£1 Million Award From Scottish Investment Fund
Monday 15, February 2010
The Scottish Investment Fund is investing £1 million – the highest amount they can award – to help Wasps Artists' Studios grow across Scotland!
SIF is a £30 million investment pot provided by the Scottish Government to build capacity, capability and financial sustainability in the Third Sector.
Their £1 million award – a mixture of strategic investment, loan and risk capital – will help us to expand Wasps’ studio network across Scotland in the next 3 years, supporting hundreds more artists while becoming a 100% self-financing charity in the process.
Growth
We are planning to develop 6 more buildings across Scotland, creating 140 more studios, supporting 150+ more artists and doubling in size by 2012/13.
We have identified a number of target areas for development including: Glasgow; Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway; Dundee; Stirling; Highlands and Islands (with a preference for Inverness); and Irvine. These areas are demand hot spots and also represent gaps in our network.
SIF’s award will help us to create new buildings in 3 of these locations including: a £3.5 million project to transform a four storey building in Glasgow’s Merchant City into a ‘Cultural and Creative Industries Hub’; upgrading one of our existing buildings in Dundee and adding an entire new floor of studios; and developing studios in Stirling - though plans there are still at an early stage.
Expanding our remit
Through a number of our new projects, we will extend our service to providing workspace for other artforms such as dance, circus and theatre as well as the commercial creative industries sector. This step change will allow us to be financially sustainable and continue to keep rents low for artists.
The benefits
Through this growth, by 2012/13 we will support an estimated:
• 940 visual artists and makers
• 26 arts charities and social enterprises
• 34 creative industries companies
• 799 jobs
We will own 12 of our 21 buildings and the percentage of income from non-public sources will rise from 88% to 98%.
Alastair Davis, Investment Director from Social Investment Scotland commented "we are delighted to be providing this level of finance through the Scottish Investment Fund. The Fund is all about creating a "step change" and this investment to assist Wasps with the next stage of their strategic growth, we are confident, will ensure this change will be delivered."
David Cook, Wasps’ Chief Executive, said “We are absolutely thrilled with this award. It will make a huge difference to the sustainability of our organisation. Ultimately, this will allow us to continue supporting more artists across Scotland, which is at the heart of everything we do.”
.jpg)
RSS