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Creative Scotland to close Open Fund for Individuals to applications due to 'budget uncertainty'
Creative Scotland has announced that it is closing the Open Fund for Individuals to new applications later this month due to budget "uncertainty".
The non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government explained the "difficult decision" was taken due to the Scottish Government "being unable to confirm release of £6.6m in grant-in-aid budget in the current financial year, 2024-25". The fund will close to new applications from 2pm on Friday, 30th August 2024.
The Open Fund For Individuals is a funding programme, supporting artists, writers, producers and other creative practitioners in Scotland. The £6m fund is designed to support creative activity such as specific projects, productions or periods of research and development for up to 24 months.
Creative Scotland had planned to apply £3m of the £6.6m budget to support the Open Fund for Individuals in 2024-25, alongside £3m of National Lottery income.
Without confirmation of release of this budget, Creative Scotland said it does not have enough funds available to support all the funding routes that we currently provide, as set out in their annual plan.
Author Jenni Fagan is particularly concerned by how those already impacted by the cost of living crisis will fare. She told The Bookseller: "Creative Scotland have provided invaluable support via their Open Fund for Individuals. This fund has invested in the rich heritage of literature and art in Scotland, providing investment for those who need it most and without which, the arts will be indisputably weakened. At a time of such financial difficulty this will undoubtedly close doors to those writers and artists who do not have a disposable income and the luxury of support to create a body of literature or art. This decision will negatively
affect not just those individuals but the wealth and strength of our arts community in Scotland full stop."
Author and editor Helen Sedgwick echoed this. "The Creative Scotland Open Fund for Individuals was one of very few funding streams available for authors in a landscape in which the average author’s income is already below the living wage," she told The Bookseller.
"The loss of this crucial funding stream will make it harder for authors across the board, but it’s particularly harmful for those already marginalised. The result will be fewer people able to create the literature this entire sector is built on, meaning there will be less innovation, less variety, and a devastating return to the times when only those with independent income had the time and money to write."
All currently submitted Open Fund for Individuals applications will be processed and the National Lottery Open Fund for Organisations remains open.
Iain Munro, chief executive of Creative Scotland said: "The level of uncertainty regarding the provision of grant-in-aid budgets from the Scottish Government is creating critical problems for the ongoing support we can provide to Scotland’s culture sector. This decision to close the Open Fund for Individuals is not one we would have wanted to take but is unavoidable without the funding from the Scottish Government being available.
"Like everyone working in Scotland’s culture and creative sector, we understand the extreme pressures on public finances but want to see longer term budget certainty from the Scottish Government, including the additional £100m announced in October 2023, details of which have yet to emerge."
Marie Moser, owner of the Edinburgh Bookshop, told The Bookseller: "I would very much agree with their comment that we all understand the pressure on government finances, but that the situation makes impossible for them to plan ahead. Of course this is especially worrisome when commercial sponsorship of the arts already low... and financial institutions that are contributing to the sector are being put off by pressure from campaign groups.
She added: "Chronic underfunding of the arts in the UK has been a problem for many years, especially when one looks at the investment it receives in comparable countries in Europe. I personally find this frustrating as, if I recall this correctly, the arts are a major contributor to the UK economy."
Author Daisy Lafarge explained that she had used the fund in 2022 to write her second novel, and without the ’crucial state support’ she said she would not have been able to complete a draft.
She added: "It’s hard to convey how devastating and far-reaching this is. With less than a fortnight’s notice, Scotland has become one of the worst places in Europe to be a writer. This fund is a lifeline for many, but particularly for marginalised writers, and its withdrawal will only accelerate the present over-representation of writers from wealthy and privately educated backgrounds in the industry.
"Going forwards, I’m sure many of us will be asking ourselves whether we can afford to continue at all."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government already provides significant funding to Creative Scotland each year and will continue to do so.
“We have increased arts culture funding this year, as the first step to achieving our commitment to invest at least £100 million more annually in culture and the arts by 2028/29.
“The Scottish Budget continues to face significant challenges. We are considering the implications of the actions announced by the Chancellor on 29 July for our public finances, and the next steps required by the Scottish Government.”
