Scottish Budget: £11.6m to protect Scotland's national art collection
January 13, 2026 | In the PressFrom The Scotsman (https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/scottish-budget-ps116m-to-protect-scotlands-national-art-collection-5473931)
Plans for a national hub to store, conserve and share Scotland’s national art collection have been given a £11.65 million boost by the Scottish Government as part of this year’s Budget.
The funding, which will see the creation of a building operated by the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh's Granton district, came as the government also announced an extra £2.5m for the city’s King's Theatre redevelopment project, closing a funding gap months ahead of its reopening.
The Art Works venture, which has been in planning and development for nearly a decade, will transform a site around the size of two playing fields into a combined archive, conservation centre, research facility and visitor attraction. The Scottish Government has previously committed £9m to the project.
Finance minister Shona Robison also confirmed a previously-announced commitment of £20 million for Creative Scotland to allocate multi-year funding to Scotland’s arts organisations.
This includes an additional £800,000 for Screen Scotland, which the government said took its funding to £12 million, to “support its distinct operations that have helped successfully bolster the cultural and economic impact of screen production in Scotland”.
However, Scotland’s five national performing companies, which include Scottish Ballet and the RSNO, will not see any increase in funding this year, with additional support set to be considered “in future years”.
The companies have recently warned that without an increase in government support, they will be unable to continue to operate at the same level.
Joseph Peach, co-director of arts network Culture Counts, said: “We welcome the uplift of planned expenditure on culture. However, urgent gaps remain, especially for the National Performing Companies, individual artists, and grassroots organisations.
He added: "This is not about safeguarding the status quo, it is about enabling the sector to thrive and contribute meaningfully to Scotland’s prosperity, acting as a key driver of Scotland’s economy, society and global reputation. While today’s uplift is welcome, the funding will support greater impact when supported by a statutory framework.”
In the full Budget document published today, the government said: “In the coming year we are protecting the budgets of our National Performing Companies, with a view to providing additional support in future years as part of the cultural funding uplift to the additional £100 million by 2028-29.”
Addressing the Scottish Parliament, Ms Robison said: “This is a budget that delivers record funding to support Scotland's creative and culture sector. As promised, a £20 million increase in the culture budget this year, as it is through our songs and our stories that we best express ourselves and best understand ourselves and our place in the world in these times of uncertainty.
“In these times when there are so many pressures on family budgets, we can find some solace, maybe even some much needed escape, in art and dance and laughter and music and in the shared experience that's a concert or a festival.
She added: “Scotland is richer because of our world famous culture, and this government stands full square behind our fantastic creative sector.”
The government reiterated its commitment to increase arts and culture spending to a planned annual £100 million by 2028-29. It said this year’s £20m boost takes the funding available to £74 million in 2026-27.
Creative Scotland chief executive, Iain Munro, said: “Today’s budget announcement by the Scottish Government is very welcome, building further on the significant uplift in funding for Culture announced last year. The increased settlement for Creative Scotland takes our Grant-in-Aid budget above £100m for the first time.
Capital Theatres chief executive Fiona Gibson said at the time that the organisation was “looking at all avenues”, including asking the Scottish Government, to plug the gap.
The King's closed in the summer of 2022. However, weeks before work was meant to get under way, it was announced that rising construction industry costs had created a funding gap. Work finally began in 2023 after the Scottish Government and Edinburgh City Council provided an additional £6.85m, with the UK government later approving a further £2m.
The theatre is due to reopen in the summer.
Ms Gibson said: “This funding from the Scottish Government comes at a hugely significant moment for the King’s Theatre and for everyone who has worked so hard to bring this project to life.
“We are incredibly grateful for their support, and for the backing of the many people who have believed in this project, contributed and championed it every step of the way. The King’s holds a special place in the hearts of Edinburgh audiences, and being able to bring it back to life feels truly special.”
Anne Lyden, director-general at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: "We’re so happy to receive anchor capital funding from Scottish Government for The Art Works, our project to build a new, free-to-visit experience in Granton, North Edinburgh.
“The Art Works will be a state-of-the-art home for Scotland’s national art collection. It will not only open up access to art in Edinburgh, but across Scotland and the UK through an increased loans and touring programme.”
The government also said it would “prioritise innovation and sustainability” through a second year of its Museum Futures Programme, and empower communities through its flagship community-led arts programmes, Culture Collective and Creative Communities.
The Youth Music Initiative has also seen increased investment of up to £225,000, Sistema Scotland of up to £100,000 and the V&A Dundee of up to £200,000.
Culture secretary Angus Robertson said: “The Art Works development in Granton will also receive capital investment of £11.65 to realise that vision of a shared storage facility which also enables public access to our national art treasures at the heart of a wider regeneration initiative for the Granton area. We are also providing an additional £1.25 million to the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh for its redevelopment, taking the total investment for 2025-2026 and 2026-27 to £2.5m.
“This additional investment in culture, despite the increasingly restrictive budgetary context, signals our confidence in the culture sector in Scotland.”
“This will enable us to support the 263 organisations in the Multi-Year Funding programme as planned, while also enabling other parts of our budget, not least funding from The National Lottery, to support artists, other programmes and opportunities.”
He added: “This budget represents a significant vote of confidence from the Scottish Government in both Creative Scotland and the culture and creative sector.”
In November, Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre warned it was facing a £2.5m funding gap amid rising costs it comes to the end of its lengthy renovation.
