Creative Scotland announces £800k of National Lottery funding

Creative Scotland has announced 36 recipients of the latest round of National Lottery’s Open Fund, with grants totalling more than £800,000.

One of Creative Scotland’s key funding routes, the Open Fund has no deadlines and supports activities initiated by artists, producers and creative practitioners. Grants ranging from £1,894 to £97,703 have been awarded in the latest funding round.

Creative Scotland’s Interim Director of Arts Paul Burns said recipients encompassed a “broad range of dynamic projects”, many of which “tell stories and platform perspectives which may otherwise go unheard”.

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The Edinburgh writer Pauline Lockhart received £3,450 to support research to develop her musical Forever Home, based on stories of care-experienced young people. She plans to use the funding to orchestrate a focus group of representatives from Scottish Adoption and Adoption UK, including adoptive parents, care-experienced young people and educators.

“The mini-musical explores the challenges faced by care-experienced and adopted teens and their families, particularly around the education system," said Lockhart.

"This Creative Scotland funding will allow me to extend and develop the script further with a view to eventually reaching a wider audience with a future production.”

'Empathy, connection and wellbeing'

Glasgow-based Loop Theatre has received £59,562 to fund Glorious Govan, a weekend of physical theatre performances that aims to celebrate the community, history and culture of Govan in the southwest of the city.

With an ensemble comprising professional and participant performers, many of whom are learning disabled, the company plans to create “a series of compelling physical theatre vignettes” that will “weave” through streets and heritage sites in Govan this summer.

“The benefits to our participant and professional performers extend beyond the joyful, creative expression of making a show together," Laura Edwards, Artistic Director of Loop Theatre, said.

“It enables our disability-inclusive theatre company to give back to our geographical community by putting on a free weekend event whilst simultaneously recognising the powerful role participatory arts has in our society to build empathy, connection and wellbeing.”

Interim Director of Arts, Paul Burns, added: “Art can do so much to broaden minds and deepen our understanding of different perspectives and realities, increasing our ability to connect and empathise with others.

"We’re proud to be awarding funding from the National Lottery to such a broad range of dynamic projects, so many of which tell stories and platform perspectives which may otherwise go unheard.”