Creative Scotland has announced the largest portfolio of cultural organisations ever to be supported on a multi-year funding basis.​ This will bring much needed assurance to organisations all across Scotland.

In Orkney, the St Magnus Festival has been awarded £570,000 (2025-28), with three annual payments of £190,000.

The Pier Arts Centre has been awarded a total of £1,437,322. Year 1, £392167; Year 2, £522,577; Year 3, £522,577.

The recent uplift in Grant-in-Aid funding from the Scottish Government, releasing the largest budget ever available to Creative Scotland, enables more than £200m in support to be provided to 251 organisations over the next three years. 

Further to this, 13 other organisations, will be supported by a £3.2m Development Fund, with a view to them joining the Multi-Year Funding portfolio in 2026/27. 

Over half of the organisations in the portfolio are being offered a multi-year funding commitment for the first time, reaching more parts of Scotland, and more parts of our society, than ever before. 

Those organisations which have an existing regular funding relationship with Creative Scotland will receive an average uplift of 34% in their funding in 2025/26, increasing to an average of 54% from 2026/27, bringing certainty and stability. 

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant, who has campaigned for HebCelt and the Arts sector to be given more certainty welcomed the news that HebCelt and Eden Court were awarded multi-year funding from Creative Scotland.

Eden Court in Inverness has been awarded a total of £2,546,570 over the three year period. HebCelt music festival has been awarded a total of £270,000 for the three year period. HebCelt is new to multi year funding.

Rhoda Grant said:

“For two such organisations as these, being able to plan over a year in advance is crucial to their successful provision, and the anxiety that has been caused over the last few years as Creative Scotland re-organised it’s funding model has been extremely disruptive.

“The Highlands and Islands are well known for being an inspiring and productive creative hub, I’m thrilled that the arts sector in the region can now focus on supporting and delivering for local musicians and artists with confidence.”

Robert Wilson, Chair of Creative Scotland said: 

“This is an extremely positive moment for culture in Scotland, bringing with it a renewed sense of stability and certainty to Scotland’s culture sector. 

“Thanks to the vote of confidence in the culture sector, demonstrated by the recently announced budget from the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland can offer stable, year-on-year funding to more organisations than ever before.  

“I’m particularly pleased that this funding will increase further from next year, enabling even more fantastic artistic and creative work to be developed here in Scotland.  

“Stable, long-term funding for as many organisations as possible is the underlying principle of the Multi-Year Funding programme, and we are delighted to be able to bring it to fruition.  

“This funding means that we are able to bring so many new, community focused organisations into the portfolio, while also providing significant increases to those more established organisations which have been on standstill, regular funding for so many years. 

“I’m also very pleased to be able to offer 13 further organisations significant amounts of development funding, to enable them to come into the portfolio in its second year. 

“This signals a significant moment of positive change for Scotland’s cultural community, and I hope that, after the deeply challenging time of the pandemic, and the difficulties that have faced the sector in the subsequent years, that now is the time that we can look forward with confidence and the Scottish culture sector can get on with what it does best, producing outstanding art and creativity for everyone to enjoy.” 

The list of organisations being awarded Multi-Year Funding, and their award for the next three years, is available on the website. 

The list of organisations being offered development funding, and their conditional award for the next three years, is also available on the website.