National Collective
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| Formation | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Focus | Scottish independence referendum, 2014 |
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Key people
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Ross Colquhoun Andrew Redmond Barr Rory Scothorne |
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Volunteers
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<1,200 |
| Mission | To "help shape the vision" of an independent Scotland ahead of the Scottish independence referendum |
| Website | nationalcollective |
National Collective was a political organisation self-described as an "open and non-party [...] group of artists and creatives" who support Scottish independence active from 2011-2015. The organisation was founded in late 2011 by Ross Colquhoun, Andrew Redmond Barr and Rory Scothorne with the goal of "[helping to] shape the vision of a new society and nation". The group argued that independence for Scotland could achieve both a realisation of self-determination and a "cultural dawn" for the nation. The organisation was supported by independence-minded artists, including Liz Lochhead, Alasdair Gray, Elaine C. Smith and Karine Polwart.
Andrew Whittaker, political correspondent at The Scotsman described the group as "the most significant cultural voice to emerge in the referendum debate so far".
National Collective supporters participated in the March and Rally for Scottish Independence in September 2013. Amy Shipway represented the Collective in a debate about culture and independence on an episode of Newsnight Scotland on 30 September 2013.
National Collective is presently organising a month-long nationwide tour as part of an event called "Yestival", which is aimed at instilling a sense of "cultural confidence" in voters unsure about backing a Yes vote. Yestival will see a programme of art, music, film and literary events being taken to every city in Scotland in July, with participants to include Julie Fowlis, David Greig, and RM Hubbert.
The Collective was identified by the Independent publication as the initiators of an online hashtag campaign that began in mid-August 2014. Writing for the Independent, Antonia Molloy claims that the previous "#IndyReasons" hashtag campaign served as the inspiration for the "#YesBecause" campaign that was observed on the Twitter, Facebook and Vine social media platforms. From 9am on 21 August, users were invited to explain their reasons for voting "Yes" and #YesBecause was trending on Twitter after an hour from the launch. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported on 22 August that a "#NoBecause" campaign emerged in opposition to the Collective, and also cited data from the social analytic website Topsy that shows that, as of the afternoon of 22 August 2014, the #YesBecause hashtag has been used over 61,000 times, while the #NoBecause appeared 1,700 times.
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