Arts leaders in Scotland have warned that the sector faces a “death by slow cuts” due to a lack of clarity over funding, with delays and funding shortfalls meaning some major institutions could be at risk of temporarily closing in a few months.
Shona McCarthy, who is stepping down as director of the Edinburgh fringe competition in 2025 after nine years, called for clarity from the Scottish Government, not just on funding but also on its wider arts policy.
“What is happening here is death by slow cuts,” he said. “Not only the financing situation but the political environment that has been created. There is an attitude that festivals are going to be successful and happen every year. And they really aren't.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many in Scotland praised the government's response, as several institutions that had never received central arts funding were able to gain support. But since then there has been a chaotic funding environment, figures told The Guardian.
The sector welcomed former prime minister Humza Yousaf's promise in October last year to inject an extra £100m into the arts by 2028.
But in August this year, midway on the outskirts of Edinburgh, arts funding body Inventive Scotland announced it would close the open fund for individuals, which supports artists, musicians and writers, due to a lack of clarity. on longer-term financing.”
A wave of protests on the periphery followed, as well as an open letter and petition, prompting a U-turn, coming less than a year after a £6.6m budget cut was re-imposed on Inventive Scotland, even though it had been reversed in early 2023.
The situation has begun to affect the viability of some of Scotland's best-known arts institutions. Glasgow CCA, which began life in 1974 as Third Eye Centre, announced it would close in December until March 2025 due to “significant financial uncertainty”.
The Herald argued that arts funding was “drowning in a sea of neglect”, while Creative Scotland itself warned that the country's arts sector was facing a period of “managed decline”.
Beth Bate, director of Dundee Up to date Arts, said the delay in announcing Inventive Scotland's multi-year funding deal, which was pushed back from late October to late January, was exacerbating the situation.
He said: “We are faced with the almost impossible task of having eight weeks to get our budgets and business plans in order before the new financial year. There are many organizations that will not be able to be approved as a going concern because not only do we have no idea what level of funding we will get; There is no confirmation that we will obtain any financing.
“We have lost all that time to be able to plan properly and be able to deliver.”
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Bate called for clarity on the funding situation in Scotland and for the government to deliver on its commitment to increase arts funding by £100m. “They have continued to give very warm and supportive words to the sector… but we need to see that backed up by real actions and real commitments,” he said.
“They say they will donate £100m to the cultural sector over the next 10 years, but we have no idea how or when it will be delivered.”
Scottish culture secretary Angus Robertson said the sector was “an integral part of our identity as a country”.
“We are awaiting the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s budget announcement on October 30, which has a hugely significant influence on the Scottish budget. After that, we will be able to establish detailed budgets for the next financial year, also for the cultural sector,” he said.
“I will continue to work collaboratively with Inventive Scotland and the sector over the coming months to ensure stability until Inventive Scotland has sufficient clarity to be able to announce the recipients of its multi-year funding awards.”