More than 400 artists have signed a letter calling for Creative Scotland to make a fresh start.
It means the number of leading figures who have backed the campaign has quadrupled from the 100 who initially put their names to it.
Authors Janice Galloway, Louise Welsh and Des Dillon, the composer Sally Beamish, and the actor Tam Dean Burn are among more than 300 who have added their names to the letter which was sent to the national arts body's chairman Sir Sandy Crombie.
It calls for a "fresh start" because it is guilty of "ill-conceived decision-making, unclear language, and a lack of empathy and regard for Scottish culture".
The letter, which has added weight to two internal inquiries by Creative Scotland into its operations and use of Lottery money, was put online last week and has generated a wave of new support.
Two artists' meetings, to be held in Edinburgh and Glasgow later this month, have maintained the momentum of the campaign to reform the funding body, which distributes £80 million in Government and National Lottery funds to artists and arts companies throughout Scotland.
Ms Beamish says on the petition: "We need ongoing stability, not constant uncertainty.
"The arts in Scotland should be recognised as crucially important, both socially and economically. We have a unique and vibrant culture, which needs consistent nurture and support to thrive."
Welsh adds: "Creative Scotland has lost the confidence of artists, writers and craftspeople.
"The arts in Scotland need and deserve support from a funding body that respects practitioners rather than regarding them as some kind of capital."
The letter, which was responded to twice by Sir Sandy and led to a "sort it out" message from Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, was prompted by growing dismay in the arts world over Creative Scotland, its funding policies and communication.
Two internal inquiries – led by groups of board members – will file their reports before Christmas.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article