Whether it's visual art, film and television, literature, theatre, or music, Scotland has long been a hotbed of talent. . . .

The contemporary Scottish art scene is thriving, with our leading artists like Gerald Burns, Elaine Woo, Peter Howson, Lois Carson, John Bellany, Alison Watt, Jack Vettriano and Alex Cooper all finding their work hanging in the world's most prestigious galleries, fetching stunning sums at auction (Sotheby's recently sold Vettriano's ‘The Singing Butler' for a record £748,000), and being snapped up by celebrity collectors like Jack Nicholson, Madonna, Terence Conran and Tim Rice.

For those who are not yet established artists Scotland is one of the best proving grounds in the world: Whether it's abstract or classical, digitally photographed or painted in oils, SCOTLAND'S ART SCHOOLS have been producing world class artists for centuries now.

As for acting, one only need to consider the alumni of the ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY of MUSIC and DRAMA to understand Scotland's eminence in that field: Robert Carlyle, Sir Ian Richardson, Alan Cumming and Tom Conti being just a few of the internationally recognised names who learned their craft in Glasgow. And there's no shortage of home-grown outlets for the talents of the Academy's graduates: from the world-class TRAVERSE THEATRE in Edinburgh to the legendary CITIZENS in Glasgow, Scotland has an enviable theatrical reputation.

Or, look at Opera. The RSAMD provides a wonderful launching pad for new talent, with names like Janis Kelly, Felicity Hammond, Lisa Milne and Patrick Doyle all moving from the Academy onto greater things at both the ROYAL SCOTTISH OPERA and the SCOTTISH OPERA.

Glasgow's ROYAL CONCERT HALL is home to three of Scotland's major classical companies: THE ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA, SCOTTISH BALLET and SCOTTISH OPERA (Scotland has two other world-calibre national orchestras – the SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA and the BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.)

Unlike its English counterpart Scotland's NATIONAL THEATRE has no home theatre, seeing its role as one of initiating, commissioning and producing productions in venues across the nation. It has an incredible pool of talent to draw upon, as Scotland has an enviable international reputation in theatre and drama.

On the east coast there is Edinburgh's TRAVERSE THEATRE, which has been staging innovative, energetic contemporary theatre since the 1960's. On the west coast the CITIZENS THEATRE in Glasgow's Gorbals continues to raise eyebrows and draw rave reviews with its diverse, challenging productions.

Beyond the major cities there is the EDEN COURT in Inverness, the theatrical hub of the Highlands and the LEMON TREE in Aberdeen, while Dundee hosts one of Britain's most exciting venues and companies in the DUNDEE REP; which is also home to Scotland's only full-time modern dance company SCOTTISH DANCE THEATRE.

Even more remotely – operating outside any city – is HI-ARTS, or Highlands and Islands Arts Limited. Set up in 1990 Hi-Arts encompasses 17 regional theatre companies and promotes and develops the arts across the Highlands and Islands – a remote mountainous area where the population of just 370,000 is scattered across an area twice the size of Belgium.

For those living in remote areas whose idea of the arts might just extend to seeing the new James Bond movie however, Hi-Arts also runs the Screen Machine: an articulated lorry housing a widescreen cinema with 102 seats, air-conditioning and digital sound which traverses the region, bringing Hollywood to Ullapool.

As for the printed page, here Scotland's list of acclaimed authors begins to read like a Who's Who of literature: James Kelman, A L Kennedy, Janice Galloway, Liz Lockhead, Alisdair Gray, Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin, Andrew O'Hagan . . . one would need a long mantelpiece to hold the trophies and awards collected between these writers. And, with creative writing now firmly established on the curriculum of many of Scotland's universities, it is a trend that looks set to continue. The flagship course is arguably the M. Litt in Creative Writing at ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY, but there are many other routes open to would-be JK Rowlings out there. . . .

The MONIACK MHOR centre near Inverness offers around 20 courses a year in creative writing with top UK writers and tutors supplying the teaching. For those a little more experienced who are seeking peace to write, HAWTHORNDEN CASTLE near Edinburgh offers month-long retreats.

Or music: from the latest pop and rock sensations like KT TUNSTALL, FRANZ FERDINAND, TEXAS and SNOW PATROL through to more traditional acts like THE BATTLEFIELD BAND, BLAZING FIDDLES, and MACUMBA – who mix traditional instruments like the bagpipes and flute with Latin drumming and Brazilian dancing to create an intoxicating new music – there is no shortage of musical talent.

Indeed, traditional Scottish music has been enjoying a great upsurge in popularity in recent years, thanks in no small part to FESTIVALS like the CELTIC CONNECTIONS, held every January in Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall, and the HEBRIDEAN CELTIC FESTIVAL, which began in 1995 and is held every July in the grounds of Lewis Castle on Stornoway.

And no shortage of places to nurture it: STOW COLLEGE, NAPIER UNIVERSITY and the RSAMD were all among the first higher and further education centres to offer courses specifically tailored towards young people who want a career in the music industry, teaching everything from sound engineering to artist management and marketing.

A galaxy of stars for today, and the infrastructure to ensure there should be no shortage of them tomorrow makes Scotland one of the world's pre-eminent centres for the arts and entertainment.

Did you know that there are over 300 museums in Scotland and that collectively they serve over a million visitors every year?

The jewels in the crown here are undoubtedly in the two great cities Glasgow and Edinburgh. In Edinburgh, the old and new coexist peacefully, with the Victorian splendour of The Royal Museum – featuring its magnificent 'birdcage' main hall – sitting just along Chambers Street from the magnificent Museum of Scotland which opened in 1998.

Over in Glasgow, highlights include The HUNTERIAN MUSEUM, The KELVINGROVE MUSEUM & ART GALLERY (which has one of the finest municipal art collections in Europe and is the UK's most visited museum outside London) and the unique BURRELL COLLECTION – a treasure trove of paintings, tapestries, stained glass, sculptures and artefacts bequeathed to the city by Sir William Burrell and housed in a stunning, award-winning building in the leafy suburb of Pollockshaws – as well as a host of work by Charles Rennie Mackintosh: including his Glasgow School of Art and the Mackintosh museum in Hillhead.

But Scotland's regions and her other four cities – Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Stirling – all have their own stories to tell about Scottish culture too. Find out more. . . .

www.natgalscot.ac.uk
www.scottishmuseums.org.uk

Scotland also boasts no fewer than 550 public lending libraries. Inevitably the most magnificent of these are located in the nation's two great cities: The National Library of Scotland, on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh and The Mitchell Library at Charing Cross in Glasgow. The National holds over seven million titles and is the world's leading repository of manuscript records of Scotland's history. The Mitchell – built in part by a donation from billionaire Scots philanthropist Andrew Carnegie – is one of the largest public reference libraries in Europe, with over one and a half million titles, including unparalleled collections by Scots authors like Robert Burns.

Both libraries are stunning, architecturally-inspired environments which offer free study space, research facilities and internet use to any member of the public with the time to fill out a form.

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