Scotland

A total of 14 theatre and dance projects have received funding to tour communities across Scotland.

Among those receiving a share of £2m National Lottery funding through Creative Scotland’s Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance are Dogstar Theatre Company, based in the Scottish Highlands around Inverness, and Lyth Arts Centre, Scotland’s most northerly mainland arts centre based in Caithness.

Creative Scotland said the funding will enable a wide range of new and award-winning productions, such as modern adaptations of classic works, autobiographical pieces, musicals, physical theatre and spoken word performances, to visit small, mid and large-scale venues across 2024 and 2025. 

Paul Burns, Creative Scotland’s Interim Director of Arts, said: “We’re delighted to be announcing recipients of the seventh round of funding to support makers and programmers of some of Scotland’s best theatre and dance. 

"Featuring new and familiar names, this stellar line-up of shows is ready to hit the road and weave their magic with first-time and seasoned audiences in a whole host of settings.”  

An Elgin councillor has branded Creative Scotland’s allocation of funds in the county of Moray “astonishing” after it emerged that 93% of grants went to a single postcode.

Of the almost £2.26 million awarded in the region since 2020, nearly £2.1 million went to organisations in the IV36 Forres postcode area, according to the Local Democracy Reporting service.

Sandy Keith, the Labour councillor for Elgin North, said: "It’s absolutely astonishing that there’s not one penny for Elgin, and we’re supposed to be building a cultural quarter here.

"Did nobody notice that most of the money’s going to one postcode?"

A representative on behalf of Dance North Scotland, Findhorn Bay Arts and Universal Hall Promotions said: "Yes, these organisations are based in Findhorn and Forres. However, all three organisations work tirelessly to ensure that the wider Moray community benefits from the arts... [They] offer services that reach across the region and have cultural impacts that reach much further afield."

A spokesperson for Creative Scotland said: "In our continued drive to grow engagement with arts and creativity and to help build more diverse, equitable and sustainable cultural and creative communities for the future, we’re in the process of developing revised processes for distributing our funding to individuals and organisations.

"We’d recommend anyone wishing to apply for funding to get in touch with us and find out what support is available to them."

This article has been updated to include a response from Dance North Scotland, Findhorn Bay Arts and Universal Hall Promotions.

Protesters from Art Workers for Palestine Scotland have staged a sit-in at Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow this afternoon (10 November).

The demonstration began shortly after lunchtime as dozens of activists sat in the art gallery with flags and banners.

Police have attended the scene, and visitors are not being admitted during the demonstration.

The protesters are calling upon members of the Scottish parliament to publicly demand an immediate ceasefire in Israel.

In a call out on their Instagram page ahead of the demonstration, which was due to end at 2.30pm, the protesters said: "The majority of arts and cultural institutions have been silent as we witness the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.

"We refuse to let the arts, culture and heritage sector to continue as if nothing is happening. No more business as usual in the arts."

Scottish Opera's plans for its new location on a former industrial estate have been released.

The regeneration project, currently in the consultation stages, will see the Glasgow-based company relocate its head office from the city's Charing Cross area to new premises on Spiers Wharf.

The new premises will sit between the existing Edington Street production studios and the canal towpath. Plans for the mixed-use development will incorporate rehearsal and performance spaces as well as film facilities, office and production space and two student accommodation blocks.

Scottish Opera’s new home will include an education and outreach hub with adaptable performance spaces that can function as a recording studio.

The consultation proposal states that the submitted development plans would “help to secure Scottish Opera’s presence within Glasgow for the next 60-plus years by rationalising and consolidating three of our current scattered five premises under one roof to demonstrate measurable economic, business, and artistic advantage”. 

Scottish Opera will submit its complete planning application in early 2024, with construction expected to begin in early 2025.

The organisation that distributes money to arts organisations in Scotland on behalf of the government has indicated that it is facing a £56m funding gap.

Creative Scotland, which finances organisations, venues, festivals and events across the country, revealed the shortfall after the deadline for bids to its three-year funding programme passed on 25 October.

The agency said it received applications from 361 cultural organisations with a total ask of £96m per year, compared with its current budget of £40m yearly. 

Initially, 507 organisations registered their intention to apply for the long-term funding, with a predicted ask of £114m annually.

Earlier this year, the Scottish government introduced a reduction to Creative Scotland’s £63m budget of more than 10% for 2023/2024. Before the cut was imposed, Creative Scotland warned that it would not be able to continue to support as many organisations on a multi-year basis as it did previously and that the application process would be “highly competitive.”

The £6.6m budget cut went ahead despite widespread objections, which led the government to abandon the plan in February before reinstating it. Creative Scotland will use some of its financial reserves to cover the shortfall in funding for this year. 

In recent weeks, the SNP has committed to restoring Creative Scotland’s budget next year, though Creative Scotland has said it has "no indication" of its funding pot for 2024/25 and beyond.

Last week, MSPs rejected a bid by Scottish Labour to reverse the funding cuts this year.

A new museum in Perth costing £27m has been given an official opening date for 2024.

Perth Museum will open after a multi-million-pound refurbishment of the former city hall over Easter weekend next year.

Partially funded by £10m of UK Government investment through the Tay Cities Deal and by Perth and Kinross Council, the museum will showcase Perth’s place in ancient and modern Scotland as the nation’s first capital.

Its collection will include the Stone of Destiny, used in King Charles's coronation, and a sword belonging to Bonnie Prince Charlie, which returns to Scotland for the first time since being made in Perth in 1739.

Councillor Grant Laing, Leader of Perth and Kinross Council, said: “Perth Museum will be a landmark attraction that brings Scotland’s history to life and is the culmination of our long-term cultural regeneration vision for Perth.

“It will significantly increase visitors from across the UK and internationally. It has created new skills and employment opportunities, and it will ignite our sense of civic pride in our beautiful and historic city.”