How can we save the arts, and why has the situation become so dire in the first place?
It’s been no mystery that within the past decade, especially during COVID, the arts funding throughout the UK has dropped significantly, falling 55% since 2010, bringing national funding to £539m in the 2024-25 year. These cuts to funding not only affects West End productions and professional performers, but by people in the local community who find that theatre is becoming increasingly inaccessible.
In Scotland, the main source of funding comes from Creative Scotland, which in 2025 announced a £200m grant to 251 creative arts organisations. However this included cuts to organisations that have long been locally funded, notably Cumbernauld Theatre in North Lanarkshire, which gave 40,000 annual visitors the chance to experience and participate in original art. Whilst the media tends to highlight advancements in theatre funding, it tends to forget the local communities relying on funding as they struggle to survive. It is the determination of those in these communities that keep the art alive. A prime example is from 2023 when the Scottish Government held talks to cut arts funding to Creative Scotland by £7m, which would’ve affected thousands of jobs and opportunities for local artists. Despite these talks, over 15,000 locals signed a petition against the bill, meaning the proposed cuts did not go ahead. The government is trying to cut people’s livelihoods and access to the arts in a brutal manner, and those passionate people are turning out in the masses to stop the destruction of Scottish culture.
History looks set to repeat itself in the heart of Glasgow, the city renowned for its unique art and culture scene, particularly in music, theatre and poetry. Despite this reputation, the council faces funding struggles like any other, much to the detriment of iconic institutions such as the Centre for Contemporary Arts and Glasgow Film Theatre, both spaces to display independent art on a global level during the Glasgow Film Festival. A petition has been created to save the CCA, which is set to close its doors for good, just a year after Creative Scotland granted funding. Unfortunately, even those fortunate enough to receive funding from this institution struggle to stay alive. According to Creative Scotland, the CCA couldn’t prove its ‘ongoing viability’ and thus funding had to be pulled, potentially bringing the end to this longstanding staple of local Glaswegian arts. The petition, which has garnered almost 3000 signatures so far, states the importance of this venue: ‘it is a vital cultural institution that has supported artists, audiences and communities in Scotland for decades’.
On 26 August 2026, the BBC announced that the Scottish Budget could lose over £700m, an incredibly destructive amount of money to lose for any government, warning cuts will have to be made, and I have to wonder how much arts and culture, in particular Creative Scotland will lose over these cuts. The government will have to decide which sectors will be on the chopping block, and with healthcare and housing quite rightly on the top of the list, it’s just a matter of how far the arts will fall. How many more institutions will Scottish theatre have to lose, and how many young people will lose access to their local theatre due to this?
But perhaps not all faith is lost, not in this city anyway. Local icons such as A Play, A Pie and A Pint, and Cottiers have been entertaining Glaswegians for decades, and they have stood firm throughout budget cuts, refusing to go anywhere. Old institutions return, such as the Citizens Theatre, returning after a seven-year closure, to bring world-class theatre back to the Gorbals. And even the CCA has faced closures before, and has come back fighting and proving itself to be a venue of local talent. Glasgow is a city that thrives on culture, music and theatre, as Scotland continues to churn out new, original art, no matter the adversities. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and the people of Glasgow certainly have the will. The will and means to do so comes from funding.
