Arts body Creative Scotland’s remit will be reviewed, says Swinney
The First Minister also pledged money which would allow a fund for individual artists to be reopened.
Arts body Creative Scotland will face a review to ensure it is meeting the needs of the cultural sector, John Swinney has announced.
In his first Programme for Government speech, Scotland’s First Minister also pledged money which would allow a fund for individual artists to be reopened.
Many prominent artists and musicians had demanded that Creative Scotland reopen its Open Fund for Individuals, which the organisation had closed due to uncertainty over funding from the Government.
Acts including Paolo Nutini, Biffy Clyro and Lewis Capaldi were among those calling for the change.
The review announced on Wednesday will be the first since Creative Scotland was established in 2010 and will examine its remit and functions as a funding body.
The organisation has also come under scrutiny this year due to the controversy around its funding for the explicit Rein art project, which was later withdrawn.
Other prominent cultural figures such as Booker Prize winning-author Douglas Stuart were unhappy after the literary festival Aye Write was not awarded Creative Scotland funding.
In his programme for Government speech, the First Minister said: “A review of Creative Scotland will be undertaken to ensure the appropriate approach is in place to meet the needs of the sector and I am pleased to confirm to Parliament that the resources required to enable Creative Scotland to continue the work of the open fund are now available.”
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said £6.6 million has been allocated to the arts body to allow the open fund to be reopened.
Mr Robertson said: “Scotland’s culture is world renowned and it remains integral to our nation and our economy.
“Over the past 14 years, Creative Scotland has had a significant role in supporting that role, distributing £65 million of public funding in the last year alone.
“With the sector having faced a number of new and enduring challenges since then, the time is now right for us to ensure Creative Scotland’s remit and functions remain relevant, in line with our commitments to invest at least £100 million more annually in the arts and culture by 2028-29, and to continuous improvement across all our public bodies.
“It is routine for public bodies to undergo reviews throughout their lifetime, and while that process is ongoing we are clear that we expect the organisations involved to take forward their business as usual.”
Responding to the announcement, Creative Scotland’s chief executive Iain Munro said “we look forward to hearing more details” of the review.
He said: “We welcome the continued commitment to provide an additional £100 million in funding for culture and will work with the Scottish Government on the effective allocation of that funding, to the benefit of culture and creativity in Scotland.”
He added: “We continue to see unprecedented levels of demand for the Open Fund for Individuals and will process the high volume of applications we have received. With the budget now confirmed, we will work to re-open this fund.
“We are sure today’s confirmation of the release of this funding will be welcomed by the creative community of Scotland.”
Creative Scotland says it has 945 applications pending for the open fund, which have a combined ask of more than £15 million.
