Tag: culture

Climate Challenge: 1.5 Degree films to launch Summer 2021

Youth groups, schools, community organisations, activist groups and individuals of all ages, abilities and filmmaking experience will soon be invited to take part in a major Challenge to create 90‑second short films in response to climate change, to be screened in and around this November’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).

Led by Film Access Scotland with support from Screen Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful, the Climate Challenge: 1.5 Degree Films project will invite people to make films to share their thoughts and ideas about climate change and how it is affecting us as individuals, our surroundings, families and communities.

Local filmmaking training and support will be provided to groups in Scotland from film educators based in community hubs and within partner arts and cultural organisations. Regardless of background, age or filmmaking experience, anyone anywhere can submit a film to the Challenge, with resources available online to help people get started.

Films must be short, only 1.5 minutes long – like the hoped-for maximum limit on global warming of 1.5 degrees – and can be made using any technology, including smartphones and tablets.

Films will be available online, providing a platform for sharing views on climate change. Many will go on to be screened at fringe events in Glasgow during COP26 and there will be a special celebratory event in December where films will be awarded commendations and prizes.

Submissions from young people aged up to 25 years will automatically be entered into Film Access Scotland’s film festival in November.

Chief Executive of Film Access Scotland, Natalie Usher said “Global leaders will come together in Glasgow at COP26 to discuss urgent climate action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

“This Challenge invites you to make 1.5 minute films to join the climate debate and help us create a collective snapshot of this response to climate change. Through the filmmaking support offered by the project, we want to connect people with arts and community organisations across Scotland in order to facilitate public engagement and awareness about climate change.”

Scott Donaldson, Screen Scotland’s Head of Film Education said: “We all have a huge stake in the outcome of COP26 and everyone has a story to tell about their relationship with the environment and climate crisis.

“Film Access Scotland’s open access Film Challenge will inspire people to learn more about the climate crisis, promote greater public engagement with environmental issues and support people across Scotland to make films and have their voices heard at the COP26 and beyond.”

Barry Fisher, CEO of Keep Scotland Beautiful said: “To become a Net Zero Nation, the people of Scotland need to be supported to understand the Climate Emergency and identify actions we can take as individuals and as a nation to tackle it.

“Our experience working with people across Scotland is that ordinary citizens are some of the best climate change communicators, sharing messages in culturally relevant ways that resonate with their own friends, families and communities.

“That’s why we are delighted to be a partner in this project, giving a voice to people across Scotland and encouraging action on climate change at every level.”

If you are a representative of a group based in Scotland that would like to submit your expression of interest in participating, email info@filmaccess.scot.  To keep up to date with latest developments, use #90SecondClimateFilms and visit Film Access Scotland.

Full details about the Climate Challenge: 1.5° Films project including eligibility criteria and submission deadlines will be announced in July 2021.

Edinburgh ignites the official countdown to the St James Quarter opening

Edinburgh’s skyline was filled with an array of dazzling light last night as an incredible illumination marked one week to go until St James Quarter officially opens its doors.

You can view the highlights of the lightshow here. 

The countdown is on for St James Quarter’s’ much-anticipated phase one opening, and the new fashion district was officially welcomed to the city by some of the capital’s most famous landmarks. From the Balmoral and Edinburgh Castle to Forth Ports and the EICC, all roads led to St James Quarter as the whole of the night sky was illuminated- a symbol of this new city centre integration.

With its prime location in the heart of Edinburgh, St James Quarter is set to become a welcoming, cultural and lifestyle hub for art, culture, and fashion.

Through long-term partnerships with Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh Jazz & Blues and the Edinburgh Science Festivals – to name a few – the upcoming opening is set to complement the city’s world-renowned cultural offering and support its vibrant events calendar. 

Inspired by the spirit of Arthur’s Seat and the meeting of tectonic plates, the light show represents the awakening of St James Quarter, after five years of development. Together with festival, tourism and cultural venues across the city, the display is a celebration of connectivity, bringing together landmarks throughout Edinburgh city centre, all leading to St James Square.

Over 500 light fixtures were placed around the ribbon building with accompanying projections and a soundtrack featuring local sound designer, Keith Fortune.

Mick Hay from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo took centre stage, 55m meters from the ground, conducting the soundtrack with the unmistakable sounds of the drums, as lasers of light travelled across the city in all directions.

Rochelle Weir, Brand and Marketing Director at St James Quarter, said: “As we near the opening of phase one, the anticipation around the city is palpable.

“We wanted to bring this feeling to life, connecting with other landmarks, businesses, and partners across the city to mark our opening and cement our place on the iconic Edinburgh skyline.

“Our phase one opening is a significant moment in Edinburgh’s history, and we’re incredibly excited for the people of Edinburgh and beyond to see what lies behind the quarter. Last night’s display was just the beginning.”

Search is on for UK’s next City of Culture

  • The competition is now live and applications are encouraged from towns and cities across the UK
  • Winner will have baton passed to them from Coventry – UK City of Culture 2021

UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has today launched the competition to find the UK’s next City of Culture.

The competition, delivered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in collaboration with the devolved administrations, will use culture as a catalyst for levelling up areas outside London and put culture at the heart of their plans to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

The new winner will take on the baton from Coventry and be at the centre of the UK’s cultural spotlight for a year.

For the first time, groups of towns will now be able to join together and apply for the title to be awarded to their local area – widening the scope of which areas of the country could benefit.

Towns and cities will need to articulate a strong and unique vision for their future growth, celebrating local heritage and using culture to bring communities together, build a sense of place and inspire local pride.

Bidders will also be asked to demonstrate how investment in culture and creativity will drive growth, how they will open up access to culture and to develop partnerships and celebrate links with places across the UK.

UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “UK City of Culture is a fantastic showcase of the huge impact culture has in towns and cities across the country. From Derry-Londonderry, to Hull and Coventry, previous winners have shown how the competition can deliver greater cultural participation, drive economic regeneration and boost local pride.

“I encourage towns and cities across the UK to put forward bids for 2025 and champion their local arts and culture scene. I’m also delighted to confirm the competition will run in future years, as a sign of our commitment to levelling up culture across the whole of the UK.

Scottish Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth said: “I encourage Scottish towns and cities to take this opportunity to celebrate their local culture and consider bidding to be UK City of Culture in 2025.

“The competition can have a transformational impact on host communities and has the potential to bring a major boost to Scotland as we look ahead to the recovery and renewal of the culture sector.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said: “The UK City of Culture competition offers a wonderful opportunity for the winning city to make its mark on the UK’s cultural landscape.

“Through raising a city’s creative and cultural profile and drawing in visitors, winning this prestigious title can also provide a real social and economic boost.

“It would be brilliant to bring the prize to Scotland for the first time and I’d strongly urge Scottish towns and cities to get involved.”

The future for the competition has also been confirmed, with Oliver Dowden announcing today that UK City of Culture will become a regular event in the country’s cultural calendar – running in 2029 and beyond.

The first city to take up the mantle was Derry-Londonderry in 2013, followed by Hull in 2017. The City of Culture title attracted millions of visitors and drew in significant investments for both cities. The cultural programmes have had a lasting positive impact on local people, with surveys showing that communities felt prouder and more positive about the place they live after their City of Culture year.

Bidding for the title in its own right can have a hugely positive impact on a place – helping to bring partners together and develop strategic cultural leadership. To encourage as many places as possible across the UK to bid and to benefit from the UK City of Culture process, DCMS will offer funding of up to £40,000 to up to six longlisted places to help develop their applications.

Coventry City of Culture 2021 is already providing a blueprint for how culture can be at the heart of social and economic recovery.

It is expected that Coventry’s status as UK City of Culture will see a significant boost in visitor numbers and economic investment with over £110 million in additional investment secured over the 2018-22 period. The programme aims to attract around 5,000 volunteers and create more than 900 jobs.

The bids for the 2025 title will be assessed by an independent panel chaired by Sir Phil Redmond. He is joined this year by Claire McColgan, Director of Culture Liverpool, as Deputy Chair.

The panel of 11 members will include representatives for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. It will visit each of the shortlisted cities, to be announced later this year, before each city or town makes a final pitch to become the next UK City of Culture.

The formal application process for the 2025 competition is now open. The winning city or town will be announced in Spring 2022. Prospective bidders will be invited to join a two day workshop in Coventry which will provide further detailed information and advice on the bidding process.

Sir Phil Redmond, UK City of Culture Chair, said: “I am delighted with the announcement of the competition for 2025, with its expected continuance as a regular feature in our cultural calendar.

“The UK City of Culture years provide the UK with an opportunity to project its creativity to the world while providing cities the opportunity to revaluate their place in the UK, to come together, forge stronger partnerships and reset both internal and external perceptions as Derry-Londonderry 2013, Hull 2017 and currently Coventry 2021 are experiencing.

“It is the excuse for people to talk to each other, rather than at each other.

Martin Sutherland, Chief Executive of Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “The impact that winning the UK City of Culture title has on a city is huge.

“Over the last four years in Coventry, we have seen significant investment come into the city as a direct result of being UK City of Culture 2021, leading to an ambitious reimagining of the city’s public realm and cultural infrastructure as well as supporting the extraordinary artists, freelancers, cultural organisations and charities that make this youthful and diverse city so exciting.

“Our year as UK City of Culture has just begun, but we can already sense the long-lasting impact on the city, its business and its communities. We wish the best of luck to those cities, towns and regions who are competing for the 2025 title.”

“Welcome back to live performance, welcome back to your Festival.”

The Edinburgh International Festival will welcome audiences back to live performance with temporary outdoor pavilions throughout the city this summer:

We are thrilled to announce our reimagined Festival for 2021, marking the return of live performance to Scotland’s capital city after over a year of silenced theatres and concert halls.

Taking place from 7 to 29 August, the 2021 International Festival will use bespoke, temporary outdoor pavilions in iconic, easily accessible spaces throughout the city to safely reunite our artists and audiences to rediscover the magic of live performance.

Our temporary outdoor pavilions, found at three locations including Edinburgh Park and the University of Edinburgh’s Old College Quad, will feature covered concert stages and socially distanced seating to create a beautiful setting for audiences to safely enjoy live music, opera and theatre once more.

The health and safety of the entire Festival community is at the heart of our plans for this year’s festival. That’s why we are working with the Scottish Government, City of Edinburgh Council and other relevant authorities to implement appropriate Covid safety measures.

These will include shorter performances with no intervals, physical distancing, regular cleaning and contactless ticketing.

We will publish full details of our security and safety measures in the coming months.

While we are looking forward to the prospect of bringing the Festival City to life once more, we appreciate that not everyone will be able to attend our performances in person this year.

To ensure that everyone can enjoy a slice of the magic, wherever they are in the world, we will release a selection of high-quality streamed performances, free of charge, during each week of the Festival.

Since Edinburgh’s summer festivals in 2020 were officially cancelled a year ago, we have received extraordinary support from so many people.

As our Festival Director Fergus Linehan says, “We are hugely grateful to the artists who have agreed to come on this journey with us, the stakeholders, donors, and sponsors who have stood by us through a tough year and our audiences who have cheered us along throughout. We look forward to sharing full details of the programme in early June.”

Full details of our 2021 programme, which spans opera, orchestral and chamber music, theatre and contemporary music, will be announced on Wednesday 2 June.

Priority booking for International Festival members opens on Tuesday 1 June before general booking opens on Friday 11 June.

Welcome Back

We are delighted to announce that in August 2021, the Edinburgh International Festival will return to live performance.

Connecting with others is more crucial now than ever. For that reason, we have continued to engage with communities across Edinburgh and further afield during the pandemic, bringing performances and opportunities to schools, families and socially isolated people. These projects are an integral part of the International Festival’s identity, and we will continue them and expand their scope as 2021 progresses.

We are proud of the streamed and broadcast works we have brought you over the past year. These projects have helped us experiment and evolve, and they will continue as a vital element in our work and engagement. But a Festival is at its heart a gathering, a celebration of community and shared purpose. The time is right to take the first careful steps back to live performance.

We are hugely grateful to the artists who are coming on this journey with us; to the stakeholders, donors and sponsors who have stood by us through a tough year; and to our audiences who have cheered us along throughout. We are excited by the prospect of seeing you all at the 2021 Edinburgh International Festival.

Welcome back to your Festival!

The International Festival team

Edinburgh Festivals welcome £1 million UK Government support

Edinburgh Festivals – the biggest combined festivals in the country – will benefit from £1 million from the UK Government this year

Half a million pounds will fund a new digital platform to promote UK talent and content to both international and domestic producers

£500,000 will be made available for Festival organisers to increase their digital capabilities

The UK Government will fund two new projects to expand the digital potential of the Edinburgh Festivals with £1 million investment, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced.

The Edinburgh Festivals are the biggest combined festivals in the UK, attracting audiences of nearly 5 million every year, generating £313 million for Scotland’s economy alone, and providing unparalleled opportunities for artists across the country. 

Last year many shows at the Edinburgh Festivals had to move online due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The challenge of moving to a combination of physical and online events, and the increased demand for British virtual cultural content around the globe, revealed the need to expand the Edinburgh Festivals’ digital capabilities as part of the cultural sector’s post-Covid recovery. 

The UK Government is providing £1 million in funding for digital improvements that will enable more ways for people to virtually access the events across the country, increase opportunities for UK artists and ensure Edinburgh’s landmark events will continue to be major contributors to the UK’s economy and cultural landscape. 

The 11 festivals in the Festivals Edinburgh event portfolio will be able to apply for a share of a new £500,000 fund which will support innovative virtual solutions to the challenges of commissioning, producing and promoting festival programmes in an increasingly digitised cultural sector.

The funding will help encourage collaboration between events and develop hybrid events with live and digital elements. 

Another £500,000 will be provided to create a new digital platform that will help national and international buyers and producers search for talent and content from the festivals’ hugely varied programmes, which showcase thousands of artists and performers every year, and promote the work of British artists and performers around the world. 

The funds will be available to Festivals Edinburgh this financial year. Events with live audiences at limited capacities in Scotland will return no earlier than 17 May, and further details about the planning for this year’s Edinburgh Festivals will be released in due course.

This funding builds on £100,000 previously awarded to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018 to better connect UK artists with international producers. As part of ongoing support for culture in Edinburgh, the UK Government provided £10 million for the Dunard Centre, through the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

It will be the city’s first dedicated new space for music and the performing arts in 100 years. Scotland also received £97 million from the UK Government’s Culture Recovery Fund to provide support for the nation’s arts and cultural sectors. 

Lothian MSP candidate for Edinburgh Southern, Miles Briggs, said: “This funding from the UK government is a very welcome investment into the arts and supporting the Edinburgh festival.

“It has been an exceptionally challenging year for artists and performers, many of whom have needed to adapt to virtual audiences.

“This investment will pave the way for hybrid Edinburgh Festival performances, which will allow people around the globe to see the creativity and talent on show in Edinburgh.”

Oliver Dowden, Culture Secretary, said: “Edinburgh’s Festivals have long been a springboard for the very best of British talent and a vital part of culture in Scotland and the UK.

“The UK Government’s investment will promote it to a worldwide audience online, helping the UK’s biggest combined festival build back better from the pandemic.”

“This is on top of £97 million we provided last year to the Scottish Government to support Scotland’s arts organisations through the pandemic. Like everyone else, I look forward to our fantastic arts and culture coming back better than ever before, as soon as it is safe to do so.”  

Iain Stewart, UK Government Minister for Scotland, said: “Edinburgh is world-famous for its festivals, bringing wider benefits to Scotland’s economy, tourism and arts sectors.

“We know the last 12 months have been difficult for the culture sector. This £1 million funding boost will support organisations to improve their digital capabilities and engage with audiences here in Scotland and further afield.”

Sorcha Carey, Chair, Festivals Edinburgh, said: “While live events in Edinburgh will remain the backbone of our world-class festivals, it’s crucial that we enhance our digital operations and so we’re delighted with this incredible support from the UK Government which will help reposition our work, and the work of creatives, across the digital world.”

Sir James Macmillan, Composer, said: “I’m delighted and encouraged to see this significant and notable support being given to the Edinburgh Festivals at this crucial point.

“The arts have been seriously affected by the pandemic and it is wonderful that the UK Government is showing its tangible commitment to culture in Scotland by investing in one of Scotland’s and Britain’s most important arts organisations.”

Celebrating Scotland’s Makar

Enriching lives through poetry

Jackie Kay’s tenure as Scotland’s national poet has come to an end after five years. Scotland’s third Makar – Jackie succeeded Edwin Morgan and Liz Lochhead – described her time in the role as an “incredible journey”.

Ms Kay’s time as Makar saw her read Threshold at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 2016, take up residency at Young Scot during the Year of Young People in 2018 and develop a digital project bringing poets and musicians to the public during lockdown.

Other highlights include a collaboration in 2020 called Fare Well which formed the centrepiece of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations and the lullaby Welcome Wee One which has featured in every Baby Box, more than 167,000, since the scheme launched in 2017.

Ms Kay also wrote The Long View partly in Gaelic, partly sung and partly in sign language, which was performed for the 20th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament.

Her replacement will be announced in the coming months.

Jackie Kay said: “It has been an extraordinary journey these last five years and I’ve gained so much in terms of peoples’ love and interest in poetry.

“I’ve found out so many things about my country.

“I wanted to take poetry to unexpected places and I feel that I have achieved that. Up until the lockdown I was on and off boats, on and off trains, in and out of cars and  buses, travelling north, south, east and west, going to all sorts of different places I hadn’t been to before.

“It’s been a glorious, joyous, interesting ride to have been to every major city and to have been to so much of the Highlands and Islands, rural parts of Scotland. It gave me a real sense of the country and its changing attitudes to politics, to race to diversity and to poetry.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Jackie has made an outstanding contribution as Makar and helped widen the appeal of poetry to a broad and diverse audience both here in Scotland and internationally.

“The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought unique challenges, but Jackie’s vitality, warmth and tremendous talent has helped to keep the role of Makar relevant.

“Her Fare Well Hogmanay collaboration was a memorable event which shows the universal appeal of poetry and her lullaby Welcome Wee One has been the first introduction to poetry for thousands of children.

“The legacy of Jackie’s tenure as Makar will be the enduring and positive impact she has had on so many, particularly the younger generation from her period in residence at Young Scot. She takes our best wishes for the future.”

The role of Makar involves taking a leadership role in promoting poetry nationally, as well as producing work relating  to significant national events.

During her time in the role, Ms Kay has attended hundreds of events across Scotland. The national commissions she undertook were Threshold, Sasine, the Long View, Queensferry Crossing and Fare Well.

To commemorate Jackie Kay’s term, a scroll which will include lines from the work of each Makar is being created which can be passed from one Makar to the next.

Work is underway to appoint a new Makar to succeed Ms Kay, which will be overseen by the new administration. Current planning is for the new Makar to be in place for the opening of Parliament.

Council’s arts and culture grants to be agreed next week

Edinburgh’s culture sector will be boosted by funding of around £4.7 million in the coming year if Councillors approve the cultural grants scheme next week. 

The Culture and Communities Committee will consider a report on Third Party Cultural Grants Funding 2021/2022 at their meeting on Tuesday, 16 March. 

The report seeks approval for the continued Strategic Partnership, flexible and project funding recommendations for 2021/22, the second year of the programme, originally agreed in 18 June 2019.

Last year, following the COVID-19 outbreak, the Council’s Leadership Advisory Panel agreed the funding recommendations for 2020/21 and pledged support for Edinburgh’s cultural sector with resources to be repurposed to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

Regular and ongoing reporting from funding recipients has allowed the Council to directly monitor and work with strategic partners on their progress throughout the year. 

Next week’s report recommends councillors approve the commitment of £4,689,279 to continue to support culture sector partners during the ongoing pandemic.

This funding would contribute to retaining jobs, creative practices and development, and responsive programming and delivery of activity throughout the city supporting freelancers, artists and companies towards sector recovery.

Councillor Donald Wilson, Culture and Communities Convener said: “It would be an understatement to say 2020 was extremely tough for our culture sector but we’ve been hugely impressed by the resourcefulness and resilience they’ve demonstrated throughout the crisis.

“We are committed to doing what we can to support the sector and its recovery as safely and as quickly as possible. Our grants programme has always supported the city’s year-round cultural offering and by approving the funding for 2021/22 we’ll be playing our part in boosting the sector following such a hard year.

“We’re in regular contact with all of our event and cultural partners in the city and look forward to their return to activity when that comes.”

Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan, Culture and Communities Vice Convener said: “We know this is an extremely difficult time for so many in the culture sector and I’m very glad we’ll be able to maintain our commitment through the £4m+ culture sector funding programme, subject to the report being agreed next week.

“We’ll continue to do what we can to support the sector to make sure they’re in the best possible place to recover. This support will in turn play its part in the whole city recovering from the effects of the pandemic as we look forward to enjoying the positivity and dynamism that Edinburgh’s cultural offer will bring.”

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Understanding the impact of Covid-19 on cultural participation

Creative Scotland has published the findings from independent research looking at public attitudes to cultural participation and attendance in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Surveying a representative sample of the population in Scotland, this is the second wave of research, following the first wave which was completed in August 2020. The survey provides valuable insight regarding how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed attitudes towards, and engagement with, cultural activity and also looks at public attitudes towards cultural participation in the future. 

Key findings include: 

  • More than half the population (56%) say they really miss attending cultural venues and events 
  • However, there is wariness amongst the culture-going public as regards returning to venues and events as restrictions ease, more so than with many other leisure activities 
  • The vast majority of the population (98%) are engaging with cultural activity from home during the Covid-19 pandemic but only a small proportion (17%) say they are willing to pay for cultural content that has moved online due to the pandemic 
  • Audiences are nevertheless looking forward to attending cultural activity when they can; are open to trying new experiences at different types of venue (70%); and audience levels look likely to return to pre-Covid levels, or increase, once a vaccine is widely available 

Iain Munro, Creative Scotland Chief Executive said: “The impact on Scotland’s art and culture sector by the Covid-19 pandemic has been severe. This important and ongoing research helps us understand that impact from a public perspective and is helping inform our ongoing discussions with partners, including Scottish Government, regarding current and future support.  

“The research also provides invaluable insight that will help shape our collaborative work with the sector in terms of recovery and renewal as we emerge from the impacts of the pandemic through 2021.” 

The report summarising the findings from the research can be found on the Creative Scotland website. A further wave of this research is planned for Spring 2021. 

Emergency funding for culture

Small movie theater

Creative Scotland has published details of the Independent Cinema Recovery and Resilience Fund, the first of five emergency funds to be delivered over the coming weeks. 

The Independent Cinema Recovery and Resilience Fund is a £3.5million fund from the Scottish Government. The aim of the Fund is to help secure the survival of Scotland’s independent cinemas, enabling them to re-establish and adjust their business models in response to Covid-19.

The fund addresses the critical financial need faced by Scotland’s independent cinemas to enable them to return to full-time operation, significantly reducing the risk of wide-spread redundancies and closure of vital community assets.  

Guidelines for applying to the Fund have now been published ahead opening for applications on Monday 14 September.  

Sambrooke Scott, Head of Audience Development at Screen Scotland said: “We very much welcome the First Minister’s recent announcement of £31.5m in emergency funding for culture in Scotland and are pleased, as part of that, to be able to quickly offer £3.5m of that funding to support Scotland’s independent cinemas.  

“These cinemas not only present a broad range of high-quality creative programming to a varied audience, but they also serve as community hubs in geographically diverse parts of Scotland, including some of our more remote places.  

“This fund will offer a vital lifeline to those independent cinemas which have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, helping them to return to full-time operation and protect jobs.” 

The Independent Cinema Recovery and Resilience Fund is the first of five new emergency funds to be delivered by Creative Scotland over the coming weeks as follows: 

  • The £15m Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund will support organisations that provide opportunities for cultural engagement and who have been unable to trade due to the impact of Covid-19. It includes both organisations who provide opportunities for audience engagement (such as galleries, performing arts spaces, commercial theatres, comedy clubs and nightclubs) as well as those that enable and deliver cultural activity (such as production facilities, music and dance companies). Eligibility criteria and guidelines for applying are currently in development and will be published on Thursday 10 September. The fund will open for applications on Thursday 17 September and awards will be made by the first week in November.  
  • The £5m Creative Freelancer Hardship Fund will address the current financial hardship being felt by creative freelancers who normally work in the culture sector, but whose work has been impacted by Covid-19. We are currently working to appoint partners to ensure a wide spread of coverage of this fund and we anticipate opening for applications from early October. 
  • The £5m Sustaining Creative Practice Fund will support artists to continue developing new creative work that will make a significant contribution to Scotland’s recovery from COVID-19. This includes £1.5 million for the Culture Collective programme, mentioned in the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, supporting organisations employing freelance artists to work in and with communities across Scotland. The remaining £3.5m will be added to Creative Scotland’s existing open fund which is open for applications from individuals now.  
  • The £3m Youth Arts Fund will ensure creative opportunities for children and young people continue to exist across Scotland despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The fund will include targeted and open funding to youth music and wider youth arts organisations, a scheme to devolve grants locally to artists who work with young people and small grants delivered directly to young people to support them fulfil their creative ambitions. 

Details of all funds will be published on the Creative Scotland website and publicised through media and social media communications. 

Emergency funding for culture and heritage organisations

Culture and heritage sectors are to benefit from a £59 million funding package to protect jobs and help the industry weather the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

A new £15 million Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund will provide critical support to a range of businesses such as art galleries, studio facilities, comedy venues, large music venues, commercial theatres, orchestras, dance companies and nightclubs.

It will help to reduce the threat of insolvency, protect jobs and create conditions for a more viable and sustainable future for the sector.

The funding also includes £21.3 million for Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to protect jobs and support the reopening of properties in their care.

An additional £5.9 million will be made available to support heritage organisations through committed grants, and £270,000 for the New Lanark Trust (above) will help secure the future of one of Scotland’s six World Heritage Sites.

The package also includes:

  • £5 million to address the immediate financial hardship faced by creative freelancers
  • £5 million to support artists to continue developing new creative work that will make a significant contribution to Scotland’s recovery from COVID-19, including £1.5 million for the Culture Collective programme to support organisations employing freelance artists to work in communities across Scotland
  • £3.5 million for independent cinemas
  • £3 million for youth arts including a funding boost for the Youth Music Initiative which will provide work for musicians

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “It’s been an extremely trying time for everyone in the culture and heritage sectors over the last few months. The major issues presented by the pandemic are not going away but as we slowly start to reopen, this funding will provide much needed emergency support and aid the recovery.

“We have taken time to work closely with and listen carefully to the sectors, to understand exactly what they need. We want to reach as many people as possible and I do believe these funds will make a marked difference in ensuring our culture and heritage sectors not only survive the pandemic but thrive in future.

“As extensive as this package of support is, we know there will still be more needed. Culture and heritage are vitally important to all of our lives in Scotland, at this time more than ever. Without significant borrowing powers, there is only so much the Scottish Government can do.  I urge the UK Government to consider extending the furlough scheme, to ensure longer term support as we continue to navigate this crisis.”

Iain Munro, Creative Scotland Chief Executive, said: “We very much welcome this significant announcement of much needed emergency support. This follows a great deal of work involving Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government, but also many people and organisations from across Scotland’s cultural community.

“We appreciate the challenges that everyone working in culture is facing and are pleased to now be able to offer some clarity. Creative Scotland will continue to work at pace to deliver this emergency funding to where it’s needed as quickly as possible.”

The culture funds will be delivered through Creative Scotland and follows on from the previously announced £12.5 million Performing Arts Venue Relief Fund and £2.2 million support for Grassroots Music Venues. It comes as part of the £97 million in UK Government consequentials for the culture and heritage sectors.

Creative Scotland are establishing the details of the funds and how they can be accessed. More information will be made available next week.

Funding that has been announced so far to support the culture and heritage sectors includes:

  • £10 million funding package for events
  • £4 million Museums Recovery and Resilience Fund
  • £3.8 million to protect jobs at the National Trust for Scotland
  • £12.5 million Performing Arts Venue Relief Fund
  • £2.2 million for Grassroots Music Venues