The future funding of the arts in Scotland is a blank canvas, at least until Creative Scotland, the funding body that will replace the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) and Scottish Screen, emerges in final form from the Culture Bill to be put before parliament later this year. An invitation to draw on that canvas brought movers and shakers from different arts perspectives to suggest a range of possibilities which could multiply the amount available for artistic activity. It signals a philosophical change from dependence on grants to a more sophisticated mix of loans (possibly at low or zero interest from the public purse or charities), investment by venture capitalists and individuals. There is agreement that grants should remain as a key element and that will be important in attracting additional funds. Debate will continue about how they should be disbursed, with a strong lobby from arts administrators for more grants to be made over a five-year period. As the 50 companies which receive five-year foundation funding have found, it allows forward planning, which is vital in retaining performers and backstage staff. Few will have the appetite for the suggestion by Brian McMaster, former director of the Edinburgh International Festival, that the scheme in which elite companies in England are allocated funds on a 10-year basis be extended north of the border.
The future funding of the arts in Scotland is a blank canvas, at least until Creative Scotland, the funding body that will replace the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) and Scottish Screen, emerges in final form from the Culture Bill to be put before parliament later this year.
