A new £1.5million Scottish Government initiative launched yesterday to establish a network of creative practitioners, organisations and communities to respond to the impact of COVID-19 by providing employment opportunities and actively engage people in shaping the future cultural life of their community.

Grants of between £100,000 and £300,000 are available to organisations from the Culture Collective programme through Creative Scotland. more here

Three leading arts organisations have welcomed Dumfries and Galloway Council’s ongoing commitment to support major events and festivals.
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Spring Fling Open Studios, run by Upland CIC, and the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival, are two of the region’s Signature Cultural Events and DGU is the region’s chamber for the arts.
This year the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival was forced to cancel and Spring Fling was postponed to October and had to move online. Both are now working closely with the Council for a safe return to physical events in 2021.

Between them they will receive up to £108,000 over two financial years, funded by the Council’s Major Festivals and Events Strategy (MFES).

MFES makes an important contribution to Dumfries and Galloway with every £1 invested by the Council generating or safeguarding £30 for the economy.

A further £30,000 is being allocated over two financial years to Together Again, an arts season curated by DG Unlimited. This will have an emphasis on small-scale, outdoor, online and community-based events and will have an emphasis on rebuilding social cohesion and economic regeneration.

Cathy Agnew, DGU chair, said: “It has been impressive to see how effectively and imaginatively so many of our arts organisations across the region have been adapting to the current situation. Many have been highly successful in engaging new audiences while still nurturing their existing supporters.
“This new funding will help us take the next step forward in rebuilding and strengthening the cultural economy, and will provide much-needed support for some of Dumfries and Galloway’s vibrant and talented creative practitioners and cultural organisations.”

Councillor Adam Wilson, Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Events Champion, added: “This funding for the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival and Spring Fling continues a cultural partnership built up over more than a decade. 
“The Together Again arts season will provide dozens of additional cultural events and activities across Dumfries and Galloway next year. The combined package of support will ensure that all of our communities can establish and put on cultural events in 2021 that will be fully marketed and promoted and help social and economic recovery.”
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Museum Recovery and Resilience Fund
The Scottish Government have allocated £4 million to the Museum Recovery and Resilience Fund which aims to secure the future of Scottish independent museums put at risk by the pandemic and to protect the vital role that they play in their communities. The fund closes at 5pm on Friday 30 October. 
Further Information and details of how to apply can be found here.

Sustaining Creative Development
A fund launched in March 2020 in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic to focus support on helping individuals and organisations to sustain themselves. Funding available for between £1k and £50k. The fund is open all year round, with no deadlines and can support activity for up to 12 months.
Further Information and details of how to apply can be found here.

Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund
Organisations that contribute to the rich and diverse cultural life of Scotland have been significantly impacted by COVID-19. This fund has been established by the Scottish Government to help address their needs. Applicants can apply for between £10k and £150k and up to £250k on an exceptional basis. Thursday 24th September is the deadline for applications.
Further Information and details of how to apply can be found here.

Hardship Funds for Creative Freelancers
Inviting organisations who are presently managing hardship funds in Scotland to work with us to deliver funding to support creative freelancers. The deadline for submissions of expressions of interest is 5pm on Friday 25 September.
Further Information and details of how to apply can be found here.

Youth Arts Fund
£3m has been allocated to support youth arts and ensure creative opportunities for children and young people continue to exist across Scotland despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Youth Arts Fund will be distributed by the following routes:

An Open Access fund of at least £1.2m offering grants of between £5k and £30k to individuals and organisations who run youth arts programmes to support activity from March 2021 onwards (launched 17 September 2020, deadline for applications 12th November 2020).

A Small Grants scheme of £700k to devolve funds of between £10k and £50k locally for artist led projects in early learning, schools, and other family support and community settings from January 2020 (to be launched end September 2020).
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A £50k boost to the Nurturing Talent Fund to provide opportunities to young, emerging artists who are entering a challenging funding environment.
 
Independent Cinema Recovery and Resilience Fund
Funding to bridge the immediate financial gap faced by independently owned cinemas during reopening and operation in the short-term. The application deadline is 12 noon on Monday 5 October 2020
Further Information and details of how to apply can be found here:

Innovate Create Cultivate
DG Unlimited's very own ICC fund is also still open to applications for projects that are able to continue during the current restrictions.

Scottish Government have pledged £59m emergency funding for culture and heritage to address the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic

Creative Scotland reports: 

The Independent Cinema Recovery and Resilience Fund is a £3.5million fund from the Scottish Government. The aim of the Fund is to help secure the survival of Scotland’s independent cinemas, enabling them to re-establish and adjust their business models in response to Covid-19. The fund addresses the critical financial need faced by Scotland’s independent cinemas to enable them to return to full-time operation, significantly reducing the risk of wide-spread redundancies and closure of vital community assets. Guidelines for applying to the Fund have been published today ahead of opening for applications on Monday 14 September.

The £15m Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund will support organisations that provide opportunities for cultural engagement and who have been unable to trade due to the impact of Covid-19. It includes both organisations who provide opportunities for audience engagement (such as galleries, performing arts spaces, commercial theatres, comedy clubs and nightclubs) as well as those that enable and deliver cultural activity (such as production facilities, music and dance companies). Eligibility criteria and guidelines for applying are currently in development and will be published on Thursday 10 September. The fund will open for applications on Thursday 17 September and awards will be made by the first week in November.

The £5m Creative Freelancer Hardship Fund will address the current financial hardship being felt by creative freelancers who normally work in the culture sector, but whose work has been impacted by Covid-19. We are currently working to appoint partners to ensure a wide spread of coverage of this fund and we anticipate opening for applications from early October.

The £5m Sustaining Creative Practice Fund will support artists to continue developing new creative work that will make a significant contribution to Scotland’s recovery from Covid-19. This includes £1.5 million for the Culture Collective programme, mentioned in the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, supporting organisations employing freelance artists to work in and with communities across Scotland. The remaining £3.5m will be added to Creative Scotland’s existing open fund which is open for applications from individuals now.

The £3m Youth Arts Fund will ensure creative opportunities for children and young people continue to exist across Scotland despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The fund will include targeted and open funding to youth music and wider youth arts organisations, a scheme to devolve grants locally to artists who work with young people and small grants delivered directly to young people to support them fulfil their creative ambitions. A total of at least £1.2million in now available through the Access to Youth Arts Fund.

​More information can be found here.

Spring Fling is bouncing back – with artists and craft makers across Dumfries and Galloway gearing up for an eight-day digital event. 
It is hoped that a range of studios will open their doors for three days but if that is not possible, organisers, Upland Arts Development CIC, have come up with a host of other ways to share and showcase the region’s creative excellence. 
The Covid-19 pandemic forced the postponement of Scotland’s leading open studios weekend, which usually takes place in May. 

The Stove has been doing a bit of consultation work for blueprint100 going forward and are looking for feedback from under 30’s on what they want, need and what is useful. If you are an under 30’s who may be interested in creative activity and experience please fill out the survey below:
 
https://forms.gle/kijcKfwrLaRFgqAV9 
 
More information on the Consultation here: https://thestove.org/blueprint100/

Created during COVID-19 LOCKDOWN 2020, these videos are designed to give members of Performance Collective Stranraer [PCS] an insight into the working practice of artists living in Scotland right now... We thought that it would be an exciting thing for any performance-interested person to try too!
Our first Art Guide artist is PCS Artistic Director, Drew Taylor-Wilson. Watch extracts from some of his theatre, learn more about his arts practice and delve into some creative tasks inspired by his style, and other artists he is inspired by.
https://youtu.be/C5SRlb3SkRA
Performance Collective Stranraer's artist cohort presents SHAKE THE DUST, LOCKDOWN 2020 
A spoken word response, inspired by Anis Mojgani's SHAKE THE DUST https://youtu.be/0qDtHdloK44 https://www.thepianofarm.com/ Performed by Ellie Stevens, Ryan Ford, Chelsie Nash, Kirsty Pickering, Rosie Macfarlane, Grant Redmond, Jodie Robertson, Annaliese Broughton, Callum Reid, Stephen Will, Emily Kelly This spoken word performance was created during our weekly meetings, during UK Lockdown 2020. www.performancecollectivestranraer.com
https://youtu.be/_Vlwo5heE1k

Scotland’s topical discussion programme is coming to Dumfries and Galloway.
 
BBC Debate Night is on a virtual tour of the country, and on Wednesday 3rd June the focus will be on Dumfries and Galloway.
 
All residents from across the region are invited to apply to be part of the small audience to join the discussion and put your questions and concerns to Scotland's politicians and public figures. Please share this opportunity with communities, colleagues, friends and family, (flyer attached) and please note that we welcome applications from members of the general public applying as themselves and not as representatives of a company or organisation.  
 
Apply now by visiting www.bbc.co.uk/debatenight and clicking ‘Join the Audience’.
 
Previous episodes are available to watch via BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000htfx  
 
Why take part?
 
Debate Night is the only place where people are regularly able to put their questions and experiences directly to Scotland's policymakers in their own words. Despite the restrictions in place we are determined to continue to give people the opportunity to question those in charge.
 
Maybe you are a key worker, have been self-isolating or your work has been affected by Coronavirus; whatever your situation, we want you to apply and be part of the discussion.