Help secure CatStrand's future
I’m now in my third year at CatStrand and it’s been quite the ride!
Battery Park performing at the CatStrand, 2023
Since arriving in September 2021 we’ve staged 284 events and we still have a full programme to look forward to. What a privilege it's been to stage such an amazing array of acts in our small rural venue. I can’t imagine a better place to see them in, and count my blessings that this is my job.
On paper, CatStrand shouldn’t work. The population of the villages of the Glenkens should not be able to support a thriving arts centre. That it does, therefore, is a special sort of magic. It is a genuine community and a very welcoming space for first-time visitors. I can't take any credit for this, it's been a huge amount of work by many people over the last 22 years, but I appreciate it all the time. The CatStrand is something hugely valuable and worth fighting for.
Since shaking off the impact of COVID, we have distilled our work into three distinct strands:
CatStrand Arts - Our amazing touring programme hosting visiting musicians, dancers and theatre.
Cultural Communities - A whole range of Glenkens-based cultural projects that we are very happy to support.
CatStrand Young Creatives - Our programme of hugely popular activities and support for young people.
Each of these strands is absolutely thriving - ticket sales are the highest we can find record of. However, despite this, there is currently a good deal of uncertainty about the future.
Until this year, the CatStrand Arts programme has relied on an annual application to Creative Scotland’s ‘Open Fund’, and has been successful each year for 16 years. Creative Scotland is very supportive of our work, but the annual model meant that there was always uncertainty about what budget we might have for the next year.
Creative Scotland is now looking to give more long-term security to organisations such as ourselves, first through a 2023-2025 ‘Extended Fund’, followed by a 2025 - 2028 ‘Multi Year Fund’. This is a welcome shift - however, the change comes at a time when there is a national constriction in arts funding. Those making funding decisions are clearly left trying to make the ‘least bad’ decisions under very difficult circumstances.
Our 2023 application to the Extended Fund awarded 50% of our request despite being ‘highly recommended for full funding’. There just wasn’t enough money to go around. This award has allowed the retention of my position and that of our part-time marketing officer, but with a considerably reduced marketing and programming budget. This means we are much less able to fund work directly and also makes meeting the core costs of keeping the CatStrand open much harder.
In April, we will submit our Stage 2 application for the Multi Year Fund, which will determine our funding situation from April 25- April 28. The total applications to this fund are expected to be double the funds available. The other applicants will doubtless be well-established and credible arts organisations who, like us, have a solid track record of delivery. So while we know Creative Scotland appreciates the value of our work, we cannot have any certainty about the outcome. If the outcome is not what we hope for, it is difficult to imagine how we will sustain an arts programme in quite the same way.
While it is a worrying time, we have plans in place and are working through them. But if you're reading this and wondering how you can help CatStrand Arts, here are some ways:
We have an online survey gathering evidence of how people value CatStrand Arts, to support our application. You can find it at www.GCAT.scot/Survey - as many responses as possible will help us a lot.
If you’ve benefited from any of CatStrand artistic work in any way and would like to let Creative Scotland know directly through a testimonial or Letter of Support, even just in a few words, please email me on peter@catstrand.com.
Become a Friend of CatStrand or consider leaving us a legacy. The new Friends scheme will be going live very soon and will be on www.GCAT.scot/support-us
If you’re so inclined you could even write to your MSP, outlining your concerns and requesting an increase in the overall funding for Creative Scotland’s Multi Year Fund – this would benefit arts across the region and indeed nationally.
We have every reason to hope for a positive outcome at the end of this process, but we do need to be reacting to the hard times that are out there for everyone at the moment, so your support is very much appreciated. I love this job and what CatStrand delivers for the communities of the Glenkens, and I look forward to it doing so for many years to come!
Peter Renwick, CatStrand Creative Director