The Scottish Government is guilty of "playing games" with the future of the nation's arts and culture sector, protesters gathered outside Holyrood have said.

£6.6million was cut from Creative Scotland's budget last autumn, forcing the arts organisation to close their 'Open Fund' last month, which provides substantial grants for artists and performers.

The government appears to have bowed to public pressure, at least for now, as culture cecretary Angus Robertson announced on Wednesday that Creative Scotland would receive £8.4m in restored funding, including £3m earmarked for the Open Fund.

However, protestors, who shouted “fund the arts” and “tax the rich” throughout the event, say they are unable to trust the government after repeated “u-turns” on funding. Questions were also raised about a promised £100m increase in cultural spending, which was announced by Humza Yousaf last year.

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Speaking to the crowd, actress Kirsty Miller, a member of Equity, the performers' trade union which organised the event, said: "Although yesterday's announcement of the reinstatement of the Open Fund was welcome, pardon me if I'm not getting excited.

“The next budget announcement is due in October, and who knows what that will bring.”

Production manager Alice Black, of trade union BECTU, added: “We demand the Scottish Government provides a dedicated Culture Minister to truly champion the arts and to ensure the culture sector is fully and sustainability funded.

“Culture funding has been cut and reinstated repeatedly by this government, and a creative presentation of the figures suggests they have increased support when in reality they haven't even met the previous gold-plated commitments.”

Gavin Creighton, who manages Active Inquiry, a theatre company in Leith, says the government needs to develop a coherent culture strategy. 

 “Anyone can be involved in the arts. It's a right everyone should have,” he remarked.

“There are always new reviews and new promises, but they never come to pass. Governments love culture, but they don't want to think about funding it properly.”

Likewise, performance artist Fionnuala Featherstone said: “This is something that has devastated the artistic community. The Open Fund has now been restored, but this leaves us with very little confidence about the rest of the arts funding that has been pledged.” 

Jo Sharp, who works for dedicated children's theatre Lyra, added: “It's very clear that the Scottish Government don't care about freelance artists and don't want grassroots performance that could critique them in any way.”

Marion Jeffrey, a freelance artist and performer, said the uncertainty over funding was “disrespectful.”

“I'm fed up with this situation,” she quipped. 

“I've been working in Scotland for ten years, and it's gotten worse and worse every year.” 

In a statement, culture secretary Angus Robertson said: "Scotland’s culture is world-renowned and it remains integral to our nation and our economy. Over the past 14 years, Creative Scotland has had a significant role in supporting that role, distributing £65 million of public funding in the last year alone.

“With the sector having faced a number of new and enduring challenges since then, the time is now right for us to ensure Creative Scotland’s remit and functions remain relevant, in line with our commitments to invest at least £100 million more annually in the arts and culture by 2028-29, and to continuous improvement across all our public bodies.

“It is routine for public bodies to undergo reviews throughout their lifetime, and while that process is ongoing we are clear that we expect the organisations involved to take forward their business as usual. Creative Scotland is no different and they will be carrying on with their important work throughout.

 “In the meantime I'm pleased to confirm the release of £1.8 million to Creative Scotland for youth music, and another £6.6 million, which includes £3 million towards its Open Fund and £1 million for Screen Scotland.”