The Scottish Arts Council (SAC) announced that it will increase the overall amount invested in dance, literature and the visual arts in Scotland by 21 per cent or £7.7m from April 2007.

£1m will be invested to create opportunities for under-represented groups in the arts, including the development of organisations working in cultural diversity to act as leaders to provide support to smaller organisations.

An additional £500,000 will also be available for awards, bursaries and fellowships to both organisations and individuals.

Investment in arts organisations for disabled people will include support for traineeships for disabled people to develop a career in the arts and to create a disability arts touring fund to encourage country-wide presentations.

£1.4m will be spent on improving arts organisations’ ability to increase the numbers and widen the range of people attending and participating in the arts.

This includes efforts to encourage an audience development ‘philosophy’ to encourage arts organisations to better balance the motivations of their audiences with the needs of the artists.

£4.7m will be directed at 47 key arts organisations to ensure long-term sustainability.

The SAC will sustain the arts for Scotland by investing more than £74m a year from 2007. Details: www.scottisharts.org.uk