Open letter to the Scottish Government
In response to Creative Scotland’s decision to close the Open Fund for Individuals on 30th August, we have written to the Scottish Government urging them to release the previously agreed funding which would allow this vital programme to remain open.
We write to you to express our serious concerns over Creative Scotland's decision to close its Open Fund for Individuals on 30th August and the impact it will have on our members and the wider artistic community in Scotland.
We support a wide range of a creative practitioners in Scotland from actors, theatre makers, stage managers to directors, aerialists & drama facilitators and many have benefitted from this essential fund over the years. With regular employment in the arts already much-reduced, freelancers rely on the opportunities that this fund provides to create work and develop ideas, many of which go on to become full-scale projects. This fund not only benefits individuals but also the hundreds of freelancers that are engaged through the numerous play readings, script developments, performances & projects that this programme enables.
The industry continues to struggle to recover from the Covid Pandemic and we have already lost a number of individuals from the arts. The removal of this fund will drastically reduce employment opportunities and further risk detaching freelancers, many of whom are already disenfranchised with the cultural landscape. The closure of this fund could well be the tipping point that results in the permanent loss of more artists from the sector.
We understand that a commitment was made to allocate £6.6M from the Grant in Aid budget to Creative Scotland for the financial year 2024/25. We appreciate that the Government is facing enormous financial pressures in the coming months. However, we urge you to honour this commitment and confirm the release of these funds which will allow this fund to remain open. The arts budget in Scotland represents a tiny fraction of public spending and, given the estimated returns, not only in financial terms but in health, well-being and education, we believe this represents excellent value for money. Reinstating the £6.6M will allow freelancers to continue to develop ideas, nurture talent and increase future employment opportunities.
It is understood that Creative Scotland’s current running costs exceed £11M. Whether an arts funding body with this level of expenditure is justified in a country of Scotland’s size is perhaps a question for another day. However, the question must be asked; whenever cuts - or the threat of cuts - present themselves in the arts why is it the freelancers, whom Creative Scotland exists to serve, who must suffer the most?
As the end of August approaches and the numerous arts festivals reach their climax, Scotland has again been celebrated on the world stage as a cultural success with what appears to be a thriving arts sector. This is not the reality. We urge you to rethink this decision and to engage with individuals and organisations to ensure, not only the mere survival of the arts in Scotland, but a robust, growing, prosperous sector where we can dream big, share ideas and create work which can be truly celebrated. Let the arts in Scotland flourish.
