Stirling secures £176,175 to embed artists at the heart of local communities
Scene Stirling Culture Collective will create nine artist roles, placing professional artists alongside community and creative organisations across the city and region, co-creating participatory arts experiences rooted in the places and people they serve.
Silvia Sinibaldi and Joanne Boyle installing the umbrella installation at the Tolbooth Gallery, Stirling. Exhibition open until 28 March 2026
Photo credit: Julie Howden Photography
Artlink Central, on behalf of the Scene Stirling Place Partnership, is delighted to announce that Scene Stirling has been awarded £176,175 through Creative Scotland’s Culture Collective programme. The funding will support an 18-month programme of participatory arts activity embedded within community life across Stirling city and the wider region.
At the heart of Culture Collective is a simple but powerful idea: that professional artists, given time and genuine relationships with communities, can create something that neither could achieve alone. Over 18 months, artists embedded within each host organisation will work alongside local people to co-create participatory arts experiences that are shaped by those communities — building creative skills, deepening connections, and leaving something lasting behind.
Kevin Harrison, Director of Artlink Central, said:
“This is a landmark moment for Stirling’s cultural communities. Scene Stirling has never had a Culture Collective before, and this funding fills a real gap — bringing professional creative practice directly into the organisations and communities where it can make the most difference. We’re enormously grateful to Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government, and to our remarkable host partners whose commitment made this possible.”
Cllr Gerry McLaughlin, Finance, Economy and Culture Convener, Stirling Council said:
“This is excellent news for the organisations across Stirling who help to empower artists and creatives within our communities to thrive and support art and culture. The work carried out by the Scene Stirling Partnership is incredibly valuable to promoting cultural life in and around Stirling which has been duly recognised here. I’m also pleased to see that Tolbooth Stirling will benefit from this funding support as one of our key venues which helps to offer a platform for artists, through its excellent exhibition space and youth music initiatives.”
“At the heart of the Culture Collective programme is a belief in the power of communities to imagine and create their own cultural futures. Scene Stirling, led by Artlink Central, has developed an ambitious, place focused programme that puts artists and residents at the heart of shaping that future. This funding will create valuable opportunities for artists to work meaningfully with communities, while offering Stirling residents enriching, hands‑on cultural experiences. It’s a project with real promise to strengthen local identity, support regeneration and build lasting creative momentum.”
Karen Dick, Head of Place, Partnerships & Communities, Creative Scotland
HOST PARTNER RESPONSE
Host partners across the programme welcomed the announcement:
Co-designing dementia inclusive public art at the University of Stirling Art Collection
“We are delighted to have received funding as part of the Stirling Culture Collective. This 18-month project will embed creative practice across the University and engage the local community with our Collections. It will facilitate collaborative working across Stirling’s cultural partners and will strengthen the links between the cultural offer of Stirling and the University.”
Sarah Bromage, Head of University Collections, University of Stirling
Janie Meikle Bland, Creative Director of Stirling Photography Festival, on a community photography walk in Doune
Photo credit: Zephyra Durkin
“I’m so thrilled that we at the Stirling Photography Festival are partners in Stirling’s new Culture Collective! Established in 2018 to engage young people in our community, the Festival has grown to be a nationally recognised annual event with an international following. As an inclusive volunteer-led festival we offer real and exciting development opportunities for emerging artists, helping build professional networks and to seed wonderful, long-term collaborations. We’re excited to be part of the Culture Collective and look forward to working together to increase opportunities across our community for creativity and learning and to promote the wider enjoyment of the arts.”
Janie Meikle Bland, Creative Director, Stirling Photography Festival
ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
The programme is designed around the principle that communities should shape the creative activity — not the other way around. Artists will work alongside host organisations over an extended period, developing genuine understanding of the people and places they are working with, and building relationships that outlive the funded period.
A strong commitment to access and inclusion runs throughout: budgets are allocated to support childcare, care provision, disability adjustments and Gaelic language inclusion, ensuring that barriers to participation are actively removed.
The programme directly responds to Stirling’s Cultural Strategy 2024–2028 and contributes to the developing Cultural Backpack initiative. Stirling Council has been a central partner in the development of the programme — contributing to the shaping of the bid and bringing longstanding investment in the cultural life of the city and region. Notably, none of the host organisations currently receive regular Creative Scotland or multi-year arts funding — underlining the programme’s commitment to reaching the places and people that need investment most.
Host partner organisations include:
Evie Waddell, musician, performing at the Cornton Street Party, Remembering Together Stirling
Photo credit: Anne Sproul
– Callander Community Development Trust
– Fèis Fhoirt
– GOSSIP Collective
– Stirling Photography Festival
– Stirling Pride (in partnership with Black History Month Forth Valley)
– Tolbooth Stirling
– Transition Stirling / Good Green Futures
– University of Stirling Art Collection
The programme will be coordinated by a lead artist based at Artlink Central, supporting all host partners throughout the activity period running from April 2026 to September 2027.
For further information about the Creative Scotland Culture Collective programme, see: Creative Scotland Culture Collective.
