The arts organisations facing closure threat amid 'devastating' Creative Scotland funding cuts

Scottish culture has been in almost constant crisis mode for more than four years since the shutdown of live events and venues in the face of the Covid pandemic.

Now it is facing what the sector has warned are “devastating” funding cuts, which could decimate the industry.

The Grit Orchestra has performed at Celtic Connections and the Edinburgh International Festival. | Mihaela Bodlovic

Months after the final Covid restrictions were lifted in 2022, the national arts agency, Creative Scotland, delivered a stark warning to the Scottish Parliament declaring the industry was facing a “perfect storm” of factors threatening the very future of arts organisations.

Events, festivals and venues were said to be facing “unprecedented pressures” due to a combination of rising costs and household bills, reduced audiences since the pandemic and more than a decade of standstill public funding.

Edinburgh's historic Filmhouse cinema has been closed since October 2022.

Within weeks, the Scottish cultural scene was left reeling from the collapse of the arts charity behind the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and the Belmond and Filmhouse cinemas in Aberdeen and Edinburgh respectively.

Nearly two years on, the nation’s culture crisis has only escalated further, despite key pledges from the Scottish Government, made in October last year, that it would “more than double” arts funding and that £100 million in new investment would be delivered by 2028.

Warnings about the future have only become bleaker ahead of the most important round of funding decisions for the industry in six years, which will affect the future of more than 280 organisations and shape Scotland’s cultural landscape for the next few years.

Pitlochry Festival Theatre currently receives annual funding from Creative Scotland.

What is happening to arts funding now?

Creative Scotland is facing a projected £47.5m shortfall to meet demand from some of Scotland’s best-known arts organisations and still does not have a budget for the three-year programme ahead of a planned announcement in October.

The Government’s arts agency has warned for two years that standstill funding is “no longer viable” for organisations in the face of rising inflation and costs, and suggested it will have to fund “far fewer” organisations unless it receives significantly more government funding.

In in its latest evidence submitted to Holyrood’s culture committee, Creative Scotland warned the arts industry was facing the prospect of “managed decline” unless the Government started the roll-out of the promised £100m. The agency also revealed that more than £10m of funding which was allocated in its budget for this financial year had either been cancelled or frozen by the Government.

Eden Court in Inverness.

But how serious could the “decline” be for Scottish culture in the next few years if there is no change of direction from the Government and what could be affected?

Shutdowns and closures

A worst-case scenario for the arts industry is the prospect of venues disappearing from Scotland’s cultural landscape.

Arts centres and venues which have existing long-term funding deals with Creative Scotland include Eden Court in Inverness, the National Piping Centre and Tramway in Glasgow, MacRobert in Stirling, Dance Base and the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, Hospitalfield in Arbroath, An Lanntair in Stornoway and Perth Concert Hall.

Theatres heavily reliant on Creative Scotland funding include the Royal Lyceum and Traverse in Edinburgh, Cumbernauld Theatre, Dundee Rep, the Tron and Citizens in Glasgow, His Majesty’s in Aberdeen and Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

Other long-running organisations including the theatre companies Birds of Paradise, Catherine Wheels, Grid Iron, Vanishing Point and Stellar Quines, as well as dance company Barrowland Ballet, music organisations Hands Up For Trad and Fèis Rois, and Puppet Animation Scotland.

Scaled-back programmes

Theatres have already had to reduce their programmes in the face of standstill funding deals and rising costs in recent years, in particular the number of home-grown productions.

The Edinburgh International Festival and the Glasgow Film Festival have been among the high-profile events which have increasingly focused on their core venues.

The scale of future editions of the Wigtown Book Festival, the Hebridean Celtic Festival and the Glasgow Jazz Festival are likely to depend on what Creative Scotland funding they secure.

Special exhibitions at museums and galleries may also have to be scaled back or dropped completely to save costs.

Jobs and freelances

Thousands of jobs and livelihoods are at stake as the future of the arts industry hangs in the balance.

The creative industries are said to support more than 90,000 people and be worth more than £4.5 billion to the Scottish economy. However, thousands of freelancers also depend on the Scottish arts industry and public funding for support.

These include writers, actors, directors, producers, technicians, sound crews, set builders and designers.

There are growing concerns that many freelances will move into other industries or even leave Scotland completely if work in the arts sector dries up.

Scotland’s international reputation for culture 

As well as bringing international audiences to Scotland for festivals and events, government funding has helped support the export of culture overseas.

This has ranged from supporting bands to tour internationally to helping theatre companies to take productions overseas.

Scottish showcases at major musical festivals and industry gatherings are also heavily reliant on Creative Scotland funding.

Who has spoken out about the cuts?

A vast array of names from the arts, entertainment and culture industries have called for a reinstatement of Creative Scotland’s budget and demanding an urgent rethink from First Minister John Swinney.

They include Scottish music stars and acts Paolo Nutini, Biffy Clyro, Franz Ferdinand, Young Fathers, The Proclaimers, Mogwai, Karine Polwart and Idlewild.

Scottish stage and screen star Jack Lowden - best known for his role in Apple TV+ series Slow Horses - has branded the Scottish Government's latest arts funding cuts "stupid and completely unacceptable".

And the heads of the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Fringe Society have all been highly critical of the cuts, claiming emerging artists are being “squeezed out” by financial pressures.