Richard Demarco CBE

"Richard Demarco is without doubt a remarkable man, an Italian Scot, a founder of the Traverse Theatre, a man who is an artist, a writer, a philosopher.  He is a man who has brought contemporary visual arts to the Edinburgh Festival.  He has been involved in more than 50 Edinburgh Festivals, and he's brought great artists like Joseph Beuys and Kantor to thousands of people.  He has also brought the visual arts from other parts of the world, from Eastern Europe, long before other people were interested.  And he's inspired us all, he's inspired us to take extraordinary journeys, journeys in the mind, journeys across Europe, journeys that he calls the road to Meikle Seggie"

                                                                                     - Sir Nicholas Serota, London, March 2000

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Richard Demarco is not an impresario, he is not a gallery director, nor a theatre director; he is a teacher and his qualifications are that of a school teacher at primary and secondary level. Nevertheless, he has 6 Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Dundee, Stirling, Southampton Solent, Atlanta, Wroclaw and Leeds Beckett as well as Honorary Fellowships from the University of Edinburgh and the Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance.   His most important achievement is the creation of a university of all the arts which he calls 'Edinburgh Arts'.  His commitment to working in Communist controlled Europe led to his crossing the Iron Curtain over thirty times; in honour of this work, he was defined as the European Parliament Citizen of the Year in 2013.  His commitment to Europe is defined by the fact that he is a Cavaliere della Repubblica d'Italia, Chevalier des Artes et Lettres de France and has received the Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.  He was also awarded the Gold Medals of Poland and Romania.  He was appointed Officer of the British Empire [OBE] and Commander of the British Empire [CBE].  He is also an Honorary Royal Scottish Academician [HRSA] and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects of Scotland [HFRIAS].  He is Emeritus Kingston University Professor of European Cultural Studies.  He was appointed an Honorary Citizen of the Polish City of Lodz and he was honoured by the City of Edinburgh with the Edinburgh Award.  As an artist, he is represented in over 2000 public and private collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.  He was appointed a Trustee of Mikhail Gorbachev's Green Cross.  He was appointed Commander of the Order of St Lazarus and from the United States received the Celebrating Heroes Award and, for his work in American secondary school education, he was appointed a Kentucky Colonel.   He has been responsible for presenting over 10,000 visual and performing arts event since 1961.