Creative Scotland announce Open Fund closure

You might have seen in the news last week that Creative Scotland, the public body that supports culture and creativity in Scotland, announced that it has taken the decision to close the Open Fund for Individuals to new applications as well as Youth Music Initiative funding. This is due to the Scottish Government being unable to confirm release of the promised £6.6m in Grant-in-Aid budget in the current financial year 2024-25. A number of other culture funding initiatives have been cut or paused by the Scottish government. 

Like many, LAC have been deeply concerned by this news. This funding is a lifeline for artists to develop their work and projects. The team here are involved in action and advocacy with regional and national colleagues. We are also offering support to independent artists in Caithness and Sutherland. 

Now we want to ask our audiences, participants and collaborators to join us in this support. Click the link in our bio or in our stories to:

• Sign the Campaign for the Arts petition https://www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/scotland-2024/
• Write to your MSPs –  Scottish Contemporary Art Network  have drafted a template letter that you can adapt and send https://sca-net.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=13aaf18e863787be255c8b169&id=3619fdda1c&e=5de8014aa7 

Our Constituency MSP is Maree Todd and her email is Maree.Todd.msp@parliament.scot. A list of our regional MSPs is available here. 

Further Sector Activism

Take Me Somewhere and Buzzcut authored an open letter which went live yesterday: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5803a728d1758e435b377f47/t/66c725288f58aa5cc225b37f/1724327209278/Open+Letter+-+Closure+of+Open+Fund+for+Individuals+21_08_2024.pdf

The Scottish Music Industry Association released an excellent statement with advice and recommendations (including extending their funding deadlines and free SMIA membership) https://www.smia.org.uk/news/cs-funding-statement-2024/ 

Scottish Contemporary Art Network  have drafted a template letter that you can adapt and send to your MSP to voice your concerns about the cuts quickly https://sca-net.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=13aaf18e863787be255c8b169&id=3619fdda1c&e=5de8014aa7

SCAN are also holding an open meeting – the link to register is https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtceCqrT0pHtTb1Yd1OPYiqW5-jciWckvQ#/registration

Shetland Arts Chief Executive, Graeme Howell wrote an open letter MSP Beatrice Wishart on Creative Scotland’s imminent closure of the Open Fund for Individuals and highlighted the particular impact the closure will have on rural and island communities 

https://www.shetlandarts.org/blog/an-open-letter-to-beatrice-wishart-creative-scotlands-imminent-closure-of-the-open-fund-for-individuals

LAC Action 

• LAC has already signed the above open letter. We want to publicly be behind something that signals collective action
• We have written to all Highland MSPs raising our concerns
• The team is also in contact with colleagues across the region and nationally to find out what they are doing and whether we can take collective action  
• If any LAC associate artists are currently working on an application to the Open Fund that they now need to bring forward, please contact the team and we will offer support of proof reading/drafting applications.

Finally, we recognise the significant impact that these developments may have on the mental and emotional wellbeing of those in our industry. Please do access support if you need it, some useful links are; 

https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/

https://www.bapam.org.uk/

https://www.scottishtheatre.org/category/management-hr/mental-health-and-wellbeing/