Sam Heughan, who played Jamie Fraser in the hit TV series Outlander, joined new Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic, Màiri McAllan, to mark 40 years since the Association for British Sponsorship of the Arts (ABSA) established an office in Scotland, which today, as Culture & Business Scotland, continues to foster closer links and collaboration between arts, culture and heritage bodies, and Scotland’s business community.
The charity supports not-for-profit organisations in the culture sector through its events and membership programme, as well as its direct support for collaborative sponsorship, enabled via the Culture & Business Scotland Fund.
This unique investment programme enables culture organisations to diversify their funding mix, while also allowing businesses to benefit from supporting emerging talent, artistic expression and heritage projects across the country.
Since the first government grant in 2006, this model has helped to unlock an estimated £20m for culture in Scotland, enabling culture organisations to maximise the economic and social impact of their work.
The event celebrating Culture & Business Scotland’s 40th anniversary was held at the National Galleries of Scotland: National, with the gathering being the new culture secretary’s first formal engagement following her recent appointment which she described as a “homecoming”.
Marking this important milestone, Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic, Màiri McAllan MSP, said:
“I thank Culture & Business Scotland for facilitating this event and for their decades long commitment to arts, culture and business in Scotland. I was honoured to make my first speech as Culture Secretary at this event. It was a pleasure to meet so many people from across the creative industries, alongside business leaders who are helping to nurture Scotland’s vibrant creative ecosystem.
“The Scottish Government recognises the immense contribution of the culture sector. We are committed to delivering an additional £100 million annually for culture by 2028-29. However, we also know that government funding is only part of the picture – incentivising business investment and sponsorship also demonstratively plays a crucial role. I am determined to champion the sector within government and do everything in my power to maximise its potential – Culture & Business Scotland will be a key partner in that effort.”
Actor Sam Heughan, who also founded the Galloway Distillery, joined the celebration as the guest of honour. He said:
“As an actor and as a business owner, I’m fully aware of what can be achieved when entrepreneurs, industry leaders and artists work together. Whenever I speak to people around the world about Scotland, they always talk about our artistic output, our iconic exports and our growing reputation for innovation. These are the things which get us noticed on the global stage.
“Collaboration between culture and business benefits both sectors, and it was great to hear so much enthusiasm for this partnership in the room.”
Culture & Business Scotland described its 40th anniversary and the celebration at the National Galleries of Scotland: National as a springboard for the next chapter of its work.
Executive Director, David Nelson, said:
“It was truly inspiring to be in a room with such a diverse group of people from the arts, heritage, business, third sector, all united by a belief in the importance of close collaboration between culture and business.
“We were honoured to welcome the Cabinet Secretary to her first official engagement, and we are hugely grateful to the Scottish Government for its continued support for our unique investment model. It was also a real privilege to have Sam Heughan in the room, who shared some intimate reflections on the value of collaboration between culture and business.
“Culture & Business Scotland will continue to make connections between like-minded organisations while also growing our membership and service provision and exploring new areas of philanthropy and sponsorship which deliver maximum benefit for organisations across the culture and business sectors.”
