Open letter to Scottish Culture Secretary, Fiona Hyslop

The arts are incredibly important to the underprivileged and those with mental health issues as well as the average person on the street who rarely smiles or is touched these fays

Problems with government funding of the arts have rumbled on for as long as I remember. How about transitioning to funding proper creative practice education from primary 1 to final year high school; making citizens that will spend on the arts as well as make them. Lets slowly cut the funding to the high arts, since those that mostly partake are from the higher income brackets and can pay for their pleasures!

The jazz sector has problems which require better focused funding than Creative Scotland has provided.

Creative Scotland have not responded to the challenges and opportunities needed to make all art forms on Scotland flourish and compete in a global marketplace

A strong investment in Youth Arts projects encourages a rich an diverse creative future for the arts.

Having run a community music venue for nearly 10 years now, I feel that there is a definite need for an improved strategic approach to supporting artists to enable them to flourish and to do this their voices need to be heard

We need a better way to fund the arts which creates a stable funding arrangement for creators and producers, while maintaining the quality of the output.

Lecturer in HE. Fine Art/Art & Design.

I wholey endorse the sentiments expressed in this letter

Transparency thank you

Community band tutor.

Time for some transparency in the decision making

Signed in support of the points raised in this petition and due concern for a lack of transparency and urgency to uphold the creative impact upon social good that the arts contributes to effectively in our society, across economy and community raising aspiration and empowerment of the many people and cultures it inspires.

Please respect out artists and our art we have built it up over so many years

I want to see change in the ways the arts is funded, and how public money should be regulated. Also, arts organisations need to recognise the importance of modest salaries and fair pay

Currently there is no support for the Black and Minority Sector across all form of arts and festivals.

There is an urgent need for Creative Scotland to set up a fair and efficient system for encouraging the Arts in Scotland. There is far too much money wasted at the moment by lack of imagination and pragmatism.

Voluntary Youth Theatre sector

Scottish Youth Theatre should be considered a badge of honour for the arts in Scotland - not a dispensable 'start-up'...

The arts is always an easy target when cuts have to be made, but the arts (all kinds) are vital in giving young people focus and helping them to develop skills which will be valuable in the wider world.