Exclusive:The emergency arts campaign with £100m goal to avert Scotland's 'cultural catastrophe' - here's how to sign up

An emergency campaign to avert a “cultural catastrophe” in Scotland has been launched in a bid to force the Scottish Government to honour its commitments to invest £100 million more in the arts industry.

Ministers stand accused of putting Scotland’s entire cultural landscape “at risk of collapse” due to “continued inaction and backtracking” despite pledging to more than double arts spending less than a year ago.

A hard-hitting petition has been launched demanding the urgent roll-out of £100m in new investment, which was promised in October, and the immediate restoration of Creative Scotland’s budget after it was targeted for more than £10m worth of new cuts.

Supplied

The petition also highlights the failure to provide three-year funding settlements for arts organisations ahead of a key decision-making deadline in the autumn, despite a key pledge in the SNP’s last Holyrood election manifesto.

Supplied

The UK-wide Campaign for the Arts said it was “now or never” for the Government to take action to avoid “irreparable damage to our cultural life and landscape”. Its petition is targeted at Scotland’s finance secretary Shona Robison, who has been urged to recognise the “real and pressing need” for new investment in the arts.

The link for the petition is available here: https://www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/scotland-2024/.

The campaign, which has been launched ahead of the final weekend of Edinburgh’s summer festivals season, is backed by Scottish arts industry body Culture Counts, which works with more than 70 cultural organisations. The body has accused the Government of sending a message that it “does not value culture and creative people”, and of putting Scotland’s international cultural reputation and ambitions at “serious risk”.

Mihaela Bodlovic

Arts and entertainment union Equity has also announced plans to stage a rally outside the Scottish Parliament on 5 September to protest against the treatment of the arts industry and hold the government to its culture funding commitments.

The new campaign has been launched amid an angry backlash to an announcement from Creative Scotland that it was pulling the plug on its main fund for artists after the government refused to release £3m which had been earmarked for the long-running cash pot. Applications to two separate youth music funds have also been suspended.

Creative Scotland says it does not have enough Government funding to meet all the obligations in its planned budget, which was set after the reinstatement of £13.2m worth of cuts imposed in the previous financial year.

Jack Lowden is starring in the National Theatre of Scotland's production The Fifth Step at the Edinburgh International Festival this week. Picture: Simon Murphy | Simon Murphy

Creative Scotland, which accounts for around a third of the overall culture budget of £196.6m approved by Holyrood in February, is due to decide on applications for long-term funding from 281 arts events, festivals, venues and organisations in October.

However, despite the promises of new investment, Creative Scotland insists it has not been given a budget for its new “multi-year” programme and is planning ahead based on a “standstill” settlement, which would leave it with a projected funding gap of nearly £50m.

The Government has promised that an additional £25m will be allocated to the culture sector in the first year of the new funding programme, but has refused to say how much will be for Creative Scotland.

Its petition states: “Scotland’s cultural landscape is at risk of collapse, due to continued inaction and backtracking from the Scottish Government on key arts funding pledges.

“The Scottish Government has repeatedly promised to address underinvestment in the arts with pledges to ‘more than double’ funding and to deliver “at least £100m more annually” by 2028/29.

“But Creative Scotland has revealed that £10.7m has been slashed or frozen from its budget midway through this year, forcing it to shut down the main public fund for Scotland’s artists.

“Creative Scotland must allocate funding to organisations for the next three years by the end of October, but still doesn’t know its own budget from the Scottish Government, despite the SNP’s 2021 manifesto pledge to agree a three-year funding plan.

“The damage to arts access and opportunities in Scotland is already underway. To prevent catastrophe, the Scottish Government needs to act now.”

Acrobats from The Black Blues Brothers show off some of their tricks and athletic prowess on Leith's Victoria Swing Bridge. The UK-wide Campaign for the Arts have launched a new petition in a bid to get the Scottish Government to deliver its £100m guarantee in funding. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire | PA

Campaign for the Arts director Jack Gamble said: “Public funding for the arts in Scotland is essential – not just for artists, but for the wellbeing of our whole society and economy.

"Yet at this critical moment, Creative Scotland cannot make funding commitments either to individual artists or to nearly 300 cultural organisations awaiting decisions, due to continued inaction and backtracking from the Scottish Government.

“This is truly shocking – particularly after the repeated warnings that we and many others have given over the last two years, and the promises and policy commitments that Scottish Government ministers have made in response.

“Creative Scotland cannot invest funds it does not have. If the Government continues to withhold information and resources, cultural organisations will shortly lose the vital support that, astonishingly, all individual artists have now lost.

"These are devastating impacts that are clearly at odds with the Government’s stated direction of travel. Ultimately, every citizen will feel the effects. Art and culture are not luxuries – they are an essential part of a healthy, thriving society.”

Culture Counts director Lori Anderson said the latest cuts announced by Creative Scotland would leave many artists, writers and producers without the “essential support” they needed to create new work.

She said: “This already fragile community of freelancers and creative practitioners is under immense pressure, with many choosing to leave the sector seeking stability elsewhere. Closing this fund and cutting other much needed and committed budgets could have immediate devastating and irreversible consequences for those unable to apply to these funding programmes.

“Ultimately, allocating budget comes down to choices by the Government and these announcements come at a time when Scotland is hosting the biggest arts festival in the world which could not take place without artists, performers, writers and producers at its heart.

"Cutting funding to our artists sends a message that the Government does not value its culture and creative people, putting our reputation and ambitions as an international cultural leader at serious risk.

“We join Campaign for the Arts in urging the Government to halt further in-year cuts, reverse these decisions, and provide clarity on culture funding by bringing forward as much of the promised £100m investment in culture now when it is most needed and secure the sector’s future.”

Marlene Curran, Scotland official at Equity, said: “The Government’s latest cuts to culture funding in Scotland do not bode well for the renewal of Creative Scotland’s core budget in October.

“If we are to believe its promise to seriously increase arts funding for Scotland over the next decade, we need to see more funding on the table right now. Sadly, the Government’s track record suggests otherwise.

"But as the union for performing arts, will fight for a funding deal that matches the ambitions of the Scottish Government as promised only last year.”

Robert Kilpatrick, chief executive of the Scottish Music Industry Association, said: “We urgently call on the Government to confirm its cultural investment for this financial year, and to bring forward the release of as much of the promised £100m as possible. This is vital to safeguard the sector’s immediate survival and support its long-term sustainability.

"Scotland’s music industry is largely supported by freelancers and independent practitioners. It is already operating under significant financial strain, and the reduction in available funding further exacerbates this fragility.

"As many cultural organisations across Scotland await their fate in October with Creative Scotland’s multi-year funding announcements (including us), this latest blow highlights just how precarious a situation our sector is now in at every level, and across every art form. Without immediate intervention from the Government, our sector is at critical risk.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We have increased arts culture funding this year, as the first step to achieving our commitment to invest at least £100m more annually in culture and the arts by 2028/29.

“The Scottish Budget continues to face significant challenges. We are considering the implications of the actions announced by the Chancellor on 29 July for our public finances, and the next steps required.”