Curtain Reopens on Scottish Arts Funding

Outrage subsides as Scottish government make U-turn on theatre and arts funding

Newly elected leader of the SNP and First Minister Humza Yousaf has today confirmed the party’s U-turn on the Government’s 10% to to Creative Scotland’s Grant in Aid budget.

The government were warned that these fiscal measures could have resulted in thousands of jobs lost in the creative sector.

This is after a petition against the cuts, led by some of Scotland’s foremost creative figures received over 15,000 signatures. We spoke to Steve McMahon, Scottish playwright and recent recipient of the Edinburgh Fringe’s ART Assembly award about how these cuts could have been detrimental to the country’s cultural backbone:

Hi Steve, thanks for speaking to us today, the firstly can I ask, how do you feel that independent creative arts are supported throughout the UK?

I’d say less and less as time goes on, we’ve been on a downward spiral for quite a while now and it doesn’t seem like there is the initiative to pull us out of it. It feels harder and harder for emerging grassroots artists and musicians to make a name for themselves.

Does this recent funding U-turn by the newly appointed Humza Yousaf instil you with any confidence that progress can be made?

Of all the potential candidates, he was the only one that gave me any confidence in the government to restore some help, but it remains to be seen if any lasting impact can be made on what is a struggling industry, that is trying to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Some people would suggest that in the current economic climate, there needs to be cuts somewhere, what would you say to the people that suggest the cuts are a necessary evil to prop up areas such as the NHS and education?

It’s a difficult thing to say to suggest that the money shouldn’t go to those important areas, but I think people need to realise just how crucial the arts are.

It’s not just the entertainment factor, turning to arts, films and live performance is what gets people through tough times like the pandemic.

It’s easy to forget just how much of an impact theatre and the arts has on everyday life.

It also gives a creative outlet for young people to deal with what’s going on in their lives and gives them confidence and crucial communication skills, that aren’t found in many other aspects of education.

You’re currently living in the US, have you noticed a significant difference in how the arts are supported over there?

Yeah, it’s completely different. Quite a lot of their theatres are privately funded rather than relying on Government. You’ll see a lot of it being funded by wealthy individuals, I’m not saying that’s right, but it does mean that there are more pots of money available at the grassroots level.

Thank you very much for your time Steve and for your fantastic insight.

(This interview was conducted over a WhatsApp call and has been edited for grammar and clarity)

The views of our expert however, don’t seem to ring true with the rest of the public. According to YouGov, only 36% of people surveyed support the preservation of government funding to higher education arts courses, with 40% in total opposition.

Our governments choosing to save money by cutting funding from the cultural arts is not unique to Scotland. Across the UK, devastating cuts have been made by councils looking to prop up other failing departments as austerity measures have caused Council budgets to suffer inflation-adjusted cuts of 37% over the past 10 years. Many critics have termed these cuts a form of “cultural vandalism” suggesting that lack of funding to arts and culture will have a significant and detrimental effect, on all of the United Kingdom. Going forward, it remains to be seen what the long term effect of neglecting the art will be.