A huge £6.6 million cut set to hit Scotland’s leading arts body will greatly hurt creative bodies outside the central belt which depend on funding, a Fife arts leader warns.
SNP ministers were branded “disingenuous” for the major U-turn, months after they initially rowed back on plans to slash support for Creative Scotland.
Kate Grenyer, who is director of arts organisation Fife Contemporary, responded to the cuts saying: “Shocking is not an over the top word at this point.”
Last month, Dundee’s Contemporary Arts Centre – which also benefits from Creative Scotland support – put out a grim warning about its future due to a £300,000 blackhole.
‘Incredibly disingenuous’
Ms Grenyer told us the latest cuts are especially disappointing given the sector had been led to believe the £6.6 million fund would not be taken away.
She told us: “We were given to believe there was a last-minute reprieve. It feels incredibly disingenuous.
“It does make you very distrustful of what is being said.”
Ms Greyner insisted Creative Scotland cash is crucial for arts projects in areas like Fife.
She said: “It’s inevitably in the mid-term going to impact a lot of organisations, and a lot of organisations outside the central belt.
“What those funds do is it stops the funding just sitting in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“It keeps people being able to access art and culture on their doorstep in their local town.”
Creative Scotland will be able to stave off immediate cuts by dipping into reserves from National Lottery funding.
But Ms Greyner warned mixed messages being sent to the sector will have a negative impact on the creative industries.
‘Completely unpredictable’
She said: “We are having to watch very carefully month to month what we’re all doing.
“It makes the whole thing completely unpredictable. No organisation, business, charity or otherwise, can work with unpredictability.”
She added: “Funding helps the arts become more democratic.
“It means it isn’t just a private sector thing. It’s a way of making sure culture is for everybody.”
Beth Bate, director of Dundee Contemporary Arts, said: “We are very concerned to learn of this cut to Scotland’s culture budget at a time when the sector has been clear it urgently needs increased investment.
“We hope this decision will be reversed.”
Earlier this month, Ms Bate told MSPs the centre had been “wrung dry” in attempts to save cash.
She told politicians the organisation simply “doesn’t have enough money”.
‘Tipping point’
Speaking at a Holyrood committee on Thursday, Creative Scotland director Iain Munro claimed the cuts were even worse than they might appear at first.
He warned that without this vital £6.6 million down the road, up to 20% of funding for arts schemes over a whole year would potentially need to be slashed.
Mr Munro said: “That is enormous in terms of the fragility that already exists in the sector and would in effect act as a tipping point in terms of the risks to organisational closures.”
It’s feared up to 900 jobs could be lost and 12,000 artists would risk being impacted by the massive cuts.
The Scottish Government argues the £6.6 million reduction is not a direct cut, claiming money has been dished out to compensate for shortfalls in National Lottery funding.
SNP culture chief Angus Robertson said: “Over the past five years, the Scottish Government has provided £33 million to Creative Scotland.
“As a result of rising costs and pressure on budgets across government, we are unable to provide funding to support the lottery shortfall this year.
“However, I expect this funding will be able to be provided as part of next year’s budget, subject to the usual parliamentary process.”
Conversation