Our Right to a Cultural Life in Scotland
14 · 01 · 2026 | Scottish Parliament – The Holyrood Room | 6pm-8pm
Art27 Scotland and Clare Adamson (MSP) are delighted to invite you to the Scottish Parliament for a landmark event showcasing Cultural Rights: what they are, why they matter, and how a rights-based approach to cultural policy and strategy could strongly benefit Scotland. In the context of the proposed Scottish Human Rights Bill (SHRB), we will open discussion in response to our speakers’ presentations and facilitate public participation via the audience.- Panel Chair: Dr. Elaine Webster, University of Strathclyde Reader in Human Rights Law & Art27 Trustee
- Prof Justin O’Connor, Cultural policy expert and academic, Culture is Not an Industry: reclaiming art & culture for the common good
- Prof. Angela O’Hagan, Chair, Scottish Human Rights Commission, What difference will the SHRB make for Scotland
- Robert Rae, Embedded Artist & Founder, Art27 Scotland, Making cultural rights real from an artist’s perspective
- Alexandra Xanthaki, UN Cultural Rights Special Rapporteur, International perspectives on Cultural Rights; with Bob Palmer, former Director of Culture and Cultural & Natural Heritage at the Council of Europe
- Steve Byrne, CEO, Traditional Arts & Culture Scotland, Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland
Our Right to a Cultural Life in Scotland Brochure
Adopting our mission from Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art27 Scotland stands as Scotland’s leading organisation dedicated to cultural rights. By fostering partnerships, commissioning projects, and empowering artists and communities, our work seeks to discuss the most urgent questions of our time. Through our creative practice we explore the significance of cultural rights, why they matter now more than ever and the means by which they can be actualised. This booklet, created for the Art27 Scotland ‘Our Right to a Cultural Life in Scotland’ event at the Scottish Parliament January 2026, illustrates the importance of real-life testimony. We asked a few friends and colleagues to share why cultural rights matter to them. Their contributions to this booklet are moving, personal and urgent. A true testament to what’s at stake…The context: cultural rights in Scotland and beyond…
Article 27 of UDHR gives everyone the Right to a Cultural Life in Scotland. In response to Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill and the incorporation of ICESCR into Scottish law, we have been researching, campaigning and piloting through our creative work what cultural rights for all might look and feel like, and what challenges or opportunities arise in order to make this right real.
We are happy to share some of our research below:
PODCAST
Alexandra Xanthaki, UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights – Scotland – Plans, Challenges and Impact
INCORPORATION
For great overview see the brilliant work of the Human Rights Consortium Scotland
One of the most inspiring documents that we’ve used in our research see: Fribourg Declaration
To get the context we co-commissioned a briefing paper into the current context for the Right to a Cultural Life
The Scottish Government’s Human Rights Leadership Taskforce Briefing on cultural rights
For international examples of cultural rights and sustainable development, see the amazing work of Agenda21 for Culture team at the UCLG United Cities and Local Government group.