£6m funding plan to boost homegrown festivals talent

Published on Thursday 27 March 2008 09:15

CULTURE Minister Linda Fabiani today launched a £6 million fund to promote homegrown talent at the Edinburgh festivals.

The cash will be to used to support new productions, events or exhibitions featuring Scottish-based artists that premiere at any of the Capital's festivals and help them go on tour to reach new audiences.

The Edinburgh Festival Expo Fund will hand out 1,308,000 in the next financial year and a total of 6m over the next three years.

All 12 festivals – including the International Festival, the Fringe and the film festival – will be able to benefit from the extra funding.

One of the most successful Scottish plays of recent years, Black Watch, about soldiers serving in Iraq, was first performed at the Fringe in 2006. It won a raft of awards for writer Gregory Burke and his crew and has just returned to Scotland from a world tour.

Launching the fund today, Ms Fabiani said: "Scotland's diverse and vibrant cultural life is one of our country's defining features. With Edinburgh as the pre-eminent festival capital of the world we have a real platform to showcase the best of Scottish talent to international audiences.

"The Expo Fund is designed to help maintain the global competitive edge of the Festivals which make a significant contribution to our economy and attract visitors from around the world."

The Expo Fund was one of the SNP's manifesto commitments at last year's Scottish Parliament elections. Ms Fabiani said it demonstrated the importance the government placed to the creative industries.

She said: "One of our key priorities is to ensure that we get more Scottish-based artists involved in the Edinburgh festivals and touring within and outwith Scotland thereafter. This funding will provide new opportunities for our artists, producers and creative talent to flourish within the context of the festivals."

She said Scotland was currently going through a "true cultural renaissance" and the Expo Fund would help maximise the opportunities for local artists and showcase the nation's cultural endeavours to the rest of the world.

Successful bids for the cash are due to be announced in the run-up to the summer programme. The main role for co-ordinating and delivering the portfolio of Expo projects has been given to Festivals Edinburgh, the umbrella group for all the Capital's festivals.

Festivals Edinburgh director Faith Liddell described the fund as an important commitment to the festivals and their role in the national and international promotion of Scotland's artists and performing companies.

She said: "This first year-long Edinburgh Festivals Expo programme is the single largest showcase of Scottish artists and work ever mounted, presented on the unrivalled international platform of Scotland's world-renowned Edinburgh Festivals."