16.03.2026
CULTURAL organisations in Inverclyde have secured a £300,000 boost to explore health and climate issues through creative practice, encouraging increased participation in the arts.
The Inverclyde Culture Collective, a partnership of several local groups led by Inverclyde Council, has been awarded the funding from national body Creative Scotland.
Partners will use the additional money to explore themes focused on creative health and the impact of the climate crisis.
This project will create paid work opportunities in the creative sector, delivering artist-led activity to engage communities and encourage participation in the arts across Inverclyde.
Activity will be delivered across multiple art forms, including visual arts, performance arts, and literary arts.
Inverclyde Cultural Collective is made up of Inverclyde Council, Beacon Arts Centre, RIG Arts, The Wyllieum, Creative Recovery Inverclyde, Theatre School of Scotland, and CVS Inverclyde.
There will be opportunities for other groups to get involved as the project develops.
Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council, said:
“We have a vibrant cultural sector that does an excellent job providing opportunities for people in our community to access the arts and reap the benefits that participation in the arts offers and this funding is acknowledgment of that.
“The success of the Inverclyde Culture Collective is reflective of the strength of the cultural sector in Inverclyde and this additional funding will allow groups to build on the great work done to date and bring our communities even closer to the arts.”
Creative Scotland launched Culture Collective funding in 2020 and the programme began as a COVID-19 response. Culture Collective now continues to address wider challenges such as the cost-of-living crisis, climate change, and social inequality.
The funding creates paid opportunities for artists to deliver participatory arts projects across Scotland.
In 2020 Inverclyde Council led a successful bid to establish the only local authority-led Culture Collective in Scotland. This latest round of funding will allow Inverclyde Culture Collective to build on the success of past projects, delivering new and innovative arts activity across Inverclyde.
Karen Dick, Head of Place, Partnerships and Communities at Creative Scotland said:
“Thanks to a significant budget commitment from the Scottish Government, Culture Collective is able to build on its successful pilot programme and support more creative and cultural sustainability both locally and nationally.
“The Culture Collective programme puts the artists, organisations and creative practitioners at the heart of their community, supporting them to work with local people to shape cultural activity that reflects their needs and aspirations.
“Through employment opportunities, arts participation and collective community expression, these projects help strengthen community connections and enhance people’s lives.”
More information about the funding announcement can be found on the Creative Scotland website at Over £5 million in Scottish Government funding to strengthen creative community development across Scotland | Creative Scotland.
