LOCAL CULTURE SCOTLAND
Creative Edinburgh is delighted to host the Local Culture Scotland report. Our Executive Director Ola Wojtkiewicz was a member of the team who led the development the Local Culture Scotland proposals.
What Is Local Culture Scotland?
This project was commissioned by the Scottish Government as part of their delivery of A Culture Strategy for Scotland (2020). It leads from an inquiry into ‘place-based approaches to culture in community settings’ by the Constitution, Europe External Affairs and Culture Committee in 2023 and their recommendation to further explore a national strategic approach for culture in community settings. ‘Local Culture Scotland: culture is infrastructure for place-based working’ was published and presented to the Scottish Government on 3rd September 2026.
The commission was delivered by a team of independent cultural practitioners with extensive experience in the field. Led by artist Matt Baker, team members were Ola Wojtkiewicz, Morvern Cunningham, and Simon Sharkey
The project team built on previous consultations with the cultural sector to shape an initial set of proposals which they then developed through detailed consultations with over 50 key stakeholders from the cultural sector and cross-sectoral agencies, organisations and funders also supporting work within communities.
The report presents a framework to position culture as a core piece of infrastructure to enable and support cross-sectoral place-based working in Scotland. The framework is called Local Culture Scotland and supports cultural activity created by, for and within communities. Local Culture Scotland is both a funding scheme and a strategic approach to delivery. As a fund, it guarantees full national coverage and places decision-making power in the hands of communities. In delivery, Local Culture Scotland brings together creative cross-sectoral collaborations in communities, supported and connected by a network of national coordination and learning.
Local Culture Scotland designed to help position culture within the mainstream of how Scotland thrives as a society, embedding culture’s proven impact for individuals and communities in health, learning, enterprise, community regeneration, belonging and innovation.
