Nicola Benedetti warns of crisis for Scottish arts sector without £100m funding

Nicola Benedetti has warned of a crisis in the arts sector that would mean a “major identity shift” if the Scottish Government fails to provide £100m of funding.

Speaking to Holyrood Magazine, Benedetti, an award-winning violinist, warned that Scotland’s cultural sector was facing “very difficult times” due to funding issues.

She said arts and culture were key to the “well-being and health of the nation”.

The ruling came after then-First Minister Humza Yousaf told the SNP conference last year he had pledged extra funding for Creative Scotland until 2028, calling it a “huge vote of confidence” in the culture sector.

In December 2022, the budget of Creative Scotland, the national body for the development of the arts and creative industries, was cut by £6.6 million, before this amount was restored in February 2023 and cut again in September of the same year.

However, it is unclear when the additional funding promised by Yousaf will be awarded to Creative Scotland.

Benedetti, director of the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), said: “It’s the government’s responsibility, unless you start thinking that arts, culture – and by that I mean all activities that fall under overall psychological, mental, emotional well-being and health nation, society and individuals, I would refer everything that falls into this category to a civic pillar that can be called culture – if as a nation we start to believe that this is not one of the civic pillars that we adhere to, we fundamentally change our goals and our identity.

“We are changing what we thought of after World War II as a society that was becoming more and more equal and had a higher level of civilization.

“If we don’t think so, it means a major change of identity. If we really believe this, then a portion of the revenue collected from taxes and spent by the government should be allocated to the structure of our lives and to what we call culture and the arts.

“We would allow this to slip away from government responsibility at our own peril.”

The Scottish Government has previously said an extra £15.8m, including £6.6m that was cut and then restored, will be made available this year as a “first step” to the £100m target, taking total spending on culture to £196.6m, the majority of which is to go to Creative Scotland.

While a further £25m increase has been promised for next year, arts industry collective Culture Counts has estimated that up to 55% of organisations applying for Creative Scotland funding could lose out when the agency announces its long-term funding in October.

Earlier this year, Creative Scotland announced that 361 organisations had submitted applications for a total of £96 million in funding, with 351 deemed eligible to progress to the next stage.

This was capped at 281 organizations with a total requirement of £87.5 million, but Creative Scotland warned that “due to a lack of clarity around long-term funding” from the Scottish Government, it expected only £40 million to be distributed. million pounds.

Creative Scotland chief executive Iain Munro said: “As we have consistently emphasised, our budgets remain extremely tight and we anticipate that we will only be able to fund a proportion of organisations that apply.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.