Today, Tuesday 26 February 2019, Creative Scotland launches a new fund to further encourage equality of opportunity and tackle under-representation across Scotland’s creative and cultural sectors.

Supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland, the £285,000 Create:Inclusion Fund is designed to support diversification of the sector and address historic issues of under representation. This fund aims to support a broad range of activities that can help applicants develop themselves, their creative and professional practice, their capacity; or to support them to take professional and creative risks.

Iain Munro, Acting CEO, Creative Scotland, said: “This dedicated fund represents a more proactive approach to ensuring different voices are better reflected across the cultural life of Scotland. When the arts and creative practice are reflective of, and made by, a diverse range of people and communities they will be more relevant to more people across Scotland.  There is still much to do, but collectively with the culture sector, we can address the lack of diversity, challenge poor practices, and positively support career progression.”

The launch of the fund represents one of a series of measures being introduced to following recommendations made within Creative Scotland reports - ‘Understanding Diversity in the Arts’ and ‘Equality Matters’ - evidencing numerous and complex barriers to access, progression and representation in the arts, screen and creative industries.

Todays announcement is accompanied by an open call for external assessment panel members to work alongside Creative Scotland’s specialist staff in order to provide a broad range of perspectives to inform funding decisions.  For information about how to apply, visit: publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/register_v2/Supplier_Register.aspx

The Public Contracts Scotland Notice ID is FEB346461.

Media contact: Sophie Bambrough, Media Relations and PR Officer, Creative Scotland | T: 0131 523 0015 / M: 07747 606 146 / E: sophie.bambrough@creativescotland.com.

Notes to Editors

1. Create:Inclusion fund closes for applications on Thursday 4 April 2019, and the guidelines and application form are available at creativescotland.com/createinclusion.

2. To apply to be an assessment panel member, please visit the Scottish Government e-Tendering System by Thursday 21 March 2019: publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/register_v2/Supplier_Register.aspx

3. The new fund is one of a series of measures to encourage equality of opportunity and tackle under-representation in the arts, screen and creative industries.  One important action we’ve taken in recent years is to require all organisations that we support through Regular Funding to have EDI action plans in place and to report against them. For further information on Creative Scotland’s commitment to ensuring Equalities Diversity and Inclusion within the arts please visit: creativescotland.com/funding/latest-information/funded-organisations/regular-funding-2018-21/overviews/equalities-diversity-and-inclusion

4. Create:Inclusion will prioritise the professional and creative development of applicants who self–identify as sharing one or more protected characteristics defined by the Equality Act 2010 and projects from groups or organisations which are either minority-led or which focus on working with and for those who share one or more protected characteristics. The Equality Act 2010 covers nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.

5. Scotland at a Glance: Scotland has 4% Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) population and 4% White non-British groups population and this increases to 12% in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Scottish population is an ageing population with 19% aged 65 and over. 20% of Scottish population are disabled or have longer term health problems and 1.6% of population has declared at LGBTQ+. Sourced from Scotland’s 2011 Census: scotlandscensus.gov.uk.