Eden Court Theatre, is the Highland’s largest cultural centre.
Liberal Democrat candidate for Inverness and Nairn Neil Alexander accused Creative Scotland of city “bias” as Highlands falls behind in funding.
He said the north deserves better on the back of new analysis showing cultural organisations in the biggest cities received over three times as much in per head spending than those in the Highlands.
Creative Scotland funds the country’s creative industries with cash from the Scottish Government and the National Lottery and has now announced the awards from their multi-year funding programme from April 2025 to March 2028.
A Scottish Liberal Democrat analysis of these awards has uncovered that Edinburgh received three times more funding per head (£149.54) than the Highlands (£43.54).
Glasgow (£94.47) and Dundee (£95.11) received double in per head funding than arts organisations and initiatives in the Highlands.
Scottish Liberal Democrat culture spokesperson Mr Alexander said: “There is so much creativity in our Highland communities, but I am worried it’s getting left untapped on the SNP’s watch.
“We should be nurturing talent and skills in every corner of the country to secure a thriving cultural heritage for years to come.
“That’s also how we can support employment and other economic opportunities for the Highlands. We simply can’t afford to let those chances pass us by.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats are committed to delivering change with fairness at its heart, and you can vote for that in May by backing us on your ballot paper.”
A Creative Scotland spokesperson responded saying: “The impact and reach of the work Creative Scotland supports with funding from The National Lottery and Scottish Government extends across all parts of Scotland.
“Our Multi-Year Funding programme is delivering a record budget from the Scottish Government to more organisations across Scotland than ever before.
“In the Highlands, five organisations received Multi-Year Funding for the first time, taking the total to thirteen, all of whom received significant uplifts in their funding.
“This is in addition to the hundreds of projects we support in the Highlands through our Open and Targeted Funds.
“We work in partnership with local authorities, trusts, networks, film offices and others to embed creativity and culture within communities, advocating for sustained development and support for artists across all of our work.”
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