Community-based arts organisations have welcomed a major step towards a more inclusive cultural landscape in Edinburgh

Following sustained collective advocacy, the City of Edinburgh Council has backed increased investment for regularly funded cultural organisations and, importantly, opened up new Visitor Levy funding to professional community-based cultural organisations for the first time.

This is an important step forward.

At WHALE Arts, we see every day how creativity and culture strengthen communities, improve wellbeing and create opportunities for people to participate, contribute and belong. But community-based culture is about more than reach or participation. Ambitious, professional and high-quality artistic work is being created in communities across Edinburgh — and it deserves recognition and investment in its own right.

Through the Creative Community Hubs Network, WHALE Arts has joined colleagues at North Edinburgh Arts and Lyra in making the case for investment that recognises Edinburgh’s whole cultural ecosystem — from major institutions and festivals to the organisations rooted in local communities.

Currently, only around 6% of the Council’s regular cultural funding goes to community-based cultural organisations. This decision creates an opportunity to begin changing that.

Investing in Edinburgh’s whole cultural ecosystem

“We are delighted to see the Council recognise the importance of investing in Edinburgh’s cultural ecosystem and open up opportunities to creative organisations across the city. We see every day the difference creativity and culture make to people’s lives and communities.

Culture is at the heart of what makes Edinburgh — bringing people together, strengthening communities and creating opportunities for people across the city to participate, contribute and belong.”

Kate Griffin, CEO, WHALE Arts

“I am pleased the City of Edinburgh Councillors have listened to both the Festivals and Community Arts and Community organisations to increase investment in the arts in Edinburgh. I look forward to working with the Council and Festivals to ensure Community Arts and Culture organisations have a seat at the table when discussing Arts and Culture in Edinburgh.”

Lesley Hinds, Chair, North Edinburgh Arts

The decision follows sustained advocacy from the Creative Community Hubs Network, alongside Lyra, North Edinburgh Arts and WHALE Arts, including deputations to the City of Edinburgh Council.

“Today’s decision changes the conversation about how Edinburgh invests in culture. Councillors have recognised that organisations like Lyra, making professional art in communities, must have the opportunity to be funded in their own right. For the children and teenagers we work with, investment cannot keep being pushed into the future. Young people only get one childhood.”

Jo Timmins and James Preston, Co-CEOs, Lyra

“Today’s decision is the right outcome for culture in Edinburgh’s Festival City. A 25% uplift for existing Strategic Partners, alongside significant new funding open to grassroots organisations and initiatives, is an important step towards a thriving cultural ecosystem that reaches residents and visitors across the city.”

Morvern Cunningham and Eva McKenzie, co-leads of the Creative Community Hubs Network

Ensuring communities benefit

The Edinburgh Visitor Levy came into effect in July 2026, with a proportion of net proceeds allocated to culture, heritage and events. Opening this funding to professional community-based cultural organisations creates new opportunities for organisations that have historically been excluded from the Council’s regular cultural funding.

For WHALE Arts, this is about making sure the benefits of Edinburgh’s cultural investment are felt across the whole city. We look forward to continuing to work with partners across Edinburgh to ensure community arts and culture have a genuine voice in shaping the city’s cultural future.

We are excited to announce that WHALE Arts is one of eight organisations chosen to benefit from the Adapted Cultural and Creative Buildings Fund, a new National Lottery-funded pathway programme co-designed and managed by Creative Scotland and the Scottish Futures Trust. The programme supports cultural and creative organisations across Scotland to make practical improvements to their buildings and take action to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

This funding will enable us to install a rainwater harvesting system, capturing rainwater from the roof of our building and reusing it for flushing our toilets. This will decrease our mains water usage and make our building more sustainable and resilient.

It’s an important and practical step in our ongoing commitment to reducing our environmental impact. We are also delighted to be part of this project, bringing together organisations from across Scotland to learn from one another and take action.

Màiri McAllan MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic, said:

“As climate change brings more frequent extreme weather to Scotland, we are feeling the impacts of conditions such as floods, droughts, wildfires and accelerating coastal erosion. Adapting cultural buildings to these conditions is an important part of safeguarding Scotland’s heritage, economy and community wellbeing. This fund will help preserve vital spaces for creativity, culture and community – to ensure they are more resilient to our changing climate, and can thrive for generations to come.”

We are incredibly grateful to Creative Scotland and the Scottish Futures Trust for this support, and we’re looking forward to getting started on this project.