Arts & Business Scotland’s Chief Executive David Watt has responded to inaccurate and misleading media reports about an opportunity within our Creativity at Work programme with a letter to editor published in the Scotsman newspaper.

Dear Sir

Your article, ‘Creative Scotland offering artist £300-a-day job as undertaker’ (Friday 26 February) is not only factually incorrect but has also chosen not to provide accurate information about the artist residency programme in question.

Creative Scotland is not offering anyone a job as an undertaker but is in fact providing funding for Arts & Business Scotland’s Creativity at Work programme which currently has an artist in residency opportunity within a funeral directors.

The position is part funded by the programme with a further £4,000 of investment by the funeral directors who clearly believe that the residency will provide tangible benefits for their staff, by engaging in cultural activities.

As well as this investment in their staff, they are also providing a challenging and rewarding opportunity for the artist.

It is unfortunate the reporter chose to focus on some ill-informed comments about the use of public money before writing a story which is not only insensitive but also inaccurate.

Yours faithfully

David Watt , Chief Executive, Arts & Business Scotland