£1million boost for Renfrewshire’s cultural sector thanks to council funding

Renfrewshire’s cultural sector has received a £1million cash boost as awards from Renfrewshire Council’s Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF) and newly formed Cultural Organisation Fund (COF) are confirmed. 

COF is a new multi-year funding programme that will support established Renfrewshire-based cultural organisations to deliver creative activities for residents, supporting long-term engagement with the arts, culture and heritage. 

The fund is also designed to contribute to organisations revenue costs, making it easier for them to plan and deliver sustained programmes of cultural activity. 

13 organisations will be benefiting from the funding over a three-year period, with an awarded spend of £690,000 from a total funding ask of £1,215,000. 

The organisations receiving funding from COF are Community Circus Paisley, Create Paisley, Erskine Arts, Fèis Phàislig, Loud n Proud, PACE Theatre Company, Paisley Opera, Refractive Scotland, Renfrewshire Disability Arts Forum, Sewing2gether All Nations, Sculpture House Collective, The Art Department, and The STAR Project. 

Shirley Alexandra, Director of Community Circus Paisley said: “We are incredibly grateful for the Council’s commitment to cultural funding through the new COF programme. Their support allows Community Circus Paisley to continue our 3-year Additional Support Needs programme, providing a safe, inclusive and joyful space for people with additional support needs to explore circus arts. 

“The impact reaches far beyond our organisation — strengthening community connections, supporting families, and ensuring that accessible creative opportunities are available to everyone in Renfrewshire.” 

27 organisations and artists are also benefiting from support through CHEF – first introduced in 2016 to support the development and delivery of cultural and heritage projects and events. 

Since 2016 over £1.6m of funding has been awarded through CHEF to support cultural activity across Renfrewshire, with this latest round seeing an awarded spend of £324,234 from a total funding ask of £384,834. 

The organisations and artists receiving funding from CHEF are Paisley International Tango Festival, Brick Lane Music Academy, Bungalow Enterprises, Casci Ritchie, Cycle Arts Renfrewshire, Erskine Arts, Fablevision, Fèis Phàislig, Johnstone Textile Space, Katy West, Lil Brookes, Linzi Clark, Live Music Now Scotland, Lochwinnoch Arts Festival, Loud n Proud, Paisley YMCA, Peter Gilchrist, Refractive Scotland, Renfrewshire Model Railway Club, Renfrewshire Tapestry Group, RIG Arts, Right2Dance, SAMA Events, Sewing2gether All Nations, Soundplay Projects, Stephen Clancy and The Art Department. 

Managing Director of Erskine Arts, Ali Whitty said: “The funding from CHEF has enabled Erskine Arts to deliver an exciting live events programme, bringing artists like Barbara Dickson, Sanjeev Kohli, Tom Stade and many more to Erskine. 

“This investment helps us attract more established acts, supports our long-term sustainability through box office income, and ensures our community can enjoy high-quality live culture right on their doorstep. We are very excited about what this fund will allow us to do over the next two years” 

Renfrewshire Council approved the £1million investment in cultural funding grants in 2025. To inform how the investment should be allocated an in-person workshop took place followed by a survey distributed to previous recipients of cultural grants to help understand how best to respond to their needs and priorities for the coming years. 

Councillor Iain Nicolson, Leader of Renfrewshire Council said: “We have been supporting organisations in Renfrewshire with cultural grants since 2016 and, through engagement with the sector, know the benefit this has brought to grant recipients and the communities where they work. 

“The continuation of the Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF) is assisting in further nurturing and embedding these benefits, helping organisations and practitioners to move towards more robust and sustainable positions. This includes more partnership working and using networks to further ambition and collaboration. 

“The new Cultural Organisations Fund (COF) answers the sector’s call for a multi-year funding programme and helps provide more stability for local organisations, supporting them to deliver creative programming and long-term engagement with communities at a time when funds are being cut elsewhere.  

“Under the Future Paisley programme which came to a close in 2024, more than £2.6m had been awarded to local artists, creative organisations and community groups through cultural funding grants, helping to support the growth of local talent and allow more cultural activity to be programmed in the area. This additional £1million being invested across Renfrewshire over recognises our continued commitment to the areas ongoing cultural regeneration.”