Aberdeen’s cultural sector has warned that it will be left devastated if the City Council adopts proposals for unprecedented cuts to its funding of cultural organisations and community initiatives.
When it meets on Wednesday 1 March, the Council will be considering options for budgetary savings which include the removal of the entire culture budget, the removal of the school music service, cuts to the library service, and the stopping of the Fairer Aberdeen fund.
If adopted in the budget for 2023/24, these proposals would mean:
- Loss of core funding support to city cultural organisations including Aberdeen Arts Centre, Citymoves Dance Agency, Jazz Scotland, Peacock Visual Arts, and Sound.
- Removal of funding for popular city festivals including Aberdeen Jazz Festival, DanceLive, Granite Noir, Sound, Spectra, and True North.
- The loss or severe reduction in music service in schools removing thousands of opportunities for children to learn musical instruments.
- The removal of funding for Big Noise Torry.
- The reduction in funding to libraries.
- The reduction in funding to Station House Media Unit and the removal of funding for the majority of community projects in the city which support under-privileged individuals, groups and families in the city.
Nuno Sacromento, Director of Peacock Visual Arts and Culture Aberdeen Executive member, said: “These cuts will hurt the artists and staff we employ, as well as the communities and audiences we serve. With the city centre in its current state, it cannot afford to lose any of its established international arts organisations such as Peacock, or any of the festivals that bring life to our streets. We have a vibrant cultural sector in Aberdeen, who collaborate tirelessly to make the city a better place. Cuts to any part of this ecology will have devastating effects on the whole and its impacts will be felt for years to come.”
Fiona Robertson, Director of Sound, said: "Learning a musical instrument and experiencing music at an early age has been proven to make transformational impacts on the lives of young people. Cuts to the music service, Big Noise Torry and other organisations that deliver music participatory activities for young people will mean that hundreds of children in our city will be deprived of this opportunity. Group music-making has huge benefits to young people’s well-being as has been emphasised to us by parents, and is something that should be prioritised, not cut, post-covid. Similarly, libraries are a crucial community resource that brings people together and cuts to the library services, the Fairer Aberdeen Fund and countless community projects also under consideration, would be hugely damaging to future generations and to the most vulnerable in our city.”
The cultural sector brings in between £5 and £12 for each pound invested by Aberdeen City Council, in excess of £6million each year. It employs around 5% of the city’s permanent workforce as well as significant temporary and seasonal employment, and the increased GVA which comes with that. Recent festivals such as Spectra and Granite Noir, have demonstrated the huge positive impact that cultural activity can have on footfall in the city and is critical in helping our business, hospitality, leisure and retails sectors to thrive.
Culture Aberdeen and our partners urge Aberdeen City Council elected members to reject all of these proposals and save culture and communities in Aberdeen.