Since opening in 2012, Creative Stirling has brought art, culture, music and creativity to the city centre.
Impacts
The ground floor of this two-story building hosts a myriad of unique arts and crafts made by local creators. From glass chess sets with flowers set within the pieces to wooden carvings of The National Wallace Monument.
The upstairs features a space for hosting workshops and other small events. Like Murray Place’s Radical Weavers, Creative Stirling works with the local community to build people’s creativity and sense of community. They uplift and teach people who are neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, care experienced, experiencing poverty or trauma, and refugees. Investing all profits into supporting creative businesses. They provide 7.8 per cent of the jobs in the Mercat Cross area; and 4.2 per cent of jobs in all of Stirling. Furthermore, Creative Stirling has provided 1,500 people from disadvantaged backgrounds a space to create.
The Go Forth Stirling Business Improvement District has, once again, shortlisted this charity for the Outstanding Contribution to the City Award.
In addition, Creative Stirling and Stirling Community Media have teamed up to form Community and Media Matters. This programme teaches young people employable skills such as podcasting, promotion and production, giving them an opportunity to enhance their skills and learn more about developing technologies. Other workshops run include DJing, robotics and ceramics.
Covid-19
The pandemic adversely impacted everyone; including creative communities and enterprises. Creative Stirling, in its typical spirit, aided the community through this time alongside Transition Stirling and connected communities and individuals.
Throughout the March 2020 and October 2022 lockdowns, the charities organised and coordinated: fundraising, connecting people to support, Stirling Community Food, (distributing excess food to anyone for free), making creative packs for local children and Christmas hampers for families.
The Stirling Community Food Project alone issued 175,502 meals and stopped 67 tonnes of food going to landfill.
Creative Stirling’s initiative and camaraderie during these lockdowns illustrates the importance of creative hubs during the darkest of times. Their resolve is something worth observing and applying to future approaches in helping communities during unstable times. From putting the community first in minimising inequalities, to recognising the importance of creation and innovation.
Creative Scotland
Unfortunately, this artistic home faces an uncertain future with a combination of Creative Scotland declining their application for funding and a quiet business period. The team spent most of last year applying for funding, only for Creative Scotland to deny it.
Creative Scotland supports and develops the arts and culture industries in Scotland. However, due to a lack of funds across several industries and sectors, it cannot afford to fund Creative Stirling. Both the cost of living crisis and the recovery from the pandemic are causing the underfunding of the arts and culture sectors.
Creative Stirling needs investment; without it, it cannot flourish.
The next 12 weeks will be precarious. With retail facing a quiet season after Christmas and Hogmanay and a cash flow gap, business is set to be slow. While this will be temporary, the situation brings an unstable feeling.
However, like all situations, there is always hope.
Joe Hall, the director and founder, is determined to keep Creative Stirling open.
A graduate from the Glasgow School of Art, and an honorary Arts and Humanities professor at the University of Stirling, Joe has worked tirelessly to ensure her organization runs smoothly. She is speaking to relevant MSPs and ministers, to the First Minister himself to find funding wherever she can.
“I’m not taking one step backwards in any shape or form,” she said adamantly.
With her connection to the university, Joe hopes to start a collaboration and host student placement projects.
The best ways to support the charity are to donate, attend events and buy the artists’ work.
To spread the word further, and to gather donations, the foundation is hosting a fundraiser on 17 February named Constant Follower.
Built from the ground up, Creative Stirling has always been vulnerable one way or another. It is a membership lead organisation that greatly benefits the Mercat Cross and City Centre neighbourhood. This highly diverse and deprived area is too often overlooked on account of the historical local area. But, with donations, tenacity and determination, this city’s creative hub will continue to stand strong and light up the city of Stirling.
Featured Image Credit: Visit Scotland website
Third year journalism student. 2025/2026 Lifestyle and Comment Editor at Brig. Published in The Yucatán Times, Mi Campeche and The Mourning Paper. Host of From the 40s with Air3Radio.
