Links
Key Support Organisations and Agencies
Creative Scotland is the national leader for Scotland's arts, screen and creative industries.
Craft Scotland is an audience development agency for craft.
Cultural Enterprise Office is Scotland's specialist business support and development service for creative businesses and practitioners..
Voluntary Arts Scotland provides a wide range of resources and contacts to assist you in your activities - whatever your preferred art or craft. News and information about funding, good practice resources and consultations.
Wasps Artists' Studios is an award-winning charity which provides affordable studio space to support visual artists working in Scotland.
HI-Arts provides a range of development and support services for those working in the fields of the arts and heritage, across the Highlands and Islands, and also elsewhere in Scotland.
Nesta is an independent charity with a mission to help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. They provide investments and grants and mobilise research
Unions
Scottish Artists Union - the pre-eminent representative voice for visual and applied artists in Scotland. Website carries information on policy and also recommended rates of pay for artists. Members gain access to discounts and complimentary Public Liability Insurance.
The Musicians' Union is a globally-respected organisation which repreents over 30,000 musicians working in all sectors of the music business.
The Writers' Guild of Great Britain supports writers across media including books, film, online, radio, theatre, TV and videogames. We campaign for writers and negotiate agreements to secure the best possible pay and conditions. Membership is open to writers of all levels of experience.
Networks - South of Scotland
Crossing Borders promotes artists and craft makers from the Scottish Borders and north Northumberland.
Borders Sculptors brings together artists to help combat feelings of isolation in this area of dispersed population and to give members an opportunity to meet, talk, exchange ideas and information.
Borders Creative is a new organisation for creative industry professionals in the Scottish Borders. Members work in business-to-business areas like print and web design, marketing, photography, advertising, architecture, copywriting, digital media, film and fashion.
Borders Writers Forum A website devoted to the very best contemporary writing from the Scottish Borders. By contemporary we mean writers living and working in the Scottish Borders. The Forum organises workshops, writers' visits, and readings throughout the year.
Creative Arts Business Network (CABN) - Dumfries and Galloway.
The Commonty was formed and is run entirely, by working creative people on a voluntary basis – we have nobody's remit or priorities except our own. We are committed to the vision of Dumfries and Galloway as a region whose character is significantly shaped by the creative people and projects that are based here.
Creative Networks - National
Central Station is a creative social network. If you make work, Central Station is a community where you can talk to peers and showcase yourself. It's also a place where you can find opportunities.
NORTHINGS is devoted to the arts and culture in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland. Our aims are to provide high-quality coverage of the arts, and to facilitate an on-line community dedicated to debate, discussion and nurturing the artistic health of the area.
Magazines and Online Resources
A-N offers fast routes into an information-rich resource that's relevant to all engaged in the visual arts. Our in-depth features and content along with the Communities areas are designed to represent the multiple voices and wide range of activities and industry insights within contemporary visual arts.
Source is a quarterly magazine of contemporary photography.
ArtRabbit is the online tool for everyone interested in the UK's vibrant contemporary art scene – connecting hundreds of venues with thousands of daily visitors and their opinions.
Axis is the best online resource for information about contemporary art. The website features profiles of professional artists and curators, interviews, discussions, art news, debates and showcases the artists to watch.
Venues and organisations offering opportunities
Cove Park is an international centre based in Scotland for the arts and creative industries and has an annual programme of residencies for national and international artists working in all art forms to undertake research and develop new projects.
Events and festivals
Spring Fling - for three days at the end of May, Dumfries and Galloway hosts the most successful open studios event of its kind in Scotland. Please join us to meet artists and makers whose doors are not usually open to the public, try your hand at a new skill or simply hop from studio to studio through some of Scotland's most delightful scenery.
Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival brings an imaginative mix of screenings, events and talks to the Borders. There are also residencies and installations of moving image artists work
Social Media
Your Mailing List Provider manages mailing lists and sign ups and offers many different packages including some free packages for smaller mailing lists.
TweetDeck is your personal browser for staying in touch with what's happening now, connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and many more.
Pay with a Tweet: In today's world the value of people talking about your product is sometimes higher than the money you would get for it. 'Pay with a Tweet' is the first social payment system, where people pay with the value of their social network. It's simple, every time somebody pays with a tweet, he or she tells all their friends about the product. Boom.
Music
Music Glue is a free to use online marketing and e-commerce solution for artists, managers, promoters and venues, providing all the tools required to engage modern internet savvy fans that expect to interact directly with their favourite artists.
Sentric Music is an essential service for any unpublished artist in the UK music community and is available to anyone who performs and produces original material.
Writing
How to Spread the Word Writers' Resources In 2012 CABN hosted professional development events for writers. You can access downloadable resources and view video of writers Nicola Morgan and Sara Sheridan in conversation.
The Writer's Compass is a professional development service for writers. It brings together NAWE's professional development programme with the free information and advice services for all writers formerly offered by literaturetraining.
First Writer is every writer's indispensable internet resource. This site aims to provide you with all the information you need as you progress in your writing career.
David Godwin Assosicates is a leading literary agency, founded in 1995 by David and Heather Godwin. We represent an exciting and varied list of international writers, including novelists, poets, biographers, historians and journalists. DGA also offers a guide to Publishing costing £4.99.
The Writing Room - Are you serious about writing? So are we. Get in touch for a clear, honest opinion of your work and creative advice on how to take it forward to the next level. Maggie McKernan, one of the UK's top book editors, founded the Writing Room with the aim of making the very best professional editorial assistance available to all writers who seek it, whether they have been published before or not.
The McKernan Agency - We are a small and innovative literary agency offering a very personal service to the finest writers. We represent literary fiction and high quality non fiction, always with an emphasis on quality, originality and international appeal. Our writers are based in Scotland, the UK, Ireland, Canada, USA and further afield.
Filmmaking