Three youth arts and civil society organisations have received a total of £103K to help the recovery of youth arts provision across Glasgow, ensuring employment for youth arts practitioners and creative opportunities for children and young people continue despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Glasgow Connected Arts Network, Wheatley Foundation and SambaYaBamba will use the funding to distribute grants of between £500-£5,000 directly to freelance artists/creative practitioners, across all artforms, for artist led youth arts activities.
Hannah Justad, Executive Director, Glasgow Connected Arts Network said: “This grant will allow us to roll-out a youth-led strand to our established small grant making framework whilst extending our reach through supporting youth-led decision making. The programme will engage participatory artists in Glasgow during this extremely challenging time for the sector. Young people who are facing ever increasing barriers to the arts and community cohesive activity will have access to much needed creative experiences, which will broaden horizons and raise aspirations for young people from a variety of backgrounds here in the city.”
The organisations will open for individual grant applications early in the new year.
Gaynor Milne, SambaYaBamba said: “SambaYaBamba are delighted to be involved in this exciting new way of distributing funds from Creative Scotland directly to practitioners in the street band network. This will open up opportunities for freelancers to create their own youth projects, with support from our organisation. We’re really excited to welcome applications from individuals in early 2021, and look forward to seeing the new projects that emerge from this process.”
Lorraine McLaren, Director, Wheatley Foundation said: “Many people in our communities just don’t have the opportunity or the means to access the arts. We’re always keen to find new ways to support tenants and their families to take part in art, drama or music and this tranche of funding will enable us to do exactly that. We’re looking forward to working with Creative Scotland and artists to bring some great projects to our communities right across central and the south of Scotland.”
Minister for Children and Young People, Maree Todd said: “Youth music and youth arts organisations across Scotland are playing an important role in the lives of young people during these difficult times. This funding will widen access to high quality opportunities for young people, allowing them to participate and engage with music and other art forms.
“It will also provide welcome employment opportunities to more than 200 youth arts practitioners, including freelance musicians, across Scotland.”
Iain Munro, CEO, Creative Scotland said: “These vital emergency funds being delivered by Creative Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government are ensuring that creative opportunities continue to exist for young people and across Scotland at this critical time and provide important work for freelance artists whose opportunities have been so severely impacted by Covid-19.”
Glasgow Connected Arts Network has received £25,000, Wheatley Foundation £50,000 and SambaYaBamba £27,505.
The Glasgow based organisations are three of 18 across Scotland to have received a share of share in over £690K funding. The full list of recipients is:
| Organisation (Trading name) | Local Authority Area | Funding Amount |
| Aberdeen City Council, Creative Learning | Aberdeen | £50,000 |
| Action for Children | Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire | £50,000 |
| Angus Council | Angus | £30,000 |
| Dundee Rep & Scottish Dance Theatre Limited | Dundee | £40,625 |
| East Ayrshire Council | East Ayrshire | £35,000 |
| Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival | Edinburgh | £30,000 |
| Fèis Rois | Highland, Moray, Aberdeenshire, Dumfries & Galloway | £48,000 |
| Fife Cultural Trust | Fife | £50,000 |
| Findhorn Bay Arts | Moray | £50,000 |
| Glasgow Connected Arts Network | Glasgow | £25,000 |
| Made in Midlothian CIC | Midlothian | £30,000 |
| North Edinburgh Arts | Edinburgh | £36,025 |
| PACE Theatre Company | Renfrewshire | £20,000 |
| SambaYaBamba | Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Edinburgh | £27,505 |
| Scottish Borders Council | Scottish Borders | £50,000 |
| Shetland Arts Development Agency | Shetland | £39,150 |
| The Pier Arts Centre | Orkney | £29,058 |
| Wheatley Foundation | Glasgow, Edinburgh, National | £50,000 |
The Small Grants Scheme is the second strand of funding to be announced as part of the Scottish Government’s £3million funding package for Youth Arts, being delivered through Creative Scotland. At least £1.2million has already been distributed through the Youth Arts Targeted Fund and £50,000 assigned to the Nurturing Talent: New Routes Fund.
Updates on all emergency funds are being published regularly on this website and publicised through media and social media communications.
