Manipulate Arts
Manipulate Arts is a Scottish arts charity and company limited by guarantee, founded 1984 and headquartered in Edinburgh, that champions animated film, puppetry and visual theatre through a biennial festival, a nationwide community engagement programme, artist development funds, and partnerships with community organisations across Scotland.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1984
- HeadquartersEdinburgh, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Manipulate Arts does
Manipulate Arts is a registered Scottish charity (SC022042) and company limited by guarantee (SC169132), founded in 1984 as the Puppet Animation Festival and rebranded in November 2023 to reflect its broader remit across animated film, puppetry and visual theatre. Headquartered at Summerhall in Edinburgh with a six-person staff, the organisation operates a multi-programme portfolio: the biennial Manipulate Festival (an international festival attracting 3,800 attendees in 2024 across Edinburgh venues), the annual Undercurrents platform for experimental work (first standalone edition in February 2027), and the Captivate nationwide community engagement programme operating across four Scottish regions (North Lanarkshire, Uist, Edinburgh West and Caithness). The organisation supports Scotland-based artists through the Artist Network membership scheme, the Creative Fund (up to £5,000 per project), the Animation R&D Fund (£2,000 bursaries) and Producing Surgeries mentorship, while reaching audiences through live performances, film screenings, workshops and free community programmes such as Puppetry at Home and Puppetry and Emotional Resilience.
The business model is non-commercial charity funding. Primary revenue comes from Creative Scotland's Multi-Year Funding Programme, with supplementary project grants from City of Edinburgh Council, Film Hub Scotland, Screen Scotland, Ragdoll Foundation and BFI. Secondary income streams include festival ticket sales at varying price points (some events free), individual donations via PayPal and EasyFundraising, and legacy gifts. The organisation is a Living Wage employer and operates a hybrid remote model with staff in the office 1-2 days per week. The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, with audience development supported by email newsletters (Mailchimp), social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), earned media through national press coverage, and word-of-mouth referrals through community partner networks.
The competitive position is built on a 40-year operating history, a curated 18+ edition festival archive, multi-year community partnerships with anchor organisations (WHALE Arts, Taigh Chearsabhagh, Cumbernauld Theatre, Lyth Arts Centre), and an end-to-end artist development pathway that is unique within Scotland's visual theatre and animation ecosystem. No AI/ML, proprietary technology platforms, apps, or commercial SaaS products are present; the underlying "technology" is programmatic and curatorial rather than software-based.
Manipulate Arts firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Manipulate Arts
- Legal name
- Manipulate Arts Ltd
- Website
- https://manipulatearts.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1984
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Manipulate Arts is a Scottish arts charity and company limited by guarantee, founded 1984 and headquartered in Edinburgh, that champions animated film, puppetry and visual theatre through a biennial festival, a nationwide community engagement programme, artist development funds, and partnerships with community organisations across Scotland.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Manipulate Arts industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Performing Arts / Visual Theatre Festival and Artist Development
- NAICS
- Performing Arts Companies (7111), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190), Fine Arts Schools (61161)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Creative Writing & Storytelling (Fiction, Poetry, Screenwriting) (EDAMAAAI)
Keywords
Where Manipulate Arts is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Edinburgh
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Manipulate Arts business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Fundraising: Manipulate Arts receives donations via PayPal (one-off or regular), bank transfer, legacy gifts, and EasyFundraising (shopping affiliate). Donations support the organisation's charitable activities including artist support and community engagement.
- Festival Ticket Sales: Revenue is generated through ticket sales for Manipulate Festival events including live performances, film screenings, workshops and other festival programming across Edinburgh venues.
- Public Funding and Grants: Manipulate Arts receives multi-year funding from Creative Scotland's Multi-Year Funding Programme, as well as project-specific grants from City of Edinburgh Council, Film Hub Scotland, Ragdoll Foundation, Edinburgh City Council, and other public and charitable funders.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Manipulate Arts product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Manipulate Arts is a registered Scottish charity that curates, develops and presents animated film, puppetry and visual theatre through the biennial Manipulate Festival, the annual Undercurrents platform, and the nationwide Captivate community engagement programme. It supports Scotland-based artists through seed funding (Creative Fund up to £5,000, Animation R&D Fund £2,000 bursaries), mentorship, rehearsal space, networking and performance platforms, and delivers accessible creative experiences to communities including families, D/deaf and neurodiverse audiences.
Product overview
Manipulate Arts operates as a multi-programme arts organization focused on animated film, puppetry, and visual theatre. The core portfolio includes the biennial Manipulate Festival (international celebration of visual performing arts), the annual Undercurrents platform (for experimental and emerging work), and the Captivate nationwide communities programme. Artist development is supported through the Artist Network membership scheme, Artist Ticket Fund, Creative Fund (up to £5,000 for visual performance), and Animation R&D Fund (£2,000 bursaries for animators). Producing Surgeries provide mentorship while Perform or Screen your Work offers pathways to programming. Community engagement includes Puppetry at Home tutorials, AnimATE (animation and cookery workshops), and Puppetry and Emotional Resilience school programmes. The organization was formerly Puppet Animation Scotland until rebranding in November 2023.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Manipulate Festival A biennial international celebration of animated film, puppetry, and visual theatre, presenting the best of international and Scottish work to adult audiences in Edinburgh and beyond, featuring eclectic boundary-pushing performances, film screenings and workshops.
- Undercurrents An annual platform for raw ideas, bold experiments, and untested work in puppetry, visual theatre, and animation, showcasing emerging Scottish talent at every development stage.
- Captivate A nationwide community and partnership programme delivering productions, screenings, workshops, and co-creation projects in puppetry, animation, and visual theatre across Scotland, currently operating in North Lanarkshire, Uist, Edinburgh West, and Caithness.
- Artist Network A free membership scheme for emerging or established artists in Scotland whose practice aligns with Manipulate Arts' work, offering access to the Artist Ticket Fund, quarterly networking events, opportunity updates, and invitations to works in progress.
- Artist Ticket Fund Ticket funding launched in 2021 to support independent artists in Scotland to attend visually led work, covering ticket costs, travel, childcare, and access costs for productions within Manipulate's remit.
- Creative Fund Seed funding supporting Scotland-based artists developing new work in visual performance, puppetry and object theatre, offering up to £5,000, rehearsal space, and mentorship in partnership with Vanishing Point Theatre Company.
- Animation R&D Fund A seed fund for Scotland-based animators supporting visual and technical development of new independent projects, offering £2,000 bursaries and mentorship.
- Producing Surgeries Focused 90-minute mentorship sessions with Manipulate Arts' producing or marketing team to help artists with funding applications, project budgets, touring, international festival screening, website building, and finding collaborators.
- Puppetry at Home Free puppetry tutorials for families featuring step-by-step instructions on crafting puppets and crankie theatres using household materials, originally created in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- AnimATE Intergenerational project where families explore creativity through animation and cookery, learning cut-out animation techniques and preparing seasonal meals together with professional animators and cooking facilitators.
- Puppetry and Emotional Resilience Programme harnessing puppetry to raise levels of attainment and self-confidence among nursery and primary school pupils, helping improve communication, confidence and problem-solving abilities through bespoke hand-puppets.
- One Bum Cinema Club A travelling pop-up cinema for one audience member at a time, presenting animated shorts at Edinburgh libraries and community spaces, touring for up to 8 weeks. Free to attend.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 500,000 people engaged since 1984 across all 32 Scottish council areas, internationally and online
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Manipulate Arts
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Manipulate Arts technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Manipulate Arts partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Lyth Arts CentrecoreLead partner for the Captivate programme in Caithness from 2024, developing a bespoke programme of visual arts engagement across Thurso, Wick and rural Caithness.
- Taigh ChearsabhaghcoreLead partner for the Captivate programme in Uist (Outer Hebrides), delivering animation workshops, performances and co-creation projects with schools, community groups and care homes across South Uist, North Uist and Benbecula.
- WHALE Arts AgencycoreLead partner for the Captivate programme in Western Edinburgh, hosting family engagement events, animation workshops, puppet performances and Visual Virtuoso projects in the Wester Hailes and Sighthill areas.
- Cumbernauld Theatre at LanternhousecoreLead partner for the Captivate programme in North Lanarkshire, hosting visual theatre performances, community storytelling workshops, and artist development labs such as Visual Theatre Labs.
- Vanishing Point Theatre CompanycorePartnership in the Creative Fund, embedding Vanishing Point's producing expertise into the programme. Vanishing Point provides rehearsal space in Glasgow and mentorship support for artists developing new visually-led performance work.
- Scottish EnsembleminorCollaborated with Blind Summit puppet company to present The Law of Gravity at Traverse Theatre during Manipulate Festival 2025.
- Blind SummitminorPuppeteering company that partnered with Scottish Ensemble to present The Law of Gravity at Manipulate Festival 2025. Previously partnered with LA Philharmonic Orchestra at Hollywood Bowl.
- SurgeminorPartnership with Surge for the annual Double Bill work-in-progress strand at Manipulate Festival, bringing new visual theatre works to the Traverse Theatre.
- Take One Action Film FestivalsminorCo-curated the On the Edge animated shorts programme focusing on climate in Arctic regions for Manipulate Festival 2025.
- Sanctuary Queer ArtsminorCo-curated a programme of Queer Stories animated shorts for Manipulate Festival 2025.
- Move SummitcoreMove Summit is a major UK animation/CGI industry conference held in Edinburgh. In partnership with Move Summit and Glasgow Film Theatre, Manipulate Arts launched the inaugural Manipulate Award for Scottish Animation.
- Glasgow Film TheatrecoreFilm venue partner for the Manipulate Award for Scottish Animation. Also screens animated films as part of the broader Scotland animation celebration in February each year.
- Visible FictionscoreLead delivery partner for Wee Wonders Scotland, a talent development programme supporting new and emerging animators to write and direct animation shorts, in partnership with Screen Scotland, Manipulate Arts, Edinburgh Short Film Festival, North Lanarkshire Council and others.
- Dance BaseminorEdinburgh venue partner for Manipulate Festival, hosting performances and workshops. Also partnered on I Might Not Make It Open Studios project at Manipulate Festival 2025.
- Traverse TheatrecoreMajor Edinburgh venue partner for Manipulate Festival, hosting performances including The Law of Gravity (Scottish Ensemble/Blind Summit), These Things Aren't Mine and Snapshots work-in-progress.
- Capital Theatres (Festival Theatre / The Studio)coreEdinburgh venue partner for Manipulate Festival. The Studio at Festival Theatre hosts productions including Groupwork's When Prophecy Fails and Open Studios like Dusk till Dawn.
- FruitmarketcoreEdinburgh venue partner hosting the Cartography labyrinthian event at the Fruitmarket Warehouse during Manipulate Festival 2025.
- SummerhallcoreEdinburgh arts venue and registered charity that is Manipulate Arts' headquarters (headquarters office location). Hosts festival events and the Manipulate Festival Party.
- Edinburgh Food SocialminorSocial enterprise teaching young people and communities about local, seasonal food. Co-facilitates cooking elements of the AnimATE project alongside animation workshops.
- An LanntairminorArts centre in Stornoway, Lewis that supported Captivate performances (Little Murmur by Aakash Odedra Company) to additionally travel to schools in Lewis and Harris.
- Nevis EnsembleminorLive music ensemble that collaborated with Manipulate Arts and Taigh Chearsabhagh on the Visual Virtuoso project in Uist, combining live music with animated film.
- FilmhousecoreEdinburgh's iconic independent cinema became the new home of the Manipulate Festival film programme in 2026, hosting animated features, shorts competitions, and One Bum Cinema Club for the duration of the festival.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Manipulate Arts competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Visible Fictions: Scottish theatre company producing visually-led work for young audiences and family. Directly comparable to Manipulate Arts in scale, geography, and visual/non-verbal storytelling focus, and is a current delivery partner on Wee Wonders Scotland.
- Vanishing Point Theatre Company: Glasgow-based visual theatre company producing physically inventive, image-driven work. Closely comparable on art form and is a Creative Fund partner providing rehearsal space and mentorship to Manipulate Arts-supported artists.
- Tortoise in a Nutshell: Edinburgh-based visual theatre company producing object, puppet and visually-driven performance. Comparable niche positioning in visual/non-verbal storytelling and similar Scottish footprint.
- Little Angel Theatre: London-based dedicated puppetry theatre producing work for children and adults, with a year-round programme and touring activity. Closest dedicated puppetry/visual theatre peer by remit and structure, though operating at larger scale.
Broad incumbents
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The world's largest arts festival where Manipulate Arts supports artists to present work. Larger, broader performing arts ecosystem in which Manipulate Arts operates as a specialist curator and sector developer.
- Traverse Theatre: Edinburgh's new writing theatre and core Manipulate Festival venue partner. Larger, broader-remit theatre that hosts Manipulate Arts' programming as part of its year-round calendar.
- National Theatre of Scotland: Scotland's national theatre company producing a wide range of work including visual and physical theatre. Larger, broader-portfolio incumbent whose programming overlaps with Manipulate Arts' visual theatre strand.
Regional players
- Cumbernauld Theatre at Lanternhouse: North Lanarkshire-based producing theatre and Captivate lead partner for Manipulate Arts. Comparable regional producing and community engagement remit, though without the puppetry/animation specialism.
Emerging players
- Macnas: Ireland-based visual theatre company specialising in large-scale puppetry, pageantry and street spectacle. Comparable art form focus but operates at larger scale and different national context.
- Surge: Scotland-based visual theatre producer partnering with Manipulate Arts on the annual Double Bill work-in-progress strand at the Traverse Theatre. Comparable visual theatre focus at smaller scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Manipulate Arts social profiles
Digital presenceManipulate Arts compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Manipulate Arts financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Manipulate Arts leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Manipulate Arts funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Manipulate Arts M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Manipulate Arts
What does Manipulate Arts do?
Manipulate Arts is a registered Scottish charity that curates, develops and presents animated film, puppetry and visual theatre through the biennial Manipulate Festival, the annual Undercurrents platform, and the nationwide Captivate community engagement programme. It supports Scotland-based artists through seed funding (Creative Fund up to £5,000, Animation R&D Fund £2,000 bursaries), mentorship, rehearsal space, networking and performance platforms, and delivers accessible creative experiences to communities including families, D/deaf and neurodiverse audiences.
Is Manipulate Arts a public or private company?
Manipulate Arts is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Manipulate Arts founded?
Manipulate Arts was founded in 1984. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Manipulate Arts based?
Manipulate Arts is headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Manipulate Arts make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Fundraising is the primary driver. The others are festival Ticket Sales and public Funding and Grants.
Who are Manipulate Arts's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Visible Fictions, Vanishing Point Theatre Company, Tortoise in a Nutshell and Little Angel Theatre. Broad incumbents are Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Traverse Theatre and National Theatre of Scotland. Cumbernauld Theatre at Lanternhouse is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Macnas and Surge.
Does Manipulate Arts have an API?
No public API is recorded for Manipulate Arts.
What industry is Manipulate Arts in?
Manipulate Arts's product category is Performing Arts / Visual Theatre Festival and Artist Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGABAI, Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts, with a secondary code of EDAMAAAI, Creative Writing & Storytelling (Fiction, Poetry, Screenwriting). Its NAICS code is 7111 and its SIC code is 7900.