City’s creative young people to benefit from £50k award funding
05 February 2021
An Aberdeen City Council team is leading on an awards scheme that will see youth art activity in the city benefit from £50k in funding, it was announced today (Friday Feb 5)
The Council’s Creative Learning has been awarded Youth Arts Recovery funding through Creative Scotland to support and administer Youth Arts Small Grants Fund to freelance creatives practitioners. The scheme will support employment for practitioners to help sustain creative opportunities for children and young people despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Funding will be allocated through the Youth Arts Practitioner Awards (YAPA) which is launched today. Creative practitioners living and practicing in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire are invited to apply for grants between £500 and £5000 for the collaborative development and delivery of high-quality artist led youth arts activity in the city.
The YAPA scheme is looking to award creative practitioners across a range of art forms with the experience and skills to inspire, and co – design activities with the young people. Creative practitioners will be asked to submit their applications to include ideas for working in youth settings with the identified priority groups and partners including people with a disability or additional support needs, from BAME backgrounds, are in the early years (0-5) of their lives, experiencing poverty or residing in areas of economic deprivation, or at risk of experiencing harm or neglect.
The awards aim to attract individuals with a strong creative practice and interest in using their art form to engage, nurture and upskill children and young people up to the age of 25 years. Creative Learning is also keen to hear from recent graduates with a desire develop their practice in youth arts.
Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokeswoman, Councillor Marie Boulton, said: “Particularly during this time of pandemic, it's so important that we can provide creative employment opportunities in Aberdeen. This innovative programme will bring together artists and host organisations adding valuable creative approaches to nurturing young people's wellbeing, skills and employment opportunities.”
Creative Learning are working in partnership with Station House Media Unit and other Culture Aberdeen partners to extend the reach of the fund. The Youth Arts Practitioner Awards will connect artists and youth organisations who have the same desired outcomes. Artist led activity with children and young people will focus on wellbeing, skills development and employability and will take place June 2021 – March 2022.
A wrap around programme of networking events, training and mentoring will run concurrently to successful grant recipients to ensure strong networks and sustainable outcomes are achieved. Host and network partners include Aberdeen Foyer, Barnardos, Aberdeen City Council’s Youth Work Team and Children’s 1st.
Creative Learning are part of Aberdeen City Council’s Early Intervention and Community Empowerment function, with a collaborative partnership approach to delivering creativity across the city to enable Aberdeen citizens to employ creative approaches to enrich their lives and reach their potential.
To apply for funding, creative practitioners should visit:
The deadline for applications is Friday 5 March 2021.