CUTS in ARTS FUNDING, 15th November

We had good news of minimum pricing for alcohol which the Scottish government has been pushing for 5 years now. Scotland is now the first country in the world to do so, after the UK supreme court ruled in its favour.

The idea is to push up the price of cheap booze, such as cider at £3 a bottle to £11.52 a bottle. Ten years ago we didn’t have this amount of cheap alcohol, cheaper than water!

Alcohol costs the NHS a great deal. Some wonder why the retailers should benefit financially from this 50p a unit.

Today I also heard the director of the Traverse theatre Edinburgh, speak of severe cuts in the Scottish Arts. Since the UK government deregulated Lottery tickets and the price has gone up, the funds being raised are down over 15%, with a reduction of 300m in 2016. There have been several press articles on this issues which is a huge concern for Scotland's major festivals such as Celtic Connections and Edinburgh Fringe. Lottery income makes up 40 per cent of Creative Scotland’s and SportScotland’s total income.

I had an IDEA!!

Can we use the extra money raised with minimum pricing for alcohol to help fund our ARTS! – for music concerts, art exhibitions, theatre shows, top festivals such as Celtic Connections and Edinburgh festivals.

For me the arts are a life saver – they offer people hopes and dreams, that can often make the biggest difference. I'd also like to see accessible arts - with funding for local and community arts, music, dance or drama.  To encourage the free Fringe access and for youth music, art and drama.  All the arts need healthy grassroots funding also. Festivals like Celtic connections do offer Education programs, free open mic sessions and much more! 

Arts cuts are coming warns Creative Scotland in letter to cultural companies.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15591707.Arts_cuts_are_coming__warns_Creative_Scotland_in_letter_to_cultural_companies/

ARTS companies across Scotland could lose their funding as cash for culture falls in the coming years, the nation's main cultural funder has warned.

A reduction in National Lottery money, has led to Iain Munro, deputy chief executive of Creative Scotland, to warn arts, theatre, dance, literature and music companies that some will lose out in looming spending round.

He admitted it is "unrealistic" to expect funding of companies to be the same from 2018 to 2021 as it is now, given the expected cut in lottery and, potentially, government funds.

Westminster ignoring Holyrood ministers over warnings of an arts crisis.

http://www.thenational.scot/news/15655164.Westminster_ignores_Holyrood_s_warning_of_an_arts_crisis_after_more_lottery_cash_is_cut/

Brexit & the Arts

The Arts thrive on melting pots and diversities, as does science and innovations. In fact that Bohemia energy can be essential for renewals and creativity.

Never mind our science and medicine - the creative industries are the UKs biggest export. They rely on collaborations and inter-connections to other cultures. Creativity has boomed since Europeans came here and some of the best people came here. Art is often encouraged by different voices.

Ken Loach’s funding comes from Europe and there is a lot of funding from France. Good films are not being commissioned here. The award-winning film director Ken Loach –  said in a recent tv interview that his tv docudrama ‘Cathy come Home’(1766) would not get made today. It would be stopped, he said, and it wouldn’t even get passed the script stage. 

He also has criticised the BBC News coverage as “manipulative and deeply political”. He is promoting his Palme d’Or-winning film about a man’s struggle with the UK benefits system, I, Daniel Blake, said there was a need to “democratise” the corporation. “Diversify it so that different regions can make their own dramas. And its notion of news has got to be challenged.”

We are not telling our stories and not being heard, he claimed.

Perhaps the rest of England is also fed up with all the focus and resources heading to London too?