The Scottish arts community sent an open letter to the Scottish Government on 21 August following the announcement of major funding cuts. More than 100 organisations including the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow and Dundee Contemporary Arts are denouncing the cuts to Creative Scotland, the public body that supports arts and cultural industries in Scotland.
Of the £6.6 million in frozen grants (€7.8 million), £3 million was earmarked for artists. Local artists, the first to be hit by the government’s recent decisions, will no longer benefit from this major financial support. “Without these grants, many artists are unable to continue their work.”explains Loris Anderson, who is due to be appointed director of the Edinburgh Festivals in October.
“Currently, more than 45 Scottish museums and galleries are at risk of closing within 12 months”warns a second petition launched by The Campaign of the Arts, a British association committed to democratizing access to culture. Visual arts and performing arts festivals such as the Fringe, a world-renowned festival of live performance, are particularly threatened. The signatory institutions fear the consequences for the country’s economy while cultural industries represent a key sector of local economic life.
The cuts total £10 million (€12 million). The government has announced that it is freezing £6.6 million of funding for the Open Fund for Individuals (OFFI), one of Creative Scotland’s main granting programmes for arts and production projects. Following the cuts, Creative Scotland has taken the decision to close applications for the 2024-25 OFFI arts programme from 30 August.
These measures go against the promises of the previous government of Humza Yousaf, which had announced that it wanted to double the subsidies allocated to the cultural sector in the coming years. The Scottish cultural sector was to receive 100 million pounds sterling by 2028-2029. The situation is not new, denounces Loris Anderson. “The arts sector has already endured 15 years of budget stagnation”she said. In response, the Scottish Government said it was being forced to cut non-essential spending in the face of significant budgetary challenges.
