Scots Language creatives given boost of funding

Fifteen Scots language projects have received funding which will allow events to take place in many dialects of Scots across the country, showcasing a diversity of creative practices.

Photos of the grants of wee grants recipients. Top row from left to right: A bald white man in black t-shirt, this is Seán Gray. A woman with short brown hair wearing a teal and green scarf, this is Kate Wilson. A black and white image of a man in a dark chequered shirt playing a guitar, this is Dorian Cloudsley. A woman in a bright blue jumper sitting on a pile of colourful fishing nets. Bottom row from left to right - A man in jeans and a jacket sitting on a stone in the middle of a green field with sheep grazing in the background, this is Jim Mackintosh. A woman with shoulder-length brown hair holding a violin and a man with very short brown hair holding a guitar, this is Claire White and Robbie Leask. A man in a cosy blue puffer coat with white hair and a woman in a green waterproof jacket with shoulder length red hair, this is Billy Kay and Robyn Stapleton. A woman with short brown hair in forest, gazing up at the sky, this is Beth Malcolm.

Some of the recipients of the grants, images courtesy of the artists and Hands Up for Trad, except for Beth Malcom (image by Magnus Graham).

The fund, called Wee Grants For Creativity in the Scots Leid, had more than a hundred applications and distributed £10,000 to grassroots Scots Language projects. The fund is supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland. 

Applications were judged on the ability of the project to meet an audience with quality work in any dialect of Scots. Applicants from across Scotland submitted proposals, and projects from Shetland to Sanquhar have been funded.  

Care homes, theatres, shopping-centres and community halls will all host performances, as well as a number of digital platforms. 

Full list of recipients, from north to south: 

  • From Shetland, Claire White an Robbie Leask have been funded for Da She in Shetland, a multi-media concert planned for the Scottish International Storytelling Festival in October 2025 which will bring Shetland stories and voices to national and international audiences in Edinburgh. 
  • In the Black Isle, a funded project called Auchies Spikkin' Auchie will produce a live music performance in the village, drawing upon recordings of Scots-speaking older members of the Avoch dialect community. 
  • In the Highlands, Eden Court Theatre have been supported to continue their bilingual writing competition Scrìobh | Scrieve which sees Scots creatives engage with the Kist o Riches archive to create new material. 
  • One of a number of Doric projects funded in the North East is Wyvin Wyes, produced by Kate Wilson. The project will visit craft groups, recording Doric voices as spoken in communities today, and also samples of what the groups are making. 
  • Another is Doric ABC, or Activity, Blethers, Community singing in Doric sessions in three Care Homes in Aberdeen. Jackie Ross of Doric Books will lead these events, engaging Doric speakers in creativity and conversation in their dialect. 
  • In Huntly, Lucy Beth will bring a double-bill of live Scots language theatrical performances to the new creative space in the town, Number 30. 
  • In Perthshire, celebrated poet Jim C. Mackintosh will produce a podcast in Scots sharing some of the finest stories, songs and poems from the places Jim knows well. The podcasts will be released in collaboration with Scots Radio. 
  • In Dundee two projects were funded. Successful Scots Language performance night Blether has been funded for the second year in a row, which will allow organisers Elfie Picket Theatre to continue these popular events.
  • Also funded is the Dundee-based project of Erin Farley and Lynne Campbell. FEIRT will be a 50 minute performance highlighting the horror that lies in the heart of the Scottish landscape, our traditions and history through stories and song. It will centre the Scots language as a key element that helps us explore our relationship with the eldritch and eerie. 
  • Fife-based writer and broadcaster Billy Kay has been funded to work with Galloway singer Robyn Stapleton to tour a Scots song and story event to book festivals around the country in 2025. 
  • In North-Lanarkshire a Scots language literary festival cawed Gie It Laldy! will be established thanks to these funds, hosted by and in North Lanarkshire Libraries, a big boost for Scots creatives and audiences in the region. 
  • Edinburgh’s Sick Children’s Hospital will host The Roarie Bumlers, a music song and dance project in Scots for children in the hospital. 
  • Scots Singer of the Year Beth Malcolm will work with musician Dorian Cloudsley to record and release a new Scots work exploring the legacy of Charles Darwin in Edinburgh. 
  • Ayrshire singer/songwriter Seán Gray has been funded to create work putting the Scots poetry of Alex Barrowman and John Hassett to music and turning them into songs, before performing them to audiences. 
  • A the Airts in Sanquhar and Cabin in Kirkconnel will host Kris Haddow’s funded project, a creative satirical show called Haud The Bus, a Nicht o Satire in Scots based on his columns in the local paper. 

Simon Thoumire, Creative Director from Hands up For Trad added, “The fund opened for the first time last year, and it was amazing to see how many great applications we got in from all across Scotland. We managed to fund twenty projects, all of which brought great new work in Scots to audiences in all parts of the country. We are glad to support the current generations of superb Scots talent, as well as encouraging younger Scottish creatives to engage with the language. I can’t wait to see what emerges from the next round of funded projects!” 

Catriona Hawksworth, Traditional Arts Officer at Creative Scotland said: "It’s a joy tae see sic a muckle interest in Scots leid creativity. The range o projects funded shows the strength, smeddum, an variety o Scots speakers the day. We’re proud tae support the artists an communities in bringing their leid tae life, giein fowk the chance tae hear, see, an enjoy Scots in mony different weys."

Background

The fund, provided by Creative Scotland and administered by Hands Up For Trad, offered grants of £700 to creatives producing work for audiences using the Scots Language. 

Scots is spoken by over 1.5 million people in Scotland, principally in the lowlands and northern isles. 

In many communities, such as Buckie in Moray, the Borders, Clackmannanshire, and across the North-East and Northern Islands the majority of inhabitants can speak Scots.

Scots has been the language used by government, kings and courts in Scotland, as well as by poets and playwrights like Rabbie Burns and Rona Munro. 

The earliest Scots creative work that still survives is a long poem written in Aberdeen called The Brus, which was first published in 1375. 

In the latter half of the 20th century, Scots began to be seen as vulgar, or common, and has been denigrated as ‘slang’ or ‘ned speak’, or even seen as a collection of local dialect words, instead of the joined-up national language that it is. 

A rediscovery of cultural confidence in the last decades has seen a marked increase in the quality and quantity of creative projects appearing in the many dialects of the Scots Language, from community-led grassroots events to National Theatre productions during the Edinburgh International Festival. 

Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery, which, now in its 30th year, has supported over 14,600 projects with more than £501.9 million in funding through Creative Scotland and its predecessor, the Scottish Arts Council. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot.