Arts Resource Management Scotland (ARMS) is a working group that includes representatives from across the creative industries, with a collective goal to create new ways for the cultural sector in Scotland to share resources, materials and equipment.

The ARMS collective includes Circular Arts Network, Reset Scenery, Birds of Paradise Theatre Company and Grid Iron Theatre Company.

ARMS aim is to create a circular arts economy in Scotland by developing software and physical infrastructure that facilitates more efficient collaboration between creative freelancers, performing arts organisations, venues, museums and events producers, helping the cultural sector reach its target of carbon neutrality by 2045.

The Challenge

Although the creative industries in Scotland have a deserved reputation for sharing resources, the knowledge of who has what and where it is, is currently only available to those ‘in the know’.

For example, if a set designer wants to source an item, the first question they will ask is “does anyone know who has this?”, the holder of the item will then be contacted and an appointment made to meet and view the item to see if it is suitable for hiring. This can take up to a week to organise and decisions about a production often need to be delayed until a viewing can be made.

ARMS are currently working to develop a store management system where resources, materials and equipment stored across Scotland can be accessed by anyone in the creative industries, without the need to physically visit and rummage through crammed stores or warehouses. They are currently looking at CAMA as a system that could be adapted to meet ARMS’s requirements.

ARMS challenge is to develop a system that allows items to be scanned and viewed remotely in 3D, so that the suitability of an item can be assessed, and hires made, without the need for a time and carbon costly drive to various stores across the country.

The 3D viewing system would be integrated into ARMS stores management software creating an innovative new offer for resource sharing across the creative industries.

Finding a successful solution to this challenge would improve the carbon footprint and efficiency of Scotland’s cultural sector, opening up new opportunities for collaboration and collective action towards a circular arts economy.

Applications for this Challenge Project are now closed. If you have any questions about this challenge, contact us at creativeinformatics@ed.ac.uk.