The 13 arts organisations granted new multi-year funding by Creative Scotland

A total of 13 more cultural organisations, including the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland, Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre and the Hidden Door festival have been granted multi-year funding from Creative Scotland.

When multi-year funding awards were announced in January, a total of 251 organisations out of 279 which had applied for long term funding were granted their request, in a package worth at least £208m over the next three years.

At the time, 13 organisations were brought into a £3.2 million “development stream” receiving funding and targeted support, with a view of joining the multi-year funding portfolio in 2026/27 once areas for development had been addressed.

Now, all 13 of these organisations have been reviewed and approved to join the multi-year funding cohort from April. All are receiving uplifts on their previous funding levels from Creative Scotland or receiving 100 per cent of their application request.

Members of the band Tinderbox Orchestra l-r Callum Stevenson, Claire Docherty, Rosie Irvine and Leo Bacica during a photocall to promote the Hidden Door Festival at The Paper Factory, Edinburgh. | PA

Of the organisations, six were previously regularly funded by Creative Scotland, with the remaining seven being new to year-on-year funding.

Projects which previously received funding and will benefit again includeThe Bothy Project, Culture, Heritage and Arts Assembly, Argyll and Isles (Charts), Marc Brew Company, Reeltime Music and Universal Hall.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Poetry Library, Creative Lives, Culture and Business Scotland, Hebrides Ensemble and Project Ability will receive multi-year funding for the first time.

​The grants range from £1.14 million and £1.27m in the first and second year respectively for the Traverse Theatre, to £55,250 and £56,925 for Reeltime Music.

Robert Wilson, chair of Creative Scotland, said: “The development stream organisations join the largest portfolio of cultural organisations ever to be supported on a multi-year basis, bringing even more stability to Scotland’s culture sector.

“Thanks to the significant uplift in budget from the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland was able to commit to Development Funding and broadening the portfolio in its second year. It’s testament to the productive and close work of the organisations and Creative Scotland that all 13 are now progressing to multi-year funding.”

The Traverse Theatre is one of the organisations to be granted multi-year funding. | Google Maps

“Creative Scotland continues to look at what more can be done to bring certainty to Scotland’s culture sector and the people it serves, building on the confidence multi-year Funding has enabled.”

Culture secretary Angus Robertson said: “I’m delighted that 13 further culture organisations are to benefit from the stability of multi-year funding from Creative Scotland, thanks to the Scottish Government’s record investment in culture and the arts.

“This adds to the record number of organisations in communities across Scotland who are already benefitting from the multi-year funding awards made in January, with over £200 million committed to give them certainty over the next three years. Over half of these organisations were awarded multi-year funding for the first time, and all successful organisations who previously received core funding from Creative Scotland got a significant uplift.”

Cumbernauld Theatre was the only organisation to completely lose its long-term funding in the January announcements, which has been worth £266,000 in recent years, when it was rejected for both multi-year funding and the development fund. It revealed recently that it faces closure after it was again refused emergency funding from Creative Scotland.