The Saltire Society Trust will focus on supporting innovation and creativity in Scottish culture
A new trust created to support Scottish arts, heritage and culture has been launched with plans to raise up to £5 million of funding by 2016.
The Saltire Society Trust was launched last Saturday by the, Saltire Society, an independent non-political charity established in 1936.
Thanks to the amalgamation of existing Saltire Society funds, the Robert Hurd Memorial Fund and Arts Trust Scotland, the trust already has assets totalling more than £2 million.
The target date for increasing this sum to £5 million has been set to coincide with the society’s 80th birthday in two years’ time
An early focus for the new trust will be to secure sufficient funds to allow the launch of two brand new programmes aimed at supporting innovation and creativity in Scottish culture.
The Saltire Fellowships scheme will enable exceptional individuals to devote their energies fully to their art or craft by appointing them a Saltire Fellow and providing them with financial support to continue their work.
The Saltire Enlighten programme aims to encourage innovation and risk-taking amongst the next generation of Scottish artists, engineers, writers, architects and academics by offering bursaries to support their work and to encourage cultural activities in an international context.
Commenting on the launch of the Saltire Society Trust, executive director of the Saltire Society Jim Tough said: “2014 has been a wonderful year for Scotland and a magnificent one for the Saltire Society. We want to be able to continue to recognise and celebrate all that is excellent in Scottish culture and the Saltire Society Trust will enable us to do just that.”
The convener of the new trust, Magnus Linklater CBE added: “How we, as a nation, recognise and nurture those who inform, challenge and inspire us through their creativity is a measure of our civilisation. The establishment of the Trust is an opportunity to give those individuals the recognition and encouragement they deserve – and to help ensure that Scottish culture in all of its many and varied forms continues to flourish for many years to come.”
