Creative Scotland suspends Open Fund for Individuals after Scottish government budget freeze, later reinstated

Creative Scotland halted its Open Fund for Individuals arts grant program following a Scottish government freeze on releasing £6.6 million in grant-in-aid funding. The program, with an annual budget of £5 million, supported Scottish artists, writers, producers, and creative practitioners with awards ranging from £500 to £100,000 for up to 24 months. Iain Munro, CEO of Creative Scotland, emphasized the need for longer-term budget certainty from the Scottish government, despite its commitment to invest at least £100 million more annually in culture and arts by 2028/29. After the closure announcement, 819 applications requesting a total of £11,893,366 were submitted. On September 6, the Scottish government reinstated the £6.6 million investment, with £3 million allocated to reopen the Open Fund for Individuals, as announced by Craft Scotland in a Facebook post. Creative Scotland is now evaluating how to process the recent applications.