that the Trust originally created
a public art submission process to
encourage local artists, and many
artists championed the project and
it’s fundraising.
“We do not support the decision of
the trustees in hiring Alexander
Stoddard. His consultation was sought
during the ‘open for entries’ commission
period, he had a financial interest and
was therefore not objective. It is a clear
conflict of interest for the board to have
sought him out during this time. He has
no clear links with Elsie Inglis or
feminism and is very much not in the
spirit of the original brief.
“We have no confidence in the
trustees’ ability to manage funds
raised or their ability to further manage
this project.
“No explanations or apologies have
been offered. The decisions made have
been behind closed doors and without
public consultation or scrutiny.AGAINST THE GRAIN
“We strongly believe Dr Elsie Inglis
would not support the sudden
cancellation of the original open call for
submissions and hiring of the Royal
sculptor and the resulting blocking of
women from entering the commission.
This decision goes against the aims of
the campaign. It stands in direct
opposition to the core beliefs
expressed by Dr Elsie Inglis herself. The
Trustees’ actions are unreasonable, not
transparent and the unjust and
disorganised situation that has resulted
reflects poorly on Dr Elsie Inglis’ legacy.
“Many people donated on the
premise that this would be open
to all artists providing opportunities
specifically for women and
emerging artists who are hugely
under represented in the Arts and
public commissions. Donations have
been specifically in support of
emerging artists.
“The Board has not been transparent
or communicative with the public. The
Board has seriously failed in its duty to
the artists preparing to submit.
“We call for transparency and
honesty from the charity. We hope that
the charity will consider a new Board of
Trustees and ask for volunteers. That
the Commission is reopened and the
decision is made with an open
consultation, reflecting a positive light
on Dr Elsie Inglis. Together we can
honour the legacy of Dr Elsie Inglis with
respect, community spirit and equality.”By PHYLLIS STEPHENTHE CHARITY A Statue for Elsie Inglis has
come under fire for the way it has selected an
artist to create the likeness of the doctor.
Having set out a clear timeline along with its
own rules about the way the applicants were to
make their bids in a Call to Artists at the end of
July, the charity stopped the process without
warning in September. Without following its
own rules, the appointment of the King's
Sculptor in Ordinary, Alexander Stoddart, was
announced - before the time that the Call
would have expired.
The original plan had been to invite entries,
whittle them down to a shortlist of three and
then make an announcement of the artist who
would be granted the commission in Spring
next year. Fundraising in the name of the
charity was conducted through the Lord
Provost’s charity the OneCity Trust. More than
£60,000 has been raised.
In the face of much adverse comment on the
charity's Facebook page (now deleted) the
trustees issued a statement: “We have read the
postings on social media and sympathise with
the frustration of the artists involved and have
therefore sent a detailed account of the
proceedings to the Office of Scottish Charities.
We will not be making any further comment.”
The trustees may turn to the Office of the
Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) for advice,
and anyone who has donated money or is
otherwise aggrieved by the actings of any
charity may also report their own concerns to
the regulator.
Charity law sets out that a person acting
as a trustee must do so in such a way that they
are above criticism. OSCR explains that
trustees should act with "care and diligence".
In the event that any of the trustees have
behaved improperly then OSCR may take
action against them.
A flurry of objections to the cancellation of
the process to find a sculptor were made openly
and publicly on social media. More than 100
people supported the Open Letter published onthe charity's Facebook page which you can read
in full on the right of this page.
The artists claimed a conflict of interest arose
in appointing Sandy Stoddart to create this first
statue of a woman for the Royal Mile.
Artist Natasha Phoenix who had hoped to
submit an entry, said that it was wrong of the
charity to "abort the original process" and
questioned whether it amounted todiscrimination on the grounds of sex that
emerging artists had been blocked from
making an application.
She also called the appointment of an
established male artist into question. (Stoddart
is the creator of the Hume statue on the Royal
Mile and the Adam Smith statue there.)
Natasha said: "While the original call to
artists was not explicitly limited to women
artists, there was certainly mention of
encouraging "emerging artists". Statistically,
women artists tend to be under represented in
established circles."
Her own work in preparing to make an
application to win the commission has been
considerable - evidenced in the photo of her
Elsie heads (left), some of which are now to be
placed in the Surgeons Hall museum.
It is true to say that the charity has been less
than transparent. It is impossible even to find
out who the trustees are - and we have asked
several times.
Author Sara Sheridan who was a supporter
has also withdrawn her endorsement.
The artists have set up a new Facebook page
Dr Elsie Inglis Statue for the People where they
ask for no money to be spent while a new
commissioning process is conducted.Doctor, surgeon, teacher
and suffragist, Elsie Inglis