One Scot will find a voucher for a year’s worth of books in one of this year’s free Book Week Scotland books, which feature four stories from Edinburgh writers
Scottish Book Trust, the national charity changing lives with reading and writing, has launched the line-up for Book Week Scotland 2023, which will be themed around ‘adventure’. Book Week Scotland, this year taking place on 13–19 November, is Scotland’s national annual celebration of books and reading, with events taking place in libraries and community venues across the country.
People picking up a copy of this year’s free Book Week Scotland book, Adventure, may be lucky enough to find one of seven special silver tickets, celebrating Scottish Book Trust’s 25th anniversary, tucked inside the pages.
The silver tickets are redeemable for book tokens, with six worth £100 and one valid for a year’s worth of books (to a value of £500). The tickets will be sent across Scotland, so readers far and wide are in with a chance of discovering one.
The book has been published by Scottish Book Trust, featuring true stories from people across Scotland, including four from local Edinburgh writers Hazel Knox, Joanne Deegan Kerr, Jo Higgs and Nicole Carter.
Adventure also features exclusive contributions from Len Pennie, Sumayya Usmani, current Scots Scriever Shane Strachan, Mae Diansangu, and Gaelic writers Alistair Paul and Seonaidh Charity.
70,000 copies of the book will be given out for free during Book Week Scotland through libraries and community spaces, and it is also available to order online alongside audio and ebook formats.
The Book Week Scotland festivities will kick off with an exclusive midnight launch of Jenny Colgan’s new book, Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop, at John Kay’s Shop in Edinburgh. Tickets are available to win at bookweekscotland.com.
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: ‘Book Week Scotland is one of the highlights of Scotland’s literary calendars, with events for all ages and interests taking place across the nation.
“Despite the fact that Book Week Scotland is now operating on a shoestring budget due to repeated funding cuts, working with and through our fantastic partners across the country we have been able, even so, to offer an exciting and accessible programme of events at a local and national level.
“We could not do this without the support of the Scottish Library and Information Council, library services and the many other community partners we collaborate with. And this is vital, because developing a love of reading is a lifelong adventure which brings much pleasure and many benefits to the individual and the communities they live in.’
Pamela Tulloch, chief executive of the Scottish Library & Information Council said: ‘Book Week Scotland is an important opportunity to bring communities together to celebrate the power of reading which is why SLIC is proud to be a partner.
“With a brilliant programme of events lined up in libraries across the country, there’s something for everyone. We hope people will take this opportunity to rediscover all that local libraries have to offer.’
Head of Literature & Publishing at Creative Scotland, Alan Bett, said: ‘Book Week Scotland is a highlight in Scotland’s literary and cultural calendar which continues to provide joy by connecting the reading public with Scotland’s authors and their books.
“Featuring some of the biggest names in our literary scene, this year’s programme showcases homegrown talent and provides the space to empower writers and readers alike, across the country and within their own communities.’
Highlights from Book Week Scotland 2023 in Edinburgh will include:
· Sara Sheridan: The Fair Botanists at Juniper Green Bowling Club – Tuesday 14 November, 6.30–7.30pm (free ticketed event)
· The Pleasures of Reading with Val McDermid at Portobello Bookshop – Thursday 16 November, 7–8pm (free ticketed event)
· Football Journeys with a Bearded Genius: Nooruddean Choudry in conversation with Daniel Gray from Nutmeg Magazine at St John’s Scottish Episcopal Church – Saturday 18 November, 7–8.30pm (free ticketed event)
In that submission, we stated the following regarding our Grant in Aid budget from the Scottish Government for 2023/24:
“While we welcomed the Scottish Government’s decision in February 2023 to reverse the 10% cut to our Grant in Aid Budget which was originally announced in December 2022, it should be noted that the £6.6m this cut related to has not yet been confirmed in Creative Scotland’s budget.”
We are extremely disappointed to report that the £6.6m budget has not been included in the Autumn Budget Revisions.
This has been confirmed in writing by the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Angus Robertson, in a letter to our Chief Executive, Iain Munro on 20 September.
This relates to Grant-in Aid funding that we receive from the Scottish Government and that we use to support 119 cultural organisations across Scotland through Regular Funding.
Given the extensive messaging and advocacy regarding the pressures on culture budgets and risks to the culture sector that we, and many others have been making, this is a concerning development.
To address this reduction, the Creative Scotland Board agreed on 27 September, to use £6.6m of our National Lottery reserves to prevent us having to pass it on to the Regularly Funded Organisations, especially given the next payments are due in 2 weeks’ time.
Whilst the unprecedented pressures on public finances are understood, we are disappointed that the Scottish Government has taken this decision. However, Creative Scotland is acting swiftly and pragmatically to help stabilise the situation in the short term.
This step of using our National Lottery reserves in this way will only happen once. The budget for 2024/25 will not be decided by the Scottish Government for some months yet but should the Scottish Government choose to sustain this reduction, we will require to pass it on to the sector.
Creative Scotland appeared before the Culture Committee at the Scottish Parliament on yesterday (Thursday 28 September) to give evidence as part of the Committee’s ongoing inquiry into culture budgets in Scotland.
David Watt, chief executive of Culture & Business Scotland, said: “At a time when Scottish Government ministers repeatedly speak about the importance and value of culture to our society and economy, the reinstatement of the £6.6M cut to Creative Scotland’s annual budget for the current year is unfathomable.
““Just yesterday (Thursday September 28), I, alongside other cultural representatives, gave budget evidence to the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee to hopefully ensure that this shortsighted budget decision does not extend into the 2024-25 budget for culture settlement.
“Investment in culture is essential for society, local communities, tourism, the economy and Scotland’s international reputation. The ongoing challenges of the legacy impact of Covid, Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis, are very real, with many arts and culture organisations operating on a knifes edge.
“These issues are exacerbated as the majority have a lack of unrestricted reserves and continue to struggle to build these up due to slow growth in ticket sales and increased overheads due to high energy prices.
“A reduction in public funding will rapidly increase the firefighting our culture organisations and venues are facing against challenge after challenge. If this budget pattern continues, with little opportunity to ensure future sustainability, there will be an inevitable shrinkage of the culture sector, and the economic and social impact of this will be significant for us all.”
As part of the Autumn budget review, the Scottish Government has re-instated a 10% cut to Creative Scotland’s 2023-24 annual budget (totaling approximately £6.6m), which following mass campaigning from the cultural sector, was overturned earlier this year (writes SMIA Interim CEO and Creative Director ROBIN KILPATRICK).
As the organisation which exists to strengthen, empower and unite Scotland’s music industry – representing a diverse membership of over 4,000 people working across all music genres and industry subsectors – we’re compelled to highlight the devastating impact of this decision; not just to music and culture, but to Scottish society at large.
The cut directly relates to the funding allocated to support Creative Scotland’s Regular Funding Network, comprising 119 cross-artform organisations (RFOs) that are structurally integral to both supporting and delivering Scotland’s cultural output. The SMIA is one of them.
In the short-term (for the rest of this financial year), Creative Scotland has had to divert to utilising National Lottery reserves to plug the gap and prevent the cuts from being passed on to members of the RFO network.
If this hadn’t been the case, in two weeks’ time when the next RFO funding payments are due, each of the 119 organisations would, in effect, have received a ~40% cut to projected funding.
In the SMIA’s case, this would have been two weeks ahead of the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award Ceremony, and would have put the delivery of Scotland’s national music prize at significant risk.
The cut would have again been replicated in January at the next (and final) RFO payment for this financial year, which in the case of many organisations, would have meant the end. Whilst immediate disaster has been avoided, the use of Creative Scotland reserves at this stage means that they are now significantly depleted for what was their intended purpose.
Last month, Creative Scotland highlighted that over 500 cultural organisations stated their intention to apply for Multi-year funding; a new funding scheme that will replace the current Regular Funding one. From the intentions to apply, the indicative annual request was in excess of £113m – far exceeding what Creative Scotland expects to have available.
Inevitably, this means that Creative Scotland will not be able to support as many organisations on a multi-year basis as they currently do, and the application process will be highly competitive. Causalities are expected and imminent. Cultural organisations across all art forms are worried about their future, and the reserves that Creative Scotland has had to use now means that there’s far less available transitional funding for unsuccessful applicants.
Whilst the future for Scottish culture was looking bleak, there was at least some hope that organisations that are unsuccessful in securing Multi-year Funding would have some time to remain operational, pivot their business model and potentially find an alternative way forward. With Creative Scotland’s reserves now depleted, many unsuccessful organisations will soon vanish from the fabric of our cultural landscape, and with them, many creative opportunities and a significant part of our cultural identity as we know it today.
RFOs have been on stand-still funding since 2018. In the face of high inflation, rising interest rates, cost of living challenges, issues around staff retention and recruitment, the impact of Brexit, the legacy of Covid and a whole myriad of broader problems currently facing our sector, for Creative Scotland’s budget cut to have been re-instated, the future of music and culture in Scotland is now at significant and immediate risk. The foundations upon which it supported are being eroded at an increasingly alarming rate, and unless intervention is made by the Scottish Government, it will have impacts for decades to come.
Outwith the significant economic contribution that music makes to Scotland’s economy (£581m through music tourism alone in 2022, as noted in UK Music’s ‘Here, There And Everywhere’ report – and this is only based on events with 1500+ capacity), it’s important to remember that the value generated by the sector far extends an economic one.
With the Scottish Government has stated that they’re committed to building a well-being economy – which serves and prioritises the collective well-being of current and future generations – it’s fundamental to highlight just how intrinsic music and culture are to achieving that vision.
Culture is our identity; it’s how we see ourselves, how we see our place in the world and how we relate to others. It’s the stories of life in Scotland, and it underpins mental well-being – both collectively and individually – in many different ways. The silences that echoed across 2020 as live music vanished from our lives serve as a firm reminder of this. Unless intervention is made now, we’ll be lucky if there are whispers in the years to come.
We urge the Scottish Government to recognise the desperate situation of a vitally important sector; economically, socially and culturally. It’s essential that Creative Scotland has the resources to both support and preserve it.
Robert Kilpatrick – Interim CEO and Creative Director, Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA)
CAMPAIGN FOR THE ARTS
The Scottish Government is breaking its promise on arts funding.
In February, thousands joined our campaign against plans for a £6.6 million cut to Creative Scotland, the public body responsible for investing in Scottish arts and culture. Ministers responded by abandoning the cut and instead heralded a “£6.6 million uplift … supporting the arts and cultural sector at this challenging time”.
But seven months on, the £6.6 million pledged to Creative Scotland hasn’t been delivered. And now the Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has told them that it won’t be.
This extraordinary short-changing of Scottish culture midway through the year has forced Creative Scotland to raid its limited reserves as a one-off, emergency measure. Otherwise, regularly funded arts organisations in Scotland would have seen their funding cut by as much as 40% as soon as next month.
This is absolutely no way to treat Scotland’s arts and culture, let alone in a perfect storm of economic pressures and post-pandemic challenges. This ‘U-turn on a U-turn’ puts treasured venues and companies, thousands of jobs and access to Scottish culture at risk.
We urge the Culture Secretary Angus Robertson to:
Honour the Scottish Government’s commitment in February to provide “an uplift of £6.6 million for Creative Scotland for 2023-24″.
Scrap any proposal to cut Creative Scotland funding from the 2023-24 Autumn Budget Revision.
Commit to maintaining and increasing investment in arts and culture from 2024-5, for the benefit of everybody in Scotland.
The SNP’s 2021 manifesto said “culture is central to who we are as a nation”, and that “the pandemic has demonstrated more than ever how vital it is to our wellbeing, mental health and sense of belonging”.5
But Scotland’s cultural sector has not fully recovered from the pandemic, during which it was one of the hardest-hit sectors. For many, incomes have fallen and reserves have dried up. Now, in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, costs are rising and uncertainty is rife. This is not the time to cut vital, core funding on which artists and organisations depend.
Economic pressures have already led to the permanent closure of the Filmhouse cinemas in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, the Blue Arrow Jazz Club in Glasgow and the Nevis Ensemble, which worked across the country. We cannot afford to lose any more arts organisations – or the benefits they bring to our lives, communities and society
Creative Scotland’s 120 Regularly Funded Organisations (RFOs) directly employ 5,000 workers, support 25,500 individual artists and provide millions of opportunities for people across Scotland to engage with the arts and culture.
Of these, Edinburgh-based arts organisations include:
(Organisation – Art form– Average annual grant)
Arika – Multi – £200,000
Arts and Business Scotland – Creative Industries – £200,000
The Lammermuir Festival 2023 came to a close this week while urgently working to secure its future.
Nicola Benedetti and Sir James MacMillan add their support for Lammermuir Festival.
Open Letter to Creative Scotland signed by 362 musicians, composers, educationalists, politicians, participants, supporters, audience members and local businesses.
The Lammermuir Festival closed its 14th festival earlier this week, one of its most successful yet. The programme was met with great acclaim cited by some music critics as the best programme presented.
Audiences flocked with over 80% of tickets sold, over 30% of which were to new customers. Initial analysis indicates that a little over half of those audiences were local with the remaining travelling to East Lothian to enjoy one of the UK’s best loved classical music events.
This successful edition was set against the backdrop of the festival finding out just days before it opened that Creative Scotland was not supporting its 14th festival, having invested in the event for thirteen years.
Losing the cultural funder’s support this year leaves the festival in an urgent financial position, working hard to find a secure future.
Many of Scotland’s leading musicians have lent their support to the festival’s campaign, most recently Nicola Benedetti and Sir James MacMillan.
Nicola Benedetti said: “Being able to share the best, world-class music making with audiences not residing in our cities but in rural areas is a really important part of our nation’s cultural fabric.
“An aspect we must support and nurture. The Lammermuir Festival has done this brilliantly over the last 14 festivals creating acclaimed events that also enable young artists to develop in the industry, and engage young people in the region to give them deep and extraordinary experiences.
“It would be tragic for Scotland’s music scene if this festival wasn’t supported to continue this work which benefits so many.”
An Open Letter to Creative Scotland has been signed by 362 musicians, composers, education workers, participants, supporters, audience members and local businesses including Steven Obsorne, Andrea Baker, Sean Shibe, Stuart MacRae, Dinis Sousa, Ryan Corbett, Sue Baxendale, Craig Hoy MSP, Douglas Alexander, Martin Brabbins, Sian Edwards, Ruth Ellis, Monica Wilkinson and Alfonso Leal del Ojo.
James Waters, Chief Executive and Joint Artistic Director of the Lammermuir Festival said: “The support and affection for Lammermuir Festival that we have seen pouring in from musicians, education providers, local businesses, supporters and audiences across Scotland and beyond has been incredible.
“We have never been more proud of the festival and what it brings to so many and we will continue to do everything we can to secure its future.”
Letter from supporters of Lammermuir Festival
To Iain Munro, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland and its Chair, Robert Wilson,
We the undersigned appeal to you to save what one audience member has described as a ‘precious jewel of originality and joy’.
According to the panels judging Open Fund applications at Creative Scotland, Lammermuir Festival does not sufficiently align to your priorities.
This is despite having the full support of the Music Officers at Creative Scotland who approved its application and strongly recommended funding without conditions.
This is one of the most acclaimed classical music festivals in the UK, recipient of an RPS award, the highest accolade in its field, and giving work to 350 musicians a year, many of them Scottish. It has a proven record of achievement, appeals to ever-growing audiences and supports performers at all stages in their careers.
It is also a festival which returns £750,000 in economic benefits for East Lothian, on top of its social and cultural benefits, bringing visitors to a region which is underserved for arts, offering audiences international quality music performances and participation opportunities.
If the festival were to not exist, neither would its work with McOpera which engaged 1,700 children, young people and adults as participants and audience through their outreach strand over the last two years. This proved a formative part of so many young musicians’ lives in East Lothian.
This strand of the festival’s work reached out to multiple and diverse local community groups, nurturing children and young people from across 31 different schools, supporting the growth of an Instrumental Music Service and creative organisations (such as Dunbar Voices), bringing to the region international conductors and Scottish creatives, composers, singers and instrumentalists.
It has also regularly provided career placements to students from Edinburgh College, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh and Edinburgh Napier Universities, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
This decision by Creative Scotland flies in the face of the expressions of support for culture in Scotland, and in particular for festivals, that the First Minister Humza Yousaf, Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy Neil Gray, and Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Angus Robertson have made in recent days.
The Open Fund process appears to have no strategic overview of provision, and no clear artistic, quality or geographic priorities.
Your process places huge pressure on organisations. Lammermuir Festival was invited to make multiple applications for the same activity with funding decisions taking their nerves to the wire – in this case Creative Scotland passed their verdict on a third application just 16 days before the festival started.
The system needs to change. As it stands it places Scotland’s cultural ecology on a downward trajectory.
Without Creative Scotland’s support the Lammermuir Festival’s future is under threat. Your decision not to fund the 2023 festival, destabilises the organisation and undermines the festival’s ability to plan for or run a festival in 2024 and beyond. In order to secure the future of this festival beyond 2023, urgent support is needed.
As musicians, educators, audience members, supporters, participants, businesses in East Lothian, and community leaders we are utterly appalled at your decision and urgently appeal to Creative Scotland to reverse it in order to save this cultural gem.
This festival cannot be allowed to disappear.
362 signatures which can be viewed on the Lammermuir Festival website:
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has unveiled the 20 organisations who will be a part of a groundbreaking HR for Creatives project.
SCVO has partnered with Creative Scotland and Project Manager Kathryn Willens on the action research project to explore the support needed for micro and small creative organisations.
The project incorporates research into participant organisations’ learning journeys in order to share findings so that the wider arts, screen and creative industries can learn from this project.
This will allow the project partners to learn from organisations that access support and to identify where there are key and shared opportunities, challenges, strengths and weaknesses for the sector.
SCVO’s HR Service will now work with them to support them on their HR journey, including an audit of their HR policies and procedures, one-to-one advice and guidance, as well as access to webinars and a peer network.
The partners hope this will Improve people management for arts, screen and creative industries organisations, starting with legal compliance and moving beyond this to help organisations create a space and place to work where their people – staff and freelance practitioners – thrive and where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity.
SCVO, Scotland’s national membership body for the voluntary sector, received over 80 applications from micro to small sized arts, screen and creative industries organisations from across Scotland. All applications were of a high standard, with only 20 places available.
The organisations represent a wide range of artistic practice including animation, digital art, theatre, film, poetry, music and dance. (1)
The number of applications highlights the demand for HR support in the sector especially from micro to small employers, with SCVO planning to offer some support to the organisations that didn’t make it to the shortlist through access to webinars and resources.
SCVO is delighted to be working with Creative Scotland, Kathryn, and research partner Tialt on the HR for Creatives action learning programme, funded by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
The programme will kick off in September 2023 and continue for 12 months.
Caroline Christie, SCVO’s Head of HR, said: “We are thrilled with the response to the HR for Creatives programme. This level of interest highlights arts, screen and creative industries organisations commitment to HR and to Fair Work as well as a need for this kind of support.
“HR for Creatives aims to offer support and learning to improve people management for arts, screen and creative industries organisations, support that will enable organisations to create work cultures where their staff and freelancers can thrive and where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity.
“SCVO’s HR Service and the HR for Creatives project team are very excited to start working with the 20 shortlisted organisations and with the research partners, Tialt.”
Ashley Smith-Hammond, Creative Industries Officer at Creative Scotland, said: “As Creative Scotland develops its work in response to the Fair Work agenda, we’re committed to empowering organisations in the arts, screen and creative industries to best support their workforce.
“We’re pleased to partner with SCVO on this vital programme, which responds to challenges that small and micro creative businesses have in accessing appropriate, specialist support around people management.
“In this challenging economic context, it’s an investment in more competent, confident creative businesses and better experience for those in the creative workforce.”
Lammermuir Festival has been turned down by Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for funding towards this year’s festival.
Over a period of 40 weeks the festival lodged three applications having been strongly encouraged by Creative Scotland officials to re-apply twice.
Each application was strongly recommended for funding by the Music Department at Creative Scotland, particularly as a key part of a network of festivals across the country including East Neuk, Paxton, Cumnock Tryst and St Magnus.
Each application has been turned down by assessment panels, the last notification being on 22 August, just 16 days before the 2023 festival opened.
Statement on the future of the Lammermuir Festival from the Chair and Trustees:
The Chair and Trustees of the Lammermuir Festival are appalled and saddened at the lack of investment in the 2023 festival by Creative Scotland. The Times described the Lammermuir Festival as “an indispensable part of Scotland’s musical culture”.
It has indisputably been a huge success over the past 14 years, giving pleasure to audiences from East Lothian and further afield, transformative experiences for people young and old through our community engagement, and presenting Scottish and international performers with worldwide reputations in beautiful and intimate settings across the county.
Presenting the Festival in its current form has relied on a strong, supportive audience; our loyal Friends, Benefactors, sponsors and other generous funders; and investment from public funds, mainly Creative Scotland but also contributions from EventScotland and East Lothian Council.
In previous years ticket revenues, private sector funders and public support have contributed about one third each of the cost of the Festival enabling us to keep ticket prices at a level to allow the widest audience to attend the performances.
If Creative Scotland had invested the sum requested in 2023 it would have represented 23% of the Festival budget. This is crucial investment in an area of Scotland which does not have regular high-quality cultural events drawing audiences to the area. In 2022 the Lammermuir Festival generated £780,000 of economic benefit for East Lothian (Source: MKA Economics, November 2022).
Public support has in addition allowed children and young people from across the county to discover and develop musical skills and benefit socially from participation in music. Most recently this brought almost 700 people together in our community opera and engagement work, giving them the experience of every aspect of production as well as performing.
This year Creative Scotland has declined to support the festival despite having encouraged us to re-apply twice over the last nine months.
Reasons given were first: prioritising applications with activity earlier in the year; second: Fair Work; third: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. This third application was refused on a criterion which the Music Department assessor judged to be fully met. We are urgently seeking clarification on how this could be.
The artistic ambition and quality of the festival has been consistently recognised in Music Department assessments.
In particular there has been no recognition that what has emerged is effectively a decision by Creative Scotland to give no priority to a festival as significant as Lammermuir, despite its record of achievement and its obvious appeal to audiences and performers; and no attempt is made to justify this.
This flies in the face of the expressions of support for culture in Scotland, and in particular for festivals, that have been made in recent days by the First Minister, Neil Gray and Angus Robertson.
To deliver this year’s Festival as planned – with what is already being acclaimed as an outstanding artistic programme – we shall be obliged to use a significant proportion of our reserves which we have judiciously built up over many years.
Thankfully on this one occasion we were in a position to do this, allowing audiences to once again enjoy beautiful music in beautiful places as in previous festivals, and meet our commitment to artists.
Without Creative Scotland support the Lammermuir Festival’s future is under threat.
We urge Creative Scotland to reconsider their decision and secure the future of Lammermuir Festival. In order to make plans and commitments for 2024 and beyond we need the financial stability which Creative Scotland has provided over the past 13 years.
We are determined to save the Lammermuir Festival for the future.
From the Chair and trustees of Lammermuir Festival
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has confirmed £9.5 million funding for Scotland’s flagship Youth Music Initiative (YMI) this year. This includes £500,000 which has been ringfenced to deliver on the commitment to expand the YMI model into other art forms.
YMI funding enables schools and other organisations to provide quality music-making activities for children and young people, which range from after-school drum bands to courses in sound production.
More than 362,000 children and young people took part in YMI-funded projects under the 2021-22 programme, the majority of those in high-deprivation areas. The funding also supported 1,182 music education posts across all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
Mr Robertson marked the funding award with a visit to Murrayburn Primary School in Sighthill, Edinburgh, where he met pupils who have benefitted from the programme, which is administered by Creative Scotland.
The Culture Secretary said: “Music plays a vitally important role in young people’s lives, and beyond developing their wider skills and learning we know these kinds of activities also have a huge positive impact on their confidence and wellbeing.
“We are committed to ensuring every school pupil in Scotland can access a year of free music tuition by the time they leave primary school through the YMI, no matter their background. YMI is focused on creating opportunities for groups of children and young people who may not otherwise have the chance to participate in cultural activity.
“This year’s funding takes our investment in this programme to more than £150 million since 2007, to enable free music tuition for hundreds of thousands of young people, and support thousands of music sector jobs across the country.”
Morag Macdonald, YMI Manager said: “With ongoing support from the Scottish Government, the YMI allows local authorities to deliver programmes like this across Scotland ensuring that children and young people with additional support needs have opportunities to experience the joy and excitement that comes with making music.”
Fourteen major festivals in Edinburgh and Glasgow will receive a share of this year’s £1.8 million Expo Fund.Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society receives the lion’s share of the funding pot – it gets £550,000.
See below for the full list of recipients.
Established in 2007 by the Scottish Government, the Expo Fund’s aim is to build innovation across the festivals and maximise national and international opportunities for the artists contributing to the festivals.
This year for the first time, the Glasgow Film Festival and the biennial Sonica visual art and sonic festival will receive funding.
Culture Minister Christina McKelvie said: “Scotland’s major festivals are a wonderful showcase for the extraordinary range of artistic talent we have in this country. The Expo Fund not only helps to support performances at home, but enables artists to find new audiences further afield.
“The last few years have been challenging for the culture sector, especially festivals and events. I’m pleased that we are able to continue this important fund and include two more Glasgow-based festivals who will receive support for the first time.”
Creative Scotland Chief Executive Iain Munro said: “Scotland is known across the globe for its outstanding array of world-class festivals. The Expo Fund is vital in raising the international profile of these festivals and enabling them to enhance their programmes through exciting and innovative co-productions and collaborations.
“We welcome the Scottish Government’s decision to recognise the distinct international profile and work of Sonica and Glasgow Film Festival through Expo funding. They join Celtic Connections, Glasgow International and the Edinburgh Festivals, further expanding the diversity of opportunities and inspirational work reaching international audiences.”
Expo Fund 2023-24 recipients:
Celtic Connections
£101,000
Edinburgh Art Festival
£130,000
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
£550,000
Edinburgh International Book Festival
£85,000
Edinburgh International Festival
£100,000
Edinburgh International Film Festival
£59,000
Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival
£100,000
Edinburgh Science Festival
£120,000
Glasgow International Festival
£75,000
Hogmanay
£130,000
Imaginate – Edinburgh International Children’s Festival
£130,000
Scottish International Story Festival
£120,000
As new entrants, Glasgow Film Festival and Sonica will share
Edinburgh Tradfest has launched its 2023 programme of traditional live music, storytelling, dance, workshops, talks, ceilidhs, and special events taking place at various venues across the city, thanks to continued support from The National Lottery through Creative Scotland and the William Grant Foundation.
Over the 11 days of the Festival, hundreds of artists and musicians will perform, including American folk singer, two-time winner, and six-time Grammy nominee Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi, who will kick off the festival at the Assembly Rooms on Friday 28 Aprilsupported by special guests Roo Geddes and Neil Sutcliffe.
Over the opening weekend the programme is packed with music, dance, song, and special events including a screening of award-winning documentary film Heading West: a story about a band called Shooglenifty; performances from Orcadian powerhouse FARA, legendary pipers Rona Lightfoot and Allan Macdonald, Austro-British, singer-songwriter, folk-punk musician Alicia Edelweiss; tenor banjo player Ciaran Ryan and his band; and live music (Fri-Sun) until late at the Traverse Theatre Bar.
Plus, at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, the festival kicks off with the return of Pomegranates – a weekend of dance, performance, and workshops run by the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland to celebrate International Dance Day (29 April); and the second North Atlantic Song Convention run by the Traditional Music Forum takes place, with delegates from around the world gathering in Edinburgh to celebrate and learn about our rich song traditions.
Unmissable highlights continue during the first weekwith Two for Joy a new piece of music commissioned specifically for the festival, composed and arranged by award-winning harpist Ailie Robertson, and performed by Neil Sutcliffe, Alice Allen, Alastair Savage, Josie Duncan, and Heather Cartwright. Two for Joy explores the use of birdsong in music and folklore, and the positive impact it can have on our mental health.
Musicians also performing during the first week are BBC Radio Scotland Young Musician of the Year 2023 Amy Laurenson with her newly formed trio; Mississippi Delta songbird Bronwynne Brent who was crowned Female Vocalist of The Year by Americana UK in 2019; Swedish nyckelharpa player Fredy Clue; America’s masters of old-time, bluegrass, classic country and Cajun music The Foghorn Stringband; trailblazing cellist Juliette Lemoine(who counts SAY-award winning pianist Fergus McCreadie among her A-list backing band); award-winning singer and composer Kim Carnie; Northumbria’s Kathryn Tickell OBEwho has twice won ‘Musician of the Year’ at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, performing with her band The Darkening; and Gnawa musician Omar Afif in a collaboration with local sax wizard Steve Kettley.
At the Scottish Storytelling Centre the week one programme is packed with fantastic events including a talk on naturalist Nan Shepherd (author of The Living Mountain) conducted by Erlend Clouston; a performance by the Scots Opera Project of the acclaimed The Seal-Woman written by Marjory Kennedy-Fraser and Granville Bantock in 1924; Shapeshifters which returns with more terrifying and tragic folktales from Scotland including the Seal Killer of Duncansby Head and Saba the deer mother told by storyteller Fiona Herbert with song, harp and fiddle from Emma Durkan; open-floor storytelling at the Waverley Bar with Ailsa Dixon; and for younger audiences, folklorist Allison Galbraith will be telling stories from her latest collection Funny Folk Tales for Children.Plus, to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week, Solar Bear will present a panel discussion and a series of new films created and developed over the last three years exploring deaf folklore, deaf identity and disability.
Week two of the Festival also offers a packed programme including spring ceilidhs at the Scottish Storytelling Centre; the traditional May Day March – Fighting Back Together (6 May) which travels down the Royal Mile culminating in a rally against unjust labour laws and the cost of living crisis at The Pleasance; a performance of the ancient and much-loved border ballad of Thomas the Rhymer narrated by Julia Munrow and with music by John Sampson; tales of bees, birds, and international stories performed by Susan Strauss (Oregon, USA) chosen from her book Tree with Golden Apples; the launch of Stuart McHardy’s new book The Nine Maidens: Priestesses of the Ancient World;and Donald Smith presenting his recently published Storm and Shore a bardsaga for our times, reflecting our need for contemporary solace and sanctuary close to nature.
At the Traverse the musical talent continues with a Hands Up For Trad concert for #WorldPlayAStrathyspeyDay (6 May) with musicians Graham Mackenzie, Madeleine Stewart, Rory Matheson and Adam Sutherland performing a mix of trad strathspeys, reels, marches and the official strathspey written for the new king; a performance by Rory Matheson and Graham Rorie whose album We Have Won The Land celebrates the success of the Assynt Crofter’s Trust in buying back the North Lochinver Estate from a Swedish land speculator 30 years ago; music from daughter/father duo Dirk and Amelia Powell from Louisiana who bring their deeply rooted Cajun, Appalachian and original sounds to the festival for the first time; nu-folk singer-songwriter and ukulele musician Zoë Bestel; 2022 MG ALBA Musician of The Year nominee fiddle player Ryan Young; the Edinburgh Folk Club returning with husband and wife combo Jim and Susie Malcolm; and, to close the festival, award-winning musical geniuses Ross Ainslie (Treacherous Orchestra, Salsa Celtica) and Tim Edey (Chieftains) will raise the roof with an unmissable festival finale of foot-stomping tunes topped with great banter.
This year the festival also presents its first ETF Spotlight which will showcase some of the most exciting new performers emerging in folk and traditional music today including high energy folk band Falasgair; guitarist and singer-songwriter Heather Cartwright; folk musician and activist Maddie Morris; and the Madeleine Stewart Trio which includes Rory Matheson (piano) and Craig Baxter (bodhran).
Throughout the Festival there will also be workshops for all levels including the Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin weekend for 13-18 year olds; Cajun and Appalachian tunes/songs with Dirk and Amelia Powell, fiddle tunes with Ryan Young, a Shetland tunes workshop with Amy Laurenson; and storytelling with international storyteller Susan Strauss (Oregon USA).
Finally, Edinburgh Tradfest is delighted to host this year’s Rebellious Truth lecture/recital presented in collaboration with Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh, which will explore mental health issues in the music industry.
Led by Gaelic singer, composer, researcher and broadcaster Mischa Macpherson who will be joined on stage by Celtic and Scottish Studies musician-in-residence Fraser Fifield. This event is free but ticketed, and will be live-streamed.
Speaking at yesterday’s launch, Alan Morrison Head of Music at Creative Scotlandsaid: “With its potent mix of music, dance, song and storytelling, Tradfest is a true reflection of Scottish culture – past, present and future.
“Newly commissioned work sits alongside favourites from the treasure trove of Scotland’s heritage, all of which is enriched by the international artists who are threaded through the programme. At a time when respect and tolerance for different cultures is under global threat, Tradfest offers a shining example of how we can celebrate both our shared humanity and our distinct traditions.”
Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy, co-producers of Edinburgh Tradfest said: “We are super excited about the scope of this year’s festival, not to mention the quality of the performers from Scotland and overseas: from Grammy-winners to homegrown superstars; visiting virtuosos to emerging talent; tunes with centuries of tradition to new writing.
“We have it all. Every day of the festival is brimming with talent and we encourage everyone to connect with their favourites and try something new. You can be assured of a warm welcome.”
Steve Byrne, Director of TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland): “TRACS is delighted to contribute a rich offering from across the traditional arts to this year’s Tradfest.
“The festival is a fantastic platform for singers, dancers, musicians and storytellers to follow in the great Edinburgh spring tradition of celebrating our traditional cultures both local and global.”
Daniel Abercrombie, Programme & Events Manager, Scottish Storytelling Centre:“Tradfest is a chance for us to celebrate a range of traditional arts through live performance and participation.
“The Storytelling Centre’s programme has themes of nature and the environment running through it with ceilidhs, long-form storytelling, dance and song events, sitting alongside Celtic opera, BSL digital storytelling and family events. Something for everyone this spring!”
Musician Amy Laurensonsaid: “I’m delighted to be performing at this year’s Edinburgh Tradfest in May.It’s an absolute pleasure to be part of today’s event and to give everyone a taste of what to expect to hear from us.
“Winning Young Trad Musician of the Year was absolutely fantastic and I am super excited to see what the next year holds.”
Edinburgh Tradfest 2023will run from Friday 28 April – Monday 8 May.
Project takes inspiration from the country’s most loved storytellers
The famous last lines of iconic Scottish texts Sunset Song, Lanark, Peter Pan and Treasure Island are to feature alongside the song from the last page of Jackie Kay’s The Pink House and Kirsty Campbell’s joyful farewell in Ely Percy’s Duck Feet in an intriguing new collaboration between composer, singer-songwriter Gareth Williams and an array of Scottish fiction luminaries.
In Songs from the Last Page, Williams is drawing directly from the final moments of some of Scotland’s most influential and much-loved works of fiction, and inspiring readers of all ages to re-engage with their favourite stories reimagined through music – a 12-track pop/classical album and Scottish tour.
Williamscomments: “This new suite of songs for voice, piano and string duo captures the moment a reader finishes the last lines of a book and holds on to this feeling for just a few more minutes.
“The album will be a true celebration of the rich musical and literary worlds of Scotland and will include unforgettable and fantastical lines from much-loved historical and contemporary works.
Explaining the origin of the work, Williams said “I’ve always been a big reader and really enjoy working with text. During the pandemic I looked towards my bookshelf for inspiration, delving into the final pages of my favourite works, and dabbling with the notion of using the last lines to create new songs.”
Award-winning poet, playwright, and novelist Jackie Kay commented: “This is a first for me – lines of a story made into song. I’m excited to hear what Gareth Williams makes of the lines from The Pink House.
“The story was originally published in my book Reality, Reality. I love the idea of these lines fashioning a whole new reality through music.”
Some of the stories set for potential inclusion on the album include: How to be Both by Ali Smith, At the Loch of The Green Corrie by Andrew Greig, Lanark by Alasdair Gray, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Duck Feet by Ely Percy, News Of The Dead by James Robertson, Sonny and Me by Ross Sayers, Peter Pan by J M Barrie, Pink House by Jackie Kay and The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Listen to The Song from the Last Page of Lanark (Demo) on SoundCloud.
The full album will be recorded in April this year followed by its launch at a week-long residency at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, where each evening, a new song will be written specially for that concert – taken from a suggestion submitted by the public in the weeks leading up to the Festival.
Songs from the Last Page is among 37 receiving a total of £791,837 National Lottery funding in this latest round of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund awards. At a glance, projects also include:
The return of Page2Stage Edinburgh, an exciting new writing night produced by Michelle McKay and hosted by The Scottish Storytelling Centre.
The 37th annual Glasgow Jazz Festival, running from Wednesday 14th – Sunday 18th June 2023 with multiple music events taking place each day in city centre venues.
Action-packed music sessions in Dundee for school-age children from the Benedetti Foundation.
Paul Burns, Interim Director of Arts at Creative Scotlandsaid: “This month has seen the launch of two new funds: the National Lottery Open Fund for organisations and a new time-limited National Lottery Extended Programme Fund, marking an important step in the delivery of our new approach that will enable even more innovative and exciting creative activity to unfold in the year ahead and beyond, inspiring people of all ages across Scotland.”
