Jeremy Grant: Business support of the arts is vital in today's climate

When cellist Natalie Clein and pianist Julia Hamos perform at the “Absolute Classics” festival on the outskirts of Dumfries this weekend, the piano on stage will be one made by Blüthner, a German company that’s been making the instrument since 1853.

It’s also one of two that have been on loan from Blüthner for the last five years. “Without these pianos, it wouldn’t be possible to bring world class pianistic quality to the communities of Dumfries and Galloway,” says Alex McQuiston, festival director.

Business sponsorship of the arts is nothing new. But at a time of brutal budgetary constraints and scant government funding, its role in ensuring that the arts in Scotland survive, let alone thrive, has become more important than ever.

There was a reminder of the parlous financial state of the arts in Scotland last week with news that six theatres had agreed to share resources and create a new company under a “theatre survival plan” designed to avert closures. And had it not been for a screeching U-turn by Holyrood in February, Creative Scotland — the national arts agency — would have suffered a 10 percent cut to its 2023/14 budget.

​Jeremy Grant is a freelance writer and editor, and was a journalist at the Financial Times and Reuters for 25 years

As the instrumental philanthropy of Blüthner shows, sponsorship is no longer just about cash in exchange for ringside tickets and a drinks reception for clients in the concert interval (although cash is obviously still vital).

These days, it’s about something else too: connecting with community. Given the lessons from the pandemic, it’s appropriate that one of the three themes running through the Edinburgh International Festival, which kicks off next week, is “Community over chaos”.

One of the festival’s supporters, investment management firm Baillie Gifford, is billed not as “sponsor” but as “Learning and Engagement Partner”. That’s because it supports the festival’s year-long programme of activities in schools and community groups in Edinburgh, including bringing the London Symphony Orchestra to play for residents in hospitals.

TikTok has another take on community support through its sponsorship of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, enabling top comedy performers on its platform to bring their content to the live stage for the first time. The idea is that talent being discovered by the virtual community should be able to find an audience among the physical community as well.

The 75th anniversary edition of the Edinburgh Festival was staged in October. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Community can of course include the people associated with the workplace. Cirrus Logic is a Texas-based semiconductor company with its European headquarters in Edinburgh, where it designs the tiny chips embedded in mobile phones and laptops that govern how the devices’ audio performs.

The company started sponsoring the Fringe last year after its British chairman read about an emergency funding appeal it had issued in the aftermath of the pandemic. Its support involves not only part-funding operating expenses but also hosting Fringe performers every Friday at its offices for employees and their families.

There is also a role for sponsorship in reaching communities that don’t have much access to the arts. Thanks to matching funding from Culture & Business Scotland, a charity that links business with the culture sector, Absolute Classics has been able to film its concerts for broadcast later online, helping to combat the isolating effects of living in remote communities in southwest Scotland.

The more businesses that buy into this, the better for us all.