Two new Scottish Arts Council grants will provide young people in South Lanarkshire and the Highlands with the opportunity to make an artistic impact on their local communities. Grants of £40,000 have been allocated to the two councils by the Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund, in an effort to encourage disadvantaged young people to collaborate with peers, artists and voluntary organisations in the creation of public artworks. The project, which will stretch across seven of the mainland Highland Social Inclusion Partnership areas, will see artists assisting the participants in a number of visual arts projects that may include projection, film and animation. At the same time, however, the project is intended to be entirely participant-driven. The young people involved will be responsible for the locations and timeframes of the projects, and will be responsible for keeping their local communities informed of developments. Plans for the South Lanarkshire Council public art project are already underway with young people poised to develop the Stonefield Park 'Artscape' Project. Amanda Catto, Head of Visual Art for the Scottish Arts Council, expressed optimism that the project would encourage the participants to become more active in their communities. 'The project will see them develop a range of skills, expand their understanding of the arts sector, as well as contribute to their own local community,' she remarked.