Emergency funds designed to support people working in Scotland’s arts, screen and creative industries sectors who are experiencing immediate financial difficulty as a result of COVID-19, are continuing to reach those most in need.

More than 2,200 people working in the arts, screen and creative industries have now received one-off grants of between £500-£2,500, from our Bridging Bursary programme.

A combination of funding from The National Lottery, Scottish Government and the Freelands Foundation, totalling over £4.3 million, has been distributed to freelance practitioners based in every local authority area.

Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Our world-class culture sector was amongst the first to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland worked quickly to provide vital support to the many freelancers whose work disappeared practically overnight, through the Bridging Bursaries fund.

“I am pleased that thousands of individuals across the whole of Scotland have benefitted from the bursaries and hope the funding has provided some stability in these turbulent times.

“We understand as we work our way through the crisis significant challenges remain. We are committed to furthering our support to help protect the culture sector, which is crucial for our health and wellbeing as well as the economy.”

Iain Munro, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland commented: “It is encouraging to be able to report today, that these vital Bridging Bursaries have continued to reach so many people so quickly.

“The negative impact of Covid-19 on the culture sector in Scotland has been huge and recovery will be challenging. Significant new funding announced in the past few days from both the Scottish Government and the UK Government is extremely welcome and will help greatly with the challenges ahead. We will work hard with partners to ensure this new support reaches artists, other freelancers and organisations as soon as possible.”

More detailed information about today’s update on the Creative Scotland Bursary programme can be found on the Bridging Bursary page including data on awards made.

Media Contact

Wendy Grannon, Media Relations and PR Manager  
wendy.grannon@creativescotland.com +44 7989 854 306