National Youth Arts Strategy
£400,000 to boost youth arts
provision in Fife
CREATIVE Scotland is delighted to announce £400,000 support to help boost youth arts provision in Fife.
The funding is being announced as part of Scotland’s National Youth Arts Strategy Time To Shine and will be used to create a network of nine regional Youth Arts Hubs from a total funding package of £3.1m, across the country.
The Hubs – in Aberdeen and North East, Argyll, Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, Highlands, Moray and West Dunbartonshire – are being formed through partnerships between local and national arts and youth services providers, to increase access to youth arts across Scotland across a range of art forms.
Fife Cultural Trust will deliver Youth Arts Hub outlets in the seven areas of Fife - Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline, Glenrothes, Cowdenbeath, Levenmouth, North East Fife and South West Fife, in addition to an eighth virtual digital Hub, Hub8.
Working across multiple art-forms, at staged levels of engagement, and with local, regional and national partners, Fife’s Youth Arts Hub will create a programme of arts provision for young people in the area.
Youth Arts Hub partners for this area include Fife Council, Fife Youth Theatre, Anim8s, Caged Beastie, Fife College, Youth Music Theatre Scotland, Fife Film Crew, Starcatchers, Youth Theatre Arts Scotland, All Or Nothing and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Heather Stuart, chief executive of Fife Cultural Trust, said:
“Creative Scotland’s support for the development of Youth Arts Hubs across Fife is a significant vote of confidence in the young people of the area. The project, which will be delivered by Fife Cultural Trust and key partners will further embed youth arts engagement across Fife and will allow young people to have real influence and a clear voice. The young people involved in this project will drive and shape it, building capacity, skills and legacy for the future.”
Cllr Gavin Yates, Fife Council’s executive spokesperson for Community Health and Wellbeing at Fife Council, welcomed the funding, saying: “Fife Council are delighted to be contributing to this exciting new project. The development of Youth Arts Hubs across the Kingdom will be of great benefit to young people of all backgrounds, and is a fantastic way to grow skills and confidence in the region’s young people.”
Acting as focal points for regional youth arts delivery, the Hubs will nurture and celebrate ambition, enthusiasm and talent in Scotland’s young people by improving the regional infrastructure. Young people will be central to the decision making process and development of the Youth Arts Hubs.
Leonie Bell, director of Arts & Engagement, Creative Scotland, said:
“Through making connections and developing new projects these Hubs will enable more children and young people to take part in creative activities close to where they live.
“These Hubs will not only create opportunities for young people to shine and express themselves creatively; but also by placing them at the heart of the creation and delivery of the new work, the young people will develop skills and expertise which will be invaluable to their futures.”
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Sectary for Culture Secretary, said:
“The Scottish Government is committed to supporting all of Scotland’s children and young people to flourish and achieve in the arts, and to make Scotland an international leader for creativity for children and young people. The Youth Arts Hubs will build on the well-established links between culture, education, youth employment and personal development, and will help us to deliver a step change in our youth arts provision in Scotland.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Time to Shine: The Hubs are a key element of Scotland’s National Youth Arts Strategy, Time to Shine. The strategy sets out a vision and key recommendations to enable Scotland’s children and young people to flourish and achieve, in and through the arts and creativity. For further information please see: http://www.creativescotland.com/what-we-do/latest-news/archive/2013/11/time-to-shine-scotlands-first-national-arts-strategy-for-young-people-launched-today
The £3.1m announced today is part of £5m funding awarded to Creative Scotland from Scottish Governments Young Scots Fund over the next two years to support initiatives based on key objectives of Time to Shine, Scotland National Youth Arts Strategy.
The Young Scots Fund was a significant initiative launched in the 2012-13 budget worth £50m that would invest over the following four years in emerging young talent in sport, enterprise and creativity. This investment in our young people is an investment in a better future for Scotland. It will range across a number of projects. It will provide opportunities for developing, encouraging and building talent, for Young Scots to excel and realise their potential as our future entrepreneurs, creative practitioners and sports champions.
Creative Scotland is the national organisation that funds and supports the development of Scotland’s arts, screen and creative industries. Creative Scotland has four objectives: to develop and sustain a thriving environment for the arts, screen and creative industries; to support excellence in artistic and creative practice; to improve access to and participation in, arts and creative activity; and to deliver our services efficiently and effectively.
For further information on Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com.
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Sophie Bambrough
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Creative Scotland
E: sophie.bambrough@creativescotland.com
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M: 07747 606 146
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