The Scottish Arts Council (SAC) has announced decisions on £16m of grants for 60 arts organisations for the period 2011–2013. Over 130 organisations, the majority of which develop and produce work in Scotland, applied for grants under the flexible funding scheme.
The choices made by SAC, which is now in its last days of existence before it is usurped by the official launch of Creative Scotland on 11 July, did not escape heavy criticism from some quarters. Vocal dismay came from Fife Council’s culture spokesman, Brian Goodall, who attacked the “bizarre” decision to axe funding from the Byre, the principal theatre in St Andrews. The Byre had expected to receive over £300k over the next two years; its chief executive Jacqueline McKay said that she was “astonished at the news”, particularly given the theatre’s successful track record over the past three years. McKay admitted that although “less than 20% of the Byre’s funding comes from SAC, the organisation is an important funder for the Byre Theatre”, which now faces a difficult future. Wee Stories, an Edinburgh-based children’s theatre company, was another major loser – its former grant of £160k was slashed to zero in the current review of SAC spending.
Meanwhile, Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts, based in a building jointly owned by SAC and Glasgow City Council, was awarded the biggest share of the pot, £300k a year for the next two years, with North East Arts Touring and Woodend Arts Association each receiving the smallest grants at £55,000 a year each. Other winners included the StAnza poetry festival which earned a £57,000 grant for the first time, the Red Note Ensemble (£120,000), the Sound Festival (£73,000), Vox Motus (£150,000) and Solar Bear (£82,000).
Published: 05-07-2010