National Lottery Funding 'instrumental' for Alasdair Gray Archive

With backing from The National Lottery through Creative Scotland’s Open Fund, new commissioning opportunities for creatives and curators will soon be available through The Alasdair Gray Archive.

The Alasdair Gray Archive, photography by Alasdair Watson.

Established after Gray’s death in 2019, The Archive serves as both a free-to-access resource of his works and an organisation which promotes the visual and literary arts in Gray’s name. It also regularly commissions new creative and curatorial works using Gray’s art as a catalyst for artistic response and seeks to promote educational opportunities and inspire creators through residencies, awards and student placements. 

This award from the Open Fund will support two strands of development. Firstly, it will fund a year-long program of activities, allowing The Archive to enhance public engagement through education and outreach, and to offer three new commissions in collaboration with organisations like the Edwin Morgan Trust. Secondly, the award will facilitate a period of organisational development for The Archive.

The Alasdair Gray Archive, photography by Alasdair Watson.

Sorcha Dallas, custodian of The Alasdair Gray Archive commented: “The recent Open Funding secured for The Alasdair Gray Archive will be instrumental in enabling us to grow our Creative Commissions over the next year in ambition and partnership, offering two new funded opportunities for creatives and one for an early-stage curator, alongside a meaningful engagement program shaped and delivered with communities. It will also allow us some support to develop our organisational plan for the next five years, co-created with our board.”

This award is one of 53 totaling £1,048,834 made through the latest round of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund.  The full list of awards is available to download in xlsx format.

The Small Halls Closing Concert with Young Musicians from SEALL – another of the Open Fund recipients from April 2024. Image by Caroline McQustin.

Paul Burns, Interim Director of Arts at Creative Scotland commented: “It is incredibly heartening to see the Open Fund supporting projects that offer significant opportunities to artists and audiences throughout Scotland. Organisations like The Alasdair Gray Archive inspire us by honouring a great figure while providing educational opportunities and championing the arts in his name.”