Scotland’s arts and culture sector is drowning, and there is no life raft.

No skin comes off the backs of governments when cutting the arts is concerned. Publicly funded arts commonly play martyr in budgets, disposed of without a care by artless politicians who see the arts as a luxury, and not a cultural necessity. The rug is always ready to be pulled from underneath the thousands of creatives it serves and provides livelihood to.

The rug was conclusively pulled when Creative Scotland saw £10 million of their budget fade into the aether, only weeks before the £6m Open Fund for Individuals was set to establish the next period of long-term projects. The promised £100m boost from the Scottish Government over the next five years sits in limbo, ignored by those with the power to help preserve and encourage Scotland’s cultural landscape – was the promise serious, or political manoeuvre?

Don’t let taxpayer-funded sex film put off funding daring and provocative art

The open fund, an essential driver of many project budgets, provides a vital backbone to the arts in Scotland in lieu of viable commercial opportunities. The state and treatment of Creative Scotland has resulted in a drawn-out will-they-won’t-they game, and creatives seem........

© Herald Scotland