Over £3.1m to boost youth arts provision across Scotland

Creative Scotland,
07 April 2014, Scotland

Creative Scotland is delighted to announce £3.1m support to help boost youth arts provision across Scotland.

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 regional Youth Arts Hubs 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.

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.”

http://www.creativescotland.com/what-we-do/latest-news/archive/2014/apr/over-3.1m-to-boost-youth-arts-provision-across-scotland