Scotland sees increase in Private Sector Investment in the Arts
Howard Lake | 30 January 2008 | News
There is more money reaching the arts in Scotland from the private sector than ever before, according to figures out today (January 30th 2007), released by Arts & Business. In the period 2006/07, the total amount of private support for the arts in Scotland grew by 49.7% to £42,438,078 million from the previous survey covering 2005/06. Investment from individuals is up 109.7% to £22.5m, the corporate sector up 9.8% to £11.3m and Trusts and Foundations is up 17.5% to £8.5m.
Barclay Price, Director of Arts & Business Scotland, said: “This welcome rise in business sponsorship reflects business recognition of the positive commercial benefits that stem from an engagement with the arts, and a desire to link to the world-class art being produced within Scotland. That contributions from individuals have risen so dramatically is further evidence of the outstanding quality of our cultural offer.”
Minister for Culture Linda Fabiani said: “I believe strongly in the mutual benefits that come from corporate sponsorship of the arts – involving businesses small, medium and large – and these figures are very welcome. The Scottish Government’s programme of incentive grants to encourage new business sponsors has clearly been successful. It is also tremendous to see such a large increase in the area of individual giving which shows that Scotland’s proud tradition of philanthropy is alive and well.”
In spite of positive figures the Chief Executive of Arts & Business, Colin Tweedy offers a note of caution: “Yes, the marketplace is buoyant, but there are clouds on the horizon. If there is financial turbulence ahead, the arts are amongst the first expenditure businesses looks to cut. Arts & Business needs to make sure that in a downturn companies no longer rein in spending on the arts. We must keep spelling out the returns companies make on their investments: be they improved business performance or transformations of public opinion. We also need to ensure that Arts & Business is able to continue to inspire and drive the private sector to invest in the arts and build on this growth.”
William Gray Muir, Director of Sundial Properties, said: “The Scottish Government match funding that we received from Arts and Business for our sponsorship of the “Picasso on Paper” exhibition at the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh was essential to our original decision to invest in the arts. The investment was handsomely repaid by both tangible and intangible benefits from our association with one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. I’d urge any business to consider arts sponsorship as a cost effective means of communicating a wide range of messages to customers and employees. I’d also add that our involvement was above all great fun.”
Jade Hewat, Festival Manager of Celtic Connections, said: “The incredible success of Celtic Connections this year, and its growth in previous years, could not have been achieved without investment from the private sector. Having sponsors commit to several years of funding gives us a certain level of security that enables us to expand our artistic provision and showcase up-and-coming artists, ensuring that Celtic Connections remains at the forefront of promoting folk and roots music on an international platform.”
The Arts & Business report, which draws on data from over 4,676 arts organisations, has earned a reputation as an indicator of the health of the UK’s arts ecology. It also illustrates swings between art form and the regional picture throughout the UK.
Other Key Findings include:
1. The average overall private income in the UK is £128,000.
2. Only 10% of arts organisations show private investment representing more than 50% of their income.
3. 78% of arts organisations received private investment (the same figure as in 2005/06), of those who did not receive any private investment, 73% (up from 65% in 2005/06) did not ask for any.
4 1.4% receive over £1m in private investment in 2006/07 (67 organisations of which 40 are in London. Out of the top 50 recipients 29 are in London.)
The A&B Private Investment in the Arts report reveals London remains the epicentre of the growth. London now accounts for 64% of all private investment. The regional picture is positive with the West Midlands (61%), Scotland (49.7%) and North West (48.1%) seeing particularly strong growth.
By art form, theatre (up to £68 million), museums (up to £86 million) and festivals (up to £25 million) saw the biggest increases, though dance (down to under £8 million), opera (down to £13 million) and libraries (down to £3 million) all fell. Visual arts, music and literature all saw slight decreases.
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For images and spokespeople please contact Ciara Kenealy at Arts & Business 0131 2202499 or e-mail ci***********@aa***.uk
Notes to Editors:
· Barclay Price, Director of Arts & Business Scotland is available for interview.
· Case studies are available on request.
· The Arts & Business Private Investment in the Arts report is the only survey in the world to annually produce these figures and report on both business investment and individual giving together. A&B will be producing a full report in February 2008 and will analyse business trends in October 2008.
· In 1976, the year Arts & Business was founded, business investment in the arts was £0.6m.
· All percentage figures are above inflation. A&B has used consumer price index from the Office of National Statistics April 2007 of 3.1%
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.