Champion Advocacy Programme

SCAN is here to stand up for the cultural, social and economic value of contemporary art – and for the people who create it.

The Champion strand raises awareness of the vital contribution that contemporary art practice provides across society, from social, wellbeing, economic and civic infrastructure. Our community-driven advocacy is directly informed by our members, their practices and experiences.

We advocate for further cross-portfolio investment and to raise awareness of opportunities and challenges for members and the sector. We gather data and insights from across our activity, and work with partners to advocate for the needs of the visual arts sector to MSPs, MPs and other decision-makers in high-level committees, consultation, policy groups and evidence-gathering.

SCAN also aim to build an understanding of contemporary art practice across society, from cultural audiences to policymakers including researchers, funders and partners.

We seek to build political equity for our members and the visual arts community through providing a voice at the table, keeping members informed and connected on key issues – and facilitating opportunities to participate and influence public policy.

Parliamentary Work

SCAN regularly contribute to policy development and parliamentary work through preparing responses to consultation, meeting with MSP/MPs and attending cross-party working group meetings, and independent reviews. SCAN regularly work in partnership or coalition with advocacy and cultural bodies, trade unions and community groups to further our aims.

SCAN hosted a parliamentary exhibition on 3-5 February 2026 in the garden lobby and was sponsored by Paul Sweeney MSP. Although this was initially requested in January 2025, the timing was advantageous, given we were able to take our election asks to parliament and present them to MSPs. It was fantastic to share case studies from our members across the country directly with decision-makers.

MSP Engagement Campaigns

A major part of our Champion strand is our year-round campaign supporting MSP engagement visits across Scotland. These site visits build MSPs understanding of the member venues impactful work in their constituencies and further understanding of the challenges and complexity in delivering their programmes. In 2025, we facilitated MSP visits in seven key member venues including Forgan Art Centre in Fife, Narture in Ayr, and Wasps studio communities in Inverness and Irvine.

In 2023/24, this work was undertaken under the Artists Make a Better World banner, including geographical member meet-ups and a nationwide billboard campaign featuring artists Christian Noelle Charles, Aqsa Arif, Bobby Niven and organisation Sculpture House.

Our 2022 campaign was called #ArtUnlocks, encouraging the public to visit art galleries and museums reopening after lockdown.

The first engagement campaign launched as Art in Action in 2019.

Advocacy Campaigning

We launched SCAN’s Election Asks (The Future is Art) campaign in December for the Scottish Elections 2026 focusing on valuing the contemporary art sector as an expert and impactful partner cross-portfolio. This campaign was shared widely by partners in the section and was the focus of our parliamentary exhibition on 3-5 February 2026.

Advocacy Partnerships

SCAN regularly work in partnership or coalition with advocacy and cultural bodies, trade unions and community groups to further the movement. Our Director sits on advocacy body Culture Counts committee, and SCAN is part of Scottish Community Alliance and Poverty Scotland Alliance connecting with policy professionals in other contexts.

Briefings, Research & Insights

We keep members informed on key policy issues and broaden their access to research and policymakers through our programming, including the Summit. The team regularly prepare briefing papers for both members and our policy network.

Our regular Art Advocacy Bulletin, published on our news pages, provides updates for the sector and shares more about our current work and issues facing the sector.