Tag: Creative Scotland

Lifeline support for business confirmed

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop has confirmed that grant funding for the newly self-employed suffering hardship and SMEs in distress will be available ‘in the coming days’.

The £100 million fund to support the self-employed and SMEs announced last week will be broken into three separate funds as follows:

• £34 million Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund, managed by Local Authorities, will be allocated to the newly self-employed facing hardship through £2,000 grants
• £20 million Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund, managed by the Enterprise Agencies in partnership with Creative Scotland and VisitScotland for creative, tourism and hospitality companies not in receipt of business rates relief
• £45 million Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, managed by the Enterprise Agencies for vulnerable SME firms who are vital to the local or national economic foundations of Scotland

The Scottish Government is also providing £1 million to top up Creative Scotland’s Bridging Bursaries in the not-for-profit sector.

Speaking in parliament, Ms Hyslop also confirmed that the grant funding will be open for applications by the end of April, and that recipients will receive funds in early May. She said: “This funding is intended to relieve the hardship of individuals and smaller firms that are ineligible for support from the UK Government or are not in receipt yet of the funds they need to survive.

“Our hospitality, tourism and creative sectors have been decimated by this crisis and previously profitable businesses have seen demand dry up overnight.

“However, because of the decisions the Scottish Government has taken, thousands more self-employed people and small businesses will be able to benefit from support compared with elsewhere, and we have been able to help sectors of the economy that are not being supported in other parts of the UK.

“As well as dealing with this immediate crisis, we must look to the future. We must ensure that those businesses with a part to play in strengthening resilience in Scotland’s economy survive this crisis and thrive in future, which is why £45 million is being allocated to those firms.

“We continue to engage with businesses on a regular basis to understand their needs and press the UK Government to deliver for them.”

Following this afternoon’s announcement, Creative Scotland’s Chief Executive Iain Munro commented:  “We welcome today’s Scottish Government announcement of £100 million funds to support the self-employed and SMEs.

“Creative Scotland will work hard with partners to ensure that those who are eligible in the creative sector can access the new funding as far as possible.

“Today’s announcement also includes the extra £1m from the Scottish Government which we announced yesterday to supplement the Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund and has enabled us to double the budget, providing much needed financial support for freelance creative professionals most deeply impacted and disadvantaged by the cancellation of work due to the COVID-19 emergency.”

Action! Major film and TV studio set for Leith

Screen Scotland has announced that First Stage Studios Ltd, led by Oscar-nominated and BAFTA winning film and television producer Bob Last and actor and director Jason Connery, has been appointed to run a large-scale film and TV studio space in Leith.

The studio space in Leith has already hosted major international productions, including Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War. Its scale complements the range of studio facilities and flexible build spaces available across the country and will benefit both the indigenous sector and Scotland’s ability to attract high value international productions that work with the local sector.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, said: “This announcement represents a great step forward in Scotland’s ambition to drive growth across all aspects of the film and TV sector.

“Having a studio of this scale will provide a home in Scotland for film and high-end TV productions, generate significant revenue for Scotland’s wider economy and support sustainable careers across the film and TV industry from writers, producers and directors to those working in craft and technical areas.”

Screen Scotland’s Executive Director Isabel Davis commented: “The studio is key in expanding film and TV production in Scotland. We’re delighted to be working with First Stage Studios to bring it to life. Bob and Jason bring a wealth of expertise and industry knowledge that is invaluable to the development of the studio.

“Scotland is internationally renowned for its world-class talent, crews, facilities and breath-taking locations, this facility means we can raise the visibility of Scotland on screen, anchor more film and high-end television productions in Scotland and capitalise on the global boom in the industry.”

Bob Last of First Stage Studios Ltd said: “We look forward to building on the strong interest already expressed by international and UK customers.

“We are grateful to Screen Scotland for their commitment to an ambitious film and television sector and look forward to contributing to its development.”

Jason Connery of First Stage Studios added: “There is no question Scotland needs a film studio, I could not be more excited to be involved in bringing it to fruition”.

Welcoming the announcement of the new film studio in Leith, local MP Deidre Brock said: “This is great news for Leith and for Edinburgh.  I’ve spoken to Bob Last and Jason Connery about their plans and I’m delighted with some of the ideas they’ve got.

“I like the way that they’re talking about opening up opportunities for local young folk to get a foot in the door, I like the way they’re talking about Edinburgh being ready-made for the industry and the chance to hire local crew quickly.  This is an exciting opportunity.

“We have two recognised names in the film industry which will help to bring production here and get the ball rolling.  With the support of the Scottish Government and Edinburgh Council we should see things start to happen relatively soon.”

Iain Smith, Producer and Chair of the British Film Commission said: “I am delighted by today’s news of this appointment of a Scottish company to run this major studio facility in the heart of Edinburgh. It will bring massive benefits not only to the local screen sector, but also to the wider economy further bolstering the UK studio offer.

“The UK’s screen industries are enjoying exceptional growth and it is crucial that Scotland continues to play its part in this by continuing to develop a world-class infrastructure, invest in skills development and provide as much studio space as will enable Scotland to compete more effectively for this valuable inward investment business.”

Cllr Adam McVey, City of Edinburgh Council Leader commented: “This is a very exciting boost for the creative industries in the capital and the Council is delighted to have been involved in this project throughout.

“With strong links to the film industry already – which is testament to the efforts of Film Edinburgh, our city’s film-friendly approach and annual international film festival – it’s fantastic that First Stage Studios Ltd will be running an internationally competitive studio in Leith. There will be even more benefits to the City when large scale filming takes place, bringing great economic benefits to Leith and our whole City.”

Stuart Wallace, Chief Operating Officer, Forth Ports said: “Everyone at Forth Ports is thrilled to be welcoming First Stage Studios to the Port of Leith. This is great news for Scotland’s film industry and for Scottish film buffs.

“Our ‘blue shed’ has proved popular with the creative industry in the past with Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War using Leith as a studio space for their film production. We look forward to working with First Stage Studios and we wish them every success with this.”

Communities get creative with Awards for All

Communities across Scotland will be supported to explore and share their creativity through a diverse range of arts activities thanks to Awards for All funding.

217 community groups and projects across Scotland will share over £1,551,849 of National Lottery Community Funding under the Awards for All scheme, over £120,000 of which is awarded through Creative Scotland.

Awards for All is a joint awards programme from the National Lottery Community Fund, Creative Scotland and sportscotland.

Projects ranging from community cinema to a book festival have been supported in this latest round of funding including: Crofting Environment Improvement Association, Intercultural Youth Scotland, Birnam Book Festival, Shire Housing Association and Kelty Community Cinema.

Creative Scotland’s Graham Reid said: “From celebrations of traditional Scottish culture to a community cinema, these projects demonstrate the diverse creativity of communities across the breadth of Scotland, from Fife to Uist. These awards are testament to the fantastic work that National Lottery funding makes possible.”

Birnam Book Festival will be supported to run community engagement activities to complement its core Festival programme. Activities will include public readings and creative writing workshops and will aim to provide people living in rural areas the opportunity to engage with literary arts, and to create a sense of community ownership in the Festival.

Tabitha Hilliard, Chair, Birnam Book Festival said: “The funding from Awards for All will enable us to appoint a writer in residence who will work with the community before, during and after the festival, delivering sessions to rural and isolated communities in their own settings and helping to draw in a more diverse range of people into reading and to participate in the events.”

Kelty Community Cinema has been awarded funding to continue running their community organised cinema, and its associated programme. The Cinema aims to offer a creative leisure activity that is affordable and accessible for the community.

Wayne Hayles, Chairman, Kelty Community Cinema said: “The funding will make such a difference to the experience at our cinema for the people of Kelty. The support that our visitors have shown us already has been phenomenal, and our visitors will now enjoy a higher quality of picture and sound.”

The Crofting Environment Improvement Association has been awarded funding towards The Land Sings, a project which will celebrate the crofting and fishing histories of the Uists through music, story and traditional skills. Its programme will include three mini-festivals throughout the year: the first around the opening of the new Grimsay Boat Haven in April, an August event for local people and visitors, and a week of activity in October aimed at local primary schools.

Intercultural Youth Scotland have received funding to provide opportunities for black and minority ethnic young people to come together through music production. As well as collective practice, participants will perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2020.

Shire Housing Association has been awarded funding towards a roving arts project to take place in and around East Ayrshire’s Netherthird Community. In partnership with Netherthird Community Council, Impact Arts and other local groups, a bespoke mobile mosaic plaque will be created to celebrate the 70th birthday of the Netherthird Community. The project aims to encourage creativity in residents, as well as to strengthen community cohesion.

Photograph courtesy of Birnam Book Festival 2019.

Creative projects across Scotland share in over £927,000 of National Lottery funding

A GOVANHILL-based community space dedicated to DIY publishing, a community theatre project telling the stories of daily life in coastal communities, and the 38th edition of New Writing Scotland are among the 41 awards made in the latest round of National Lottery funding through Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund. Continue reading Creative projects across Scotland share in over £927,000 of National Lottery funding

Scottish Book Trust celebrates publication of free Blether book

On Wednesday 30 October, an event was held at City Art Centre in Edinburgh to celebrate the publication of Blether, a free book created by Scottish Book Trust for this year’s Book Week Scotland celebrating a Year of Conversation.

Writers from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness, Oban and more had the opportunity to gather together and read their works. Continue reading Scottish Book Trust celebrates publication of free Blether book

Read all about SiMBA’s Book Week Scotland celebrations

SiMBA is holding a special event; My Little Star: A Conversation About the Power of Reading & Memory Making with Babies After Loss to celebrate Book Week Scotland 2019 (18 to 24 November).

Book Week Scotland is a national celebration of books and reading that brings hundreds of free events to a variety of venues across the country. Continue reading Read all about SiMBA’s Book Week Scotland celebrations

The Big Data Show: young people learn cybersecurity through interactive drama

A ground-breaking interactive show for young people which uses real-life gaming to explore cyber security.

www.civicdigits.com

 

The Big Data Show (TBDS) is a ground-breaking immersive experience for young people (S1) weaving theatre and gaming together to explore cyber security and data citizenship.

It is about cyber resilience and being a citizen in the digital age. It is about knowing who knows what about you, what you are ‘agreeing’ to when you download an app, how to live with the challenges of social media…and it’s a lot of fun.

It is also a drama about the first prosecuted cyber hack in the UK. Co-written by internationally acclaimed playwright Clare Duffy and Rupert Goodwins, one of the young hackers involved in gaining access to Prince Philip’s BT email in the 1980s, and now a technology journalist.

Kate Forbes MSP, Minister for Public Health and Digital Economy, Scottish Government said: “The Big Data Show supports the Scottish Government’s ambitions to raise the public’s awareness of cyber threat.

“Not only does it help ensure young people are clued up about the risks associated with sharing data online but it also gives them the valuable chance to learn about careers in cyber security.”

“The Big Data Show plugs very acutely and vividly right into the Scottish Government’s ambitions to raise the public’s awareness of cyber threat.”

– Daniel Sellers, Cyber Resilience Scottish Government.

The Big Data Show will open at Perth Theatre in June 2020 and move to the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh – with plans to then tour the North of England.

The performances in June and July, which are solely for schools, are supported by advance workshops in the spring and followed up with workshops in the autumn. Booking for the whole project opens in September 2019.

The Big Data Show uses live performance, bespoke mobile gaming and digital tricks delivered to audience members’ handsets, inspiring greater understanding and engagement with our future as ‘digital citizens’ in the 21st century.

The gaming technology involved has been developed and produced by Dundee-based studio Orthrus.

Having already developed and rigorously tested the control system and digital assets with a prototype version of the project and evaluated the learnings, Civic Digits Theatre Company is ready to bring the full version to schools across the UK in 2020.

“The whole premise of using a phone to talk about online security was brilliant. The pupils were hooked.” – Sarah Macdonald, Drama Teacher, Community School of Auchterarder (Phase 2 feedback)

Outcomes of The Big Data Show and its workshops include: 

  • S1 pupils have a greater understanding of the social, cultural and political implications of our relationship with data and digital technology, particularly including cyber bullying and questions about privacy.
  • S1 pupils have a greater understanding of the potential of data and digital technology as opportunities for creativity;
  • S1 pupils feel excited about theatre as a 21st Century storytelling medium.
  • S1 pupils are inspired to think about careers in data and cyber security.

Pupils “became much more aware of the amount of data gathering going on in the background without them giving explicit permission and this was a shock to them.” Mrs Hollas, Drama Teacher, Perth Academy.

The Big Data Show has been shown to improve participants’ data literacy via quantitative evaluation carried out by Dr Alasdair Rutherford at Stirling University.

All participating schools will also receive CPD (continuing professional development) sessions and access to a teachers’ pack to support the cross-curricular learning promoted by this project.

“The Big Data Show took young people through a powerful process of experiential learning. The ‘shock factor’ created by the show encouraged young people to critically reflect on the data they are sharing with tech companies and the potential personal consequences.” Liz Green, YouthLink Scotland

“It is a really important topic, that’s not being explored enough in ways that pupils are willing to listen, the whole premise of it, using their own phones, they were hooked. I liked the fact that you used tech to talk about tech, very collaborative and all the surprises!”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the whole project taking off. It’s going to be fab. I’m really passionate about this.”  Drama Teacher, Perth and Kinross

The Big Data Show by Clare Duffy and Rupert Goodwins is produced by Suzy Glass for Civic Digits, with co-producers Perth Theatre at Horsecross Arts and Unlimited Theatre.

It is funded by Creative Scotland, Scottish Government and the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Ya dancer! Funding for traditional arts projects

Dancebase and the Amanda Kane School of Dance are among the beneficiaries of new awards made through the Youth Talent Development Fund from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Creative Scotland. Continue reading Ya dancer! Funding for traditional arts projects