£10m fund for Scotland’s performing arts venues

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop has announced the Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund as part of the Scottish Government’s £185m Business Support Fund.

A targeted £10m fund will support Scotland’s performing arts venues, who cannot yet reopen due to the ongoing impact of coronavirus. It will be run by Creative Scotland and will be open to both regularly funded organisations (RFOs) and non-RFOS.

The fund aims to:

• remove the threat of insolvency prior to the end of March 2021
• allow for specialist / core staff to return from furlough or avoid redundancy to work on future sustainability plans
• increase the opportunities for commissioning and employment of freelance artists and creative practitioners

More details will be available from Creative Scotland soon.

Theatres Trust welcomes this additional support for theatres in Scotland and the recognition from the Scottish Government of how important theatres are to the economy and people’s wellbeing. As First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop have said, it won’t be enough to fully protect the sector and further support is still essential from the UK government.