Scottish Arts Council

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The Scottish Arts Council (Scottish Gaelic:Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba) is a public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Executive Education Department , and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. Most of the Council's funding comes from the Scottish Executive but it also distributes National Lottery funds received via the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The Scottish Arts Council took its current form in 1994 following a restructuring of the Arts Council of Great Britain, but had existed as an autonomous body since a royal charter of 1967.

The Council funds all the major areas of the arts, and it strives to maintain balance among the many diverse communities of Scotland. In addition, it funds cultural groups/events affiliated with immigrant communities and minorities in Scotland. It is also the sponsor of two book awards:

The Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year Award (worth £5,000);
The Scottish Arts Council Children's Book of the Year Award (worth £10,000).

In January 2006 it was announced that the Scottish Executive will assume direct responsibility for the main national arts companies (Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra) and that the Arts Council is to be replaced by a new body to be called Creative Scotland. This change was made in response to the report issued by the Cultural Commission under Chairman James Boyle. See James Boyle (broadcasting). Also in 2006 in response to repeated requests through the Freedom of Information Act to disclose the basis of funding decisions the Council decided to post the reports on all grant applications on its website. This caused consternation amongst arts companies and individual artists as the revelation of reasons for being turned down for a grant by the Council could influence other funders.

The Scottish Arts Council is based in Edinburgh.