Millions in funding allocated for Scotland's culture and heritage sectors
£15million of the fund will go towards supporting venues like nightclubs and comedy clubs
A funding package to help Scotland’s cultural venues through the coronavirus pandemic has been announced by the Scottish Government.
The First Minister confirmed £59million yet to be allocated from UK Government consequentials will go towards supporting freelancers, cultural venues, independent cinema and youth arts.
£15million of that will be used to create a “culture organisations and venues recovery fund” which will offer support to commercial theatres, galleries, comedy venues, orchestras, theatre and dance companies, larger music venues, nightclubs, and production facilities and studios.
The Scottish Government had been criticised for leaving businesses like comedy clubs and nightclubs out of previous funding announcements.
At the daily briefing on Friday Nicola Sturgeon said: “Our cultural and heritage sectors are hugely important to our economy but they're also really important to our wellbeing and our happiness as a country.
“They've been very hard hit by this pandemic and we are determined to do everything we reasonably can to support them.
“So we hope that today's package will provide some much-needed assistance to cultural organisations, artists and other freelancers across the country.”
More than a third (£21.3 million) of the funding announced today will be given to Historic Environment Scotland to support the reopening of its sites across Scotland.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “It's been an extremely trying time for everyone in the culture and heritage sectors over the last few months.
“The major issues presented by the pandemic are not going away but as we slowly start to reopen, this funding will provide much-needed emergency support and aid the recovery.
“We have taken time to work closely with and listen carefully to the sectors, to understand exactly what they need. We want to reach as many people as possible and I do believe these funds will make a marked difference in ensuring our culture and heritage sectors not only survive the pandemic but thrive in future.”
Responding to the news that money will be allocated to support comedy venues following a campaign from the sector, The Stand comedy club tweeted: “We welcome the news that @ScotGov and @CreativeScots have listened to our concerns and announced arts funding for comedy venues.
“We look forward to hearing the full details of what will be offered and assurances that a realistic amount will be ringfenced specifically for comedy to save our beloved industry and the hundreds of jobs that rely on it.”
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