Glasgow venues receive £1.4m from performing arts relief fund

Venues receiving funding are The Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), The Citizens Theatre, Platform, Tramway and Tron Theatre.

The funding is designed to support performing arts venues that cannot yet reopen due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ailsa Nazir, Interim Director, CCA, said: “CCA is delighted to have received funding from Creative Scotland’s Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund. This fund allows us to safeguard jobs at CCA until at least March, giving us some much needed time to build a new and resilient business model to take us through 2021 and beyond.”

Jenny Crowe, Arts Manager at Platform, added: “This extra support will allow us to build our sustainability and future resilience and increase our audience engagement levels. Crucially it will allow us to maximise our digital capability and increase the number of artists and creative practitioners that we work with to engage with our audiences.”

On Tramway’s award, Councillor David McDonald, Chair of Glasgow Life and Depute Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “The impact Covid-19 has had on everyone has been tremendous and our arts sector has been especially badly affected.

“This funding will help Tramway support artists to keep working and producing art we will all have the opportunity to enjoy in the weeks and months to come.”

And Andy Arnold, Artistic Director at Tron, commented: “Being able to kick-start and expand our regular Tron Creative and Tron Participation programmes over the next few months, and significantly, to have the opportunity to engage a substantial number of freelance creatives on innovative new projects that seek to connect with audiences old and new alike, gives us hope for a more positive and stable future for the Tron Theatre and for the arts across Scotland.”

The five Glasgow venues are among 20 across Scotland to have received funding from the first strand of the Scottish Government’s £12.5m Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund, through Creative Scotland.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Theatres and performing arts venues are vital to individuals, communities and our country. Our performing arts venues effectively had to close overnight, with an almost complete loss of income. There is no doubt that in doing so they saved lives, and for that I am extremely grateful.

“We know the impact of this crisis will be long-term so ambitious action to support the future of these organisations, as well as our wider cultural infrastructure, is key. This funding will be a vital lifeline to help performing arts venues continue to weather the storm.”

Iain Munro, CEO, Creative Scotland, added: “The Covid-19 emergency funds announced for the culture sector so far are not, by any means, the end of the support to be offered and there will be more announcements to come, not least in terms of how the £97m Scotland has received for culture and heritage as a result of the UK Government’s funding package is to be applied.

“The precise nature of this is still being determined and, beyond what has already been made available, Creative Scotland is working closely with the Scottish Government to actively discuss further support for the culture sector, including for those who may not have received funding previously.”