The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Whisky giant’s £500k deal for Perth culture centre.
Famous Grouse puts up half-million to help build new ‘Ideas Centre’
Whisky giant Famous Grouse has struck a £500,000 deal to help set up a centre for creative talent in Perth.
Perth and Kinross Council is transforming the derelict St John’s Primary School on Stormont Street into a £3.5 million “Creative Exchange”.
It is expected to generate work for about 20 people.
Now, Edrington – which owns the Famous Grouse brand – is investing £500,000 in the project over 10 years.
It is hoped that by by attracting and retaining new talent, the centre will address one of the main challenges of the Perth 2021 City of Culture bid by stopping a “brain drain” in the region’s creative sector.
It is scheduled to open next year and will become a home to artists and creative industries, offering up affordable studio and office space.
Project manager Finlay Kerr said the Famous Grouse Ideas Centre, as it will be known, will act as a home for startups and growing firms.
“Thanks to funding from the Famous Grouse, the Ideas Centre will be up and running this year, from temporary accommodation,” he said.
“They came to us with this idea and they were really passionate about it.
“Our long-term aim is to keep the graduates from Perth College in the area but it would be great to be able to attract young people from Dundee and other areas too.”
The 12-month building conversion involves turning classrooms into studios, workshops and galleries, providing space for up to 24 artists and 12 businesses.
In addition to the Famous Grouse cash, the Scottish Government is investing £335,000 into the Perth hub, with a further £250,000 from the European Regional Development Fund. The bulk of the project – £2.7m – comes from council cash.
A planning application for the building, which dates back to 1929, has been finalised and will be submitted soon.
Nationally, Scotland’s arts and creative industries employ tens of thousands of people. A recent report found there were around 480 such companies in Perth and Kinross, employing approximately 1,200 people – just 1.2% of the national figure.