CREATIVE Scotland is delighted to announce £400,000 support to help boost youth arts provision in Aberdeen and the North East.
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 Dumbartonshire – 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.
Aberdeen Performing Arts will work in partnership with youth and arts providers to deliver the Youth Arts Hub for Aberdeen and the North East.
The Hub will harness the energy and creative potential of young people in the region aged 0-25 through an inclusive, innovative and engaging programme of youth arts activity which is shaped and driven by the participants.
Planned activities include a young promoters and advocacy scheme, which will be informed by a youth advisory forum and include activity targeted at the unique demographics of this region.
Youth Arts Hub partners for this area include Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen Foyer, Aberdeen International Youth Festival, Arts Centre & Theatre Aberdeen, Belmont Picturehouse, Citymoves Dance Agency, Frozen Charlotte, Music 4 U, North East Arts Touring, Sound Festival, Station House Media Unit and Woodend Barn. (£400,000)
Ben Torrie, director of Programming and Creative Projects, Aberdeen Performing Arts, said:
“Aberdeen Performing Arts and its partners are thrilled and honoured to be selected to deliver a Youth Arts Hub for Aberdeen and the North East. There are nearly 150,000 young people living in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, and we are eager to enrich and improve the lives of as many as we can, particularly marginalised young people, looked after children and those from diverse cultural backgrounds. We also believe that this gives us a unique opportunity to engage with young people in order to build a more creative and vibrant cultural landscape for the region.”
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. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland
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