Heather celebrates winning new award

Heather Stuart, chief executive of Fife Cultural Trust, was honoured for her contribution to arts and culture at the inaugural Scottish Women’s Awards.

The event, held in Glasgow on Wednesday, celebrated the achievements of women entrepreneurs, businesswomen, professionals, civil servants and charity workers who help make Scotland great.

Organisers Creative Oceanic say thousands of nominations were received from the public.

Heather said: “I was delighted to win, and to do so in my role with the Trust.

‘‘None of what I achieve on a daily basis would happen without the support of the brilliant team that I have around me and the 400 staff within the organisation who do a great job enriching the lives of individuals and communities across Fife on a daily basis. I would like to dedicate this award to them and to thank them for all of their support, commitment, and dedication.”

Heather heads up the trust, which was established in 2012 to run libraries, museums, arts, archives, and theatre services across over 50 venues.

She started her career in local government and held a range of posts in areas including community development and regeneration, European and external affairs, and cultural and community services.

She has worked in a range of roles in the Scottish Government supporting Ministers on local government, public service reform, regeneration, social inclusion, and cultural policy issues.

Prior to her current post, Heather was head of cultural and community services at Perth and Kinross Council.

She is a Member of the Institute of Directors, a board member of the King’s Theatre Kirkcaldy, vice chairman of Pitlochry Festival Theatre, and is a former Chair of VOCAL, the national association of culture and leisure managers.

She is also club captain at Kirkcaldy Golf Club.