Creative projects from Edinburgh artists and creative organisations are in motion thanks to National Lottery funding awarded through Creative Scotland’s Open Fund.
A new poetry project from Neu! Reekie!, a community arts project focusing on Edinburgh’s history and a 50th anniversary commission from Meadows Chamber Orchestra are among the 53 projects in total sharing in over £1.2million of National Lottery funding.
These funds aim to support creativity across Scotland for artists, organisations and creative groups as they seek to build sustainability while emerging from Covid-19 restrictions.
With new funding, independent publisher 404 Ink will be continuing their development of new and emerging Scottish voices, including new poetry, novels and memoirs.
Co-founder and Publishing Director Heather McDaid says: “As a small publisher trying to survive and thrive through the pandemic, this is an incredible opportunity to put real resources behind authors and titles we fully believe in, and create a large network of freelance opportunities, while also being able to develop our paid internship programme and look to 404 Ink’s long-term recovery and sustainability.”
Neu! Reekie!’s forthcoming The New Now! will draw focus on Scotland’s poets. From #NeuVoices publishing their first poem to Scotland’s new Makar making their mark, The New Now! will offer poets and audiences alike, a year-long series of live shows and broadcast-quality digital events.
Neu! Reekie! Co-founder Michael Pedersen says: “We’re elated to see this vital project taking flight — through it we hope to make sense of the last bewildering period and gather gusto for the future.”
ReDrawing Edinburgh is a community-led creative project from Edinburgh City Archives designed to commemorate the centennial of the 1920 Edinburgh Boundaries Extension and Tramways Act.
Activities around this project will include the projection a short, commissioned archive multi-media installation onto five buildings in the five boundary extension areas, on five evenings during September 2021.
Henry Sullivan, Information Asset Manager says: “The heritage of each community will be displayed to local audiences in their own community spaces in an innovative and engaging fashion.
“The hope is that this will be a model for future collaboration between content custodians, community organisations and local artists.”
Meadows Chamber Orchestra will celebrate its 50th anniversary with the commission and Scottish premiere of an exciting new orchestral symphony by renowned composer Eleanor Alberga.
Principal conductor and musical advisor, Peter Evans says: “As the Meadows Chamber Orchestra prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in June 2022, the ensemble is particularly delighted to receive financial support from Creative Scotland for the commission of a new symphony from the Jamaican -born British composer, Eleanor Alberga. The new piece will be a joint commission with the Bristol-based Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra.”
INTO THE ALTERED STATES is a year-long project by artist Benjamin Owen celebrating voices across Scotland and bringing together an intergenerational group of musicians alongside the voices of elderly individuals.
Benjamin explained: “This funding is a vital opportunity for me to develop as a participatory artist after a twenty-year career in arts education.
“It allows me to integrate all sorts of skills and experiences gathered in teaching into a more experimental and flexible environment.”
Joan Parr, Creative Scotland’s Interim Director of Arts and Engagement, said: “Thanks to the generosity of National Lottery players, who raise £30 million for good causes across the UK every week, these vital funds are helping artists to continue to develop and present their work and to bring extraordinary creative experiences to life within our communities.”
A full list of recipients of Open Fund awards is available on the Creative Scotland website.
27 Edinburgh-based projects are sharing in over £607,000 of National Lottery and Scottish Government funding through Creative Scotland in the March and April rounds of Open Fund awards.
Designed to support creative people, projects and organisations across Scotland to adapt and respond to the current changing circumstances brought about by Covid-19, awards made through the Open Fund are helping to sustain creative development at this challenging time.
Edinburgh-based artists and creative practitioners include:
The Cymera Festival – an annual celebration of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror (SFFH) writing, bringing together writers and readers to share ideas, create stories and share insights.
Cymera is the first of its kind in the UK, and 2021 is its third instalment. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the programme will once again be digital.
Festival organiser Ann Landmann said: “We are excited to return to the digital space from 3rd to 6th June 2021. Thanks to the funding from the Creative Scotland Open Fund, #Cymera21 is a jam-packed weekend and our most international programme yet, with speakers joining us from all around the world.
“From internationally bestselling authors to Scottish debuts, our programme is a smorgasbord of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror writers to suit all tastes.”
The Dance Audition! is a new interactive online performance piece. Inspired by A Chorus Line, the 1985 American musical drama film, The Dance Audition! will be choreographed by Dance Ihayami’s Artistic Director, Priya Shrikumar using popular Indian dance forms.
Audience members will be encouraged to follow the journey of performers, learn the choreography and participate as a judge to identify the dancers for the final 5-minute dance creation, choreographed by Priya.
Choreographer, Priya Shrikumar (top) said: “Now is the best and in a way a positive time for this form (Indian dance) to be viewed and enjoyed by a larger audience – something accessible and enjoyable.
“It will bring colour and wonder to a world which is a bit colourless at the moment, due to the pandemic.”
Re·creation: A Creative Opportunity for Queer Poets is a new work from Edinburgh-based writers Éadaoín Lynch and Alycia Pirmohamed, with independent publisher Stewed Rhubarb Press.
This project will identify and commission Covid-affected queer creatives to write poems, develop their craft, build a community of poets, and be published in a landmark poetry collection.
The project leads are also the co-editors of the anthology, planned for publication in summer 2022. Éadaoín Lynch is an early career researcher with a PhD in poetry from the University of St Andrews; Alycia Pirmohamed is co-founder of the Scottish BAME Writers Network, and winner of the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award 2020.
The collection is planned to include 30 poets: 10 commissions, and 20 selections from an open call for submissions. Workshops, 1-to-1 mentorship, and a round-table feedback session will be provided as part of the project. More information can be found on the website here: https://recreation-anthology.co.uk/
Project lead, Éadaoín Lynch says: “The project title has its roots in play, refreshment, recovery, restoration, invigoration, and creating, all of which are long overdue in a Covid-affected world, particularly for those in the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Funding has also been awarded to Edinburgh-based visual artist Alison Grant for a period of research to develop a new body of work looking at coastal communities across the 11,000 miles of Scotland’s shores.
From Viking graffiti artists who anchored in the best fishing areas to the contemporary work of today’s Blue Carbon visionaries, the project will look at best practice from the past to inform how we consider our coastlines in the future.
Visual artist Alison Grant says: “I am delighted to have received funding from Creative Scotland for 11000 Miles, a project conceived during lockdown this winter.
“It is important at this time of climate crisis to look locally to our own coastline for sustainable solutions to some of the problems we have created. I want to engage with these issues to use my creativity to communicate ideas, not just to as wide an audience as possible but also to our local communities, to look anew at our relationship with the sea.”
Strategy: Get Arts. 35 Artists Who Broke the Rules is a new work from Studies in Photography (part of the Scottish Society for the History of Photography).
Edited by Christian Weikop, Senior Lecturer, Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), this book will be the first print publication to consider the formation of the ground-breaking exhibition Strategy: Get Arts (SGA), staged at ECA in 1970, when thirty-five German post-war artists (including Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Blinky Palermo, Klaus Rinke, and Günther Uecker) staged a provocative takeover of ECA, transforming the college into a ‘total work of art’ through their ‘actions’ and installations.
Featuring essays by academics, senior National Galleries of Scotland staff, and those involved in curating the exhibition, the publication will include photographs by Monika Baumgartl, George Oliver, and Richard Demarco, many never seen before.
Alex Hamilton says: “As Chair and Co-Editor of Studies in Photography, I am delighted to be able to publish this book. The exhibition held for me, particular importance as one of the gallery assistants.
“It changed many people’s lives… After 50 years and during the anniversary of the birth of Joseph Beuys we are delighted that the amazing stories behind this ground-breaking event can finally be revealed.”
The work is due to be published later in 2021.
These examples are some of the 105 projects in total that have been awarded over £2.3million of National Lottery and Scottish Government funding through Creative Scotland in the latest rounds of Open Fund awards.
Iain Munro, CEO, Creative Scotlandsaid: “Thanks to the generosity of National Lottery players, who raise £30 million for good causes across the UK every week, alongside equally welcome funding from the Scottish Government, these Open Fund awards are helping artists, creative organisations and communities to develop and share their work, and to keep culture and creativity at the heart of people’s lives as we look to recover from the challenges of the pandemic.”
20 creatives launch new campaigns and bid for up to £10,000 match funding
Eight Edinburgh based projects are among twenty creative projects across Scotland to launch their worldwide crowdfunding campaigns, thanks to a coaching and match-funding scheme run by Creative Scotland in partnership with Crowdfunder.
The Edinburgh based Crowdfunding campaigns include INKLINGS, a new non-fiction series from award winning, independent publisher 404 INK;
ReStyler a brand-new and sustainable garment restyling alteration service from award-winning social enterprise Remode Collective;
Ink on Mesh, a community print, and textiles studio facility offering fully equipped studio space from contemporary textiles brand Blessed Unrest;
songwriter Amy Duncan is fundraising for her new album ‘Cocoon’;and
Rowanbank Environmental Arts & Education CIC is fundraising to develop an original outdoor circus & theatre show, ‘Positive Imaginings’, that engages children with the issue of climate change and how it is linked to our connection with the natural world, amongst others.
As part of the Creative Scotland Crowdmatch programme, the creatives have been building their campaigns with coaching support from Crowdfunder over the past four weeks.
Now ‘live’, once projects raise £1,000 from at least 30 supporters they will receive £1,000 match funding from the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Further match funding is potentially available, up to a maximum of £10,000 per project, for those that reach additional funding targets, until the total sum available of £75,000 is allocated.
Jason Nuttall, Programme Director at Crowdfunder said:“Working with Creative Scotland in 2020 was a very positive experience so we’re pleased to be collaborating once again on what is shaping up another fantastic round of crowdfunding.
“We had a huge response to this year’s call for entry, with an amazing range of ideas submitted for big and small creative projects across Scotland. Throughout the COVID crisis we have worked with thousands of organisations, so we know that crowdfunding has many positive benefits, even during tough times.
“Good luck to all the entrants, we’re looking forward to sharing the highs, lows, and surprises over the coming weeks.
Jackie Stewart, Creative Industries Officer, Creative Scotland said: “We’re delighted to continue working with Crowdfunder to help more creative businesses in Scotland gain a deeper understanding of crowdfunding by giving them the coaching and tools to launch their own campaigns.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the projects selected to grow their networks, increase awareness of their work and build stronger connections with their customers and audiences.
“The arts and creative industries have been hit hard by the consequences of the pandemic and crowdfunding offers creative individuals and businesses a viable way to generate the income required for creative projects and to sustain and grow a business.
“Thanks to the generosity of National Lottery players, who raise £30 million for good causes across the UK every week these creative projects will be supported to deliver a fantastic range of work.”
About the Creative Scotland Crowdmatch 2021 projects in Edinburgh
Heather McDaid and Laura Jones of award-winning independent publisher 404 Ink is crowdfunding for the launch of their non-fiction seriesINKLINGS.
The eight titles, part of their series of big ideas in compact packages, are designed for the curious reader, looking to learn more on subjects that they may be interested in learning more about, but don’t know where to start.
Laura Jones, co-founder & publisher, 404 Ink: “What a thrill to see our new Inklings series launched with Crowdfunder and the Creative Scotland Crowdmatch initiative!
“The idea for this series came mid-pandemic when life was looking bleak for so many people and 404 Ink was in hibernation and now that idea has bloomed into a full series of topics that are vital, timely, and insightful, we can’t wait to get the books into people’s hands.
“We’re honoured to be working with such talented writers who are trusting us with their words and experiences – we hope we can do them justice and that this campaign will launch the Inklings with the fanfare it deserves.”
Edinburgh based songwriter Amy Duncan is fundraising for her new album ‘Cocoon’, which was written during lockdown.
Amy will be working with percussionist Guy Nicolson and co producer Cameron Malcolm to record the album.
Amy Duncancommented: “I am a music artist based in Scotland and will be releasing a new album next November. It was written in 2020 throughout the lockdown and it is my hope that the songs will resonate widely with people through the shared experience of being in the midst of a global pandemic.
“I will be working with PR specialist Black Arts PR who work with renowned artists such as Mogwai and C Duncan. Crowdfunding will cover costs of recording, PR, radio plugging, and a special live stream album launch gig which I will perform with a band in an Edinburgh venue.”
Isla Munro is crowdfunding the 100 Days Project Scotland which encourages people to undertake daily creative pursuits which will be exhibited in an annual show.
Building on the award-winning album Songs of Separation, Jenny Hill is fundraising for ‘SoS Music – ALL SING!’.
The project will bring together community choir leaders from across the UK to enjoy a rewarding creative residential which will result in new song teaching resources.
Contemporary textiles brand Blessed Unrest is crowdfunding Ink on Mesh, a community print, and textiles studio facility offering fully equipped studio space, a wide range of classes and expert technical support to its community.
Lorna Brown ofBlessed Unrestcommented: “With the support of Creative Scotland Crowdmatch and Crowdfunder UK I’m looking to achieve my dream of establishing INK on MESH in the heart of my local community.
“The studio will allow me to continue to develop my own textiles brand as well as providing invaluable space and specialized equipment for developing, emerging and graduate textile practitioners.
“I know just how challenging it is to pursue your professional career as a textile graduate without access to screens, studio space and the support networks that college life offers”.
Award-winning social enterprise Remode Collective are crowdfunding ReStyler, a brand-new and sustainable garment restyling alteration and mending service in Edinburgh.
Producer Penny Davies (co-owner of Smashing Pictures) is working with an all-female team including Director Shiona McCubbin and Writer Amy Hawes to crowdfund their short film ‘Maureen’.
Penny Davies commented: “Shiona, Amy and I have talked about working together a number of times, so we’re absolutely delighted to have been selected for Creative Scotland Crowdfunder with our short film Maureen.
Amy has written a fantastic script, and we have a wonderful all-female team lined up – we can’t wait to get going now!”
Rowanbank Environmental Arts & Education CIC is fundraising to develop an original outdoor circus & theatre show, ‘Positive Imaginings’, that engages children with the issue of climate change and how it is linked to our connection with the natural world.
Rowanbank Environmental Arts & Education commented: “2021 is the year we must address the climate emergency.
“Coming out of COVID-19 we have an opportunity to create a new way of living. Scotland is hosting COP26 this year, the most important meeting on climate change since 2015 when the Paris agreement was drawn up. This project aims to both educate and give a voice to children creating a sense of agency and hope for their future.”
For the full list of projects across Scotland please visit:
Community Renewal: Lifting Neighbourhoods Together, which is being launched this month in Bingham, Magdalene and The Hays by charity Community Renewal, has received funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.
The initiative has already been strongly endorsed by the Edinburgh Poverty Commission* who described that it “exemplifies many of the features we are challenging the city to implement across all publicly funded services in Edinburgh.”*
“We want see if we can re-organise current resources to wrap around the needs and aspirations of people and stick with them for as long as it takes to lift them completely out of poverty.”
“We are partnering with an ever-growing number of public and third sector services, as well as private companies, to join forces as together we can provide the coordinated, multi-faceted and practical support people need.
“What is different about this is that we will work street by street and door by door to engage everyone in every household. We are, thanks to the National Lottery funding, putting the whole community in the driving seat.
“We will listen to every person and decipher how to increase their income by helping them access better work and maximise their benefits and pension entitlements.
“We will reduce their costs, by obtaining better deals for households on their monthly bills and help them access fresh food that is locally available and cheaper. We will support people in securing more affordable housing, adequate to their needs.
“We hope to close the attainment gap for young people in this neighbourhood and build a bridge to the best job opportunities the city has to offer.
“After months feeling isolated in lockdown, we will be tackling loneliness and bringing the community together.”
As soon as 2024, Community Renewal hope that by everyone working together, they will have permanently lifted the neighbourhood out of the 15% most deprived category in the Scottish Government’s Index of Multiple Deprivation.
By making use of existing resources, the project will also be delivered without any extra cost to the taxpayer.
Paul McColgan adds: “The project is a culmination of 20 years working in 17 Scottish neighbourhoods. We have conducted over 40,000 community conversations and helped lift them out of the 15% of most deprived index.
“Lifting Neighbourhoods Together will place transformative power into the hands of the residents to address key issues in their community, such as mental health and wellbeing, housing, education and training, as well as isolation and loneliness.”
Kate Still, Scotland Chair of the National Lottery Community Fund, added: “Thanks to National Lottery players, Lifting Neighbourhoods Together will put the aspirations of local people front and centre and will build upon these to bring about positive change in their lives.
“We understand that when people are in the lead, communities thrive and so we are delighted to be able to support this person-centred approach to tackling poverty and inequality.”
The project launches this month and Paul invites anyone interested in collaborating or discussing the project to get in touch. Details can be found on the Lifting Neighbourhoods website.
Read Community Renewal’s Towards a Britain Without Poverty brochure here
*From A Just Capital Actions to End Poverty in Edinburgh – Edinburgh Poverty Commission Report, September 2020
The development of picture books for children with complex additional needs, a project to sustain community singing and an exhibition about life after lockdown are among the Edinburgh-based projects and research and development initiatives sharing in over £1.6million of National Lottery funding through Creative Scotland in the latest round of Open Fund awards.
These funds are supporting creative individuals, projects and organisations across the country to adapt and respond to the current changing circumstances brought about by COVID-19, and helping to sustain people’s creative development at this challenging time.
A project to develop picture books specifically designed for children with complex additional needs has received development funding.
Led by Edinburgh-based author Ailie Finlay and illustrator Kate Leiper, the project will explore how elements of movement, multi-sensory stimuli and musical interludes can help make picture books more engaging, ergonomic and cost-effective. The results will be shared with publishers, authors, illustrators and booksellers to help encourage accessibility in children’s literature.
Ailie Finlaysaid: “We are absolutely delighted to have received funding and we’re very much looking forward to developing innovative books that are fun and inspirational for children with complex needs and their families and friends.”
Love Music Productions have received development funding for Connected Choirs to help local community singing groups find ways to successfully come together for distanced community singing.
As part of this project, songwriters across different genres will be paired with a choir and commissioned to develop a creative response to the challenges of sustaining community singing in times of restricted social contact. The resulting choral materials will assist with distanced teaching and learning, and will be available for free to singing groups across Scotland.
Talbot Rice Gallery have received research and development funds for a new exhibition exploring what ‘normal’ might look like following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Normal will look at how culture can shape the future, and examine ways in which individuals and communities can help ensure that whatever becomes ‘normal’ after the pandemic is founded upon equality, respect and ecological harmony.
Tessa Giblin, Director, Talbot Rice Gallery said:“We want to look at what this pandemic year has meant to us from a variety of angles – from viruses and their relationship with evolution, to the asymmetry of this pandemic due to social and racial inequality, to its proof that we can step off the train of progress.”
Iain Munro, Chief Executive, Creative Scotlandsaid: “The Open Fund is supporting the creative sector to explore new, safe ways of working, developing practices and reaching wide audiences.
“From poetry festivals to theatre programmes, these projects reflect the resilience, innovation and determination of Scotland’s creative community in the face of COVID-19.”
“Through these challenging and unpredictable times, creativity, art and culture are bringing us together and supporting our emotional wellbeing. Made possible by the generosity of National Lottery players, who raise £30 million for good causes across the UK every week, these awards are helping to sustain the value that creativity adds to our lives.”
Projects that will boost the physical and mental health of young Scots are amongst those sharing in £732,323 of dormant bank accounts funding announced on Thursday.
Ten projects, run for and by young people, are celebrating the cash from The National Lottery Community Fund’s Young Start fund.
One of them is Edinburgh’s Capital City Partnership, who receive £62, 500. The city council’s arms-length employability agency will use their Young Start funding to work with ‘young people in Edinburgh at high risk of unemployment’ who will be supported by a dedicated Employment Advocacy worker. The project will work with twenty young people and will also offer two volunteering opportunities.
The Young Start funding will remove barriers to sport and physical activity for young disabled Scots like racerunner athlete Wiktoria Mucha following a grant of £66,000 to local charity,PHSYICAL.
Wiktoria Mucha, 18, from Blairgowrie has cerebral palsy and is a member of Perth Strathtay Harriers which is one of the many partner organisations and sports clubs that PHYSICAL will work with as part of their Young Start funded ‘Positive Beginnings’ project.
Over the next three years hundreds of young people from Perth & Kinross will be able to access coaching opportunities, accredited courses, volunteering opportunities, one to one mentoring and peer support.
Welcoming the news Wiktoria said: “I enjoy race-running as it improves your overall fitness and emotional well-being. I’m looking forward to taking part in Positive Beginnings as I think it will help me with my confidence by meeting other people and learning new skills.”
PHYSICAL trustee Jim Hunter added: “This Young Start grant will allow us to evolve and grow our ‘Positive Beginnings’ programme. Young disabled people, like Wiktoria, will be at the centre of this process and involved throughout.
“It will help each young person develop lifelong skills and knowledge through the platform of sport and physical activity. This cash boost goes a long way to help us reach the financial target for this project.”
Meanwhile, Dundee Football Club in the Community Trust receives £95,624 to help build the confidence, skills and future employment prospects of young people aged between 15 and 24.
The project will create a safe space for young people to access work placements and further education opportunities whilst using their local knowledge to plan and deliver activities for their communities.
Over two years, it will support 45 young people who will create, design and benefit from the programme.
Welcoming the news, Greg Fenton, Community Manager, Dundee FC In The Community Trust, said: “We are delighted with the news of our Young Start grant, which will help us achieve what we set out as a charity to Deliver Change and Transform Lives in our community.
“This project will give young people a fantastic chance in life and, working with our team and partners, this will increase their positive life chances and support them into further education and/or employment.
“The Trust have guaranteed to employ some of the young people on full time and part time contracts from the programme for a full year, so they can give back to their community whilst transforming their lives and the lives of other young people.”
Young Start awards dormant bank and building society cash to youth-led projects across Scotland and is delivered by The National Lottery Community Fund.
The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “At a time when young people are understandably concerned about their futures, it’s great to see that today’s Young Start funding will provide access to accredited courses, volunteering and training opportunities.
“This in turn will help to grow the confidence of many young people like Wiktoria who will lead from the front and realise their full potential.”
Groups wanting to know more about Young Start, and how it can support them during these unprecedented times should telephone 0141 846 0447 or visit https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/youngstart
30 groups in Edinburgh are today sharing in £635,368 of National Lottery funding.Stepping Stones North Edinburgh is among those celebrating this morning – the project based on Pilton Drive North has received over £163,000.
Stepping Stones North Edinburgh will use their lottery grant to provide support to families experiencing challenging circumstances. It’s expected that up to 230 local people will benefit over the three years of funding and the funding will also provide volunteering opportunities.
Upward Mobility today receives £37,767 of funding, raised by National Lottery players, to provide a range of support and learning opportunities to adults with learning disabilities and autism.
Welcoming the funding, Andrew Thomson, Chief Executive, Upward Mobility Ltd, said: “The team at Upward Mobility are very grateful to have been awarded National Lottery Community Funding to enable us to support our students within their homes during this period of lock down and restrictions on group activities.
“Being able to take support services to our students enables us to maintain contact and help to reduce the feeling of isolation and anxiety experienced during these challenging times. We would wish to thank the National Lottery players for their donations enabling us to carry on this vital work.”
Street Fit Scotlandreceives £9,584 to provide a range of support for homeless and vulnerably housed people across the city.
Michelle Reilly, Founder/Chief Executive, Street Fit Scotland, said: “We are very grateful to receive this National Lottery funding which has enabled us to support the homeless community in Edinburgh to start to recover from lockdown.
“We are now actively providing a variety of outdoor socially distanced fitness sessions again at the meadows. It’s great to see the community connecting again whilst getting fitter and having fun together after experiencing such a tough time.”
And Sikh Sanjog receives £8,400 to conduct research through to December 2020 which will investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the Sikh communities across Scotland.
Trishna Singh OBE, Director, Sikh Sanjog, said: “Sikh Sanjog is the only Family Sikh Support charity in Scotland.
“Although being the gateway to the Sikh community in Scotland, resources have meant that research on the Sikh community has often had to take a step back to ensure focus on front line services. However, the funding awarded from the National Lottery will allow us to create a vital research project which will provide a starting point to assess the impact that COVID-19 has had on Sikhs living in Scotland during the time of the pandemic.
“The funding will enable us to extend the research project to cover not only the early effects the pandemic has had on the Sikh community, but also the current and future impact as we learn to adapt to this new normal.”
Edinburgh based youth mental health charity, U-Evolve, have received a National Lottery award from The National Lottery Community Fund to ensure that young people, parents and front line professionals can access the resources they need to build good mental health, through their new online service – TALK hub.
U-Evolve, which was established in 2015, works with young people age 11-18 years old, providing 1:1 therapeutic coaching, youth mental health awareness workshops and training for frontline professionals, such as teachers and youth workers. This person centred, holistic support ensures that young people have the resources and environments they need to thrive.
The TALK hub will be a virtual one stop shop for trusted resources and tools to support good mental health and wellbeing. These resources for young people, their parents and teachers will include a series of videos and podcasts responding to the questions and concerns U-Evolve hear most.
John*, one of the young people U-Evolve support said: “I am much more positive and happier with myself and how I look at the lockdown. I’m now back at work and felt rejuvenated coming back into work.
“My family and friends all noted drastic changes in my mood. To quote one of them, “You looked different than usual.”, when I question what was different, they said “You’re just radiating positivity.”
“This was when I realised that the help from U-evolve had affected more than just my thoughts and feelings towards being isolated, but that I felt more confident as myself and that I was able to get through a difficult time (albeit with some help) and that I could feel proud of myself for persevering and reflecting on myself as a whole.”
Becky Duff, U-Evolve’s CEO said: “We are delighted to receive this award from the National Lottery Community Fund. This support means that we can create our TALK hub and reach more young people and families than ever before.
“We’re seeing first- hand the impact the Covid-19 pandemic continues to have on young people and their families, and it’s more important than ever that these people can access the support they need, when they need it.”
*name changed for anonymity
Other Edinburgh and Leith projects to receive good news this morning include the Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden, Pilmeny Youth Centre, The Junction and the Men of Leith & District Men’s Shed group.
Announcing today’s funding of £5.5m to 257 projects across Scotland, The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “In these uncertain times our priority is to ensure that National Lottery money continues to flow to charities, voluntary sector organisations and grassroots groups.
“I would like to congratulate Upward Mobility, Street Fit Scotland and Sikh Sanjog on their awards. Each are important projects which will support people now and in the future when they can physically come back together to make great things happen in their community.”
“National Lottery players can be proud to know that money they raise by buying tickets is continuing to make such a difference.”
National Lottery players raise £30 million every week for good causes in the UK.
The National Lottery Community Fund in Scotland is currently focusing its funding on those projects that supporting organisations and communities to respond to the challenge of COVID-19.
Lottery boost for Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden
The Friends’ group’s Gillean Paterson explained: “We received £10,000 from the National Lottery to match fund the grant from The Robertson Trust.
“The money is specifically to employ a Community Project Development Officer for one year to put in place plans for the garden.
“These include more community veg growing, a green gym, planting a miniforest to increase biodiversity, longer opening times – and that’s just to begin with!”
Edinburgh based creative projects Neu Reekie and Out of the Blueprint are among 68 projects across Scotland who have received a total of £1.6million from The National Lottery through Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund, to reimagine work and create new opportunities during COVID-19.
Neu Reekie has been rethinking its year-long 10th anniversary programme, adapting and refocusing plans to reach audiences digitally.
Kevin Williamson, Co-founder, Neu Reekiesaid: “For our 10th year we organised our fullest, most diverse, and most ground-breaking programme of events to date in Edinburgh, with a year-long series of core shows, as well an ambitious tour of Scotland’s towns and islands.
“All of these have had to be postponed because of coronavirus. To this end we’ve marked Edwin Morgan’s centenary with a live streamed show on the weekend of his birthday which was conceptualised and programmed in the same unique way we do for our live shows.
“We’re hosting the Scottish leg of the BBC’s Words First talent development scheme over the summer months to help discover new spoken word talent; as well as launching a public appeal for new commissioned work from poets.
“We’ll be at the ready to re-organise our core events, our national tour, and collaborative events when the coast is clear.”
Social enterprise and print studio, Out of the Blueprint is developing Walk Don’t Walk, an exhibition of work by 20 young illustrators and comic-makers.
Originally imagined as a summer presentation at Leith’s Drill Hall, plans are now underway to showcase work on the streets of Leith.
Johnny Gaily, Managerat Out of the Blueprint, said: “There’s a real need this summer to put art and community up front and central, and I can’t think of a better way than to showcase some of the amazing young talent we’re working with.”
Joan Parr, Director of Arts and Engagement at Creative Scotlandsaid: “COVID-19 has had such a significant impact on artists and organisations working across the country that it is sometimes difficult to think positively at this time.
“We’re therefore pleased to share news of these projects where artists have been able to adapt their practices and work, finding new and engaging ways to connect with audiences and contribute to our national wellbeing in these challenging circumstances.”
Image: Out of the Blueprint exhibition opening. Credit: Out of the Blueprint
Two Edinburgh groups supporting communities in different ways during the COVID-19 pandemic are the most recent recipients of cash from the National Lottery Community Fund.
The Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC)receives an award of £10,000 to support children and families who are shielding due to ongoing health conditions.
Welcoming the funding, Victoria Buchanan, Deputy Director of Fundraising at ECHC, said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund for their incredibly generous contribution towards our COVID-19 Emergency Appeal.
“This is a particularly difficult time for families known to the Sick Kids hospital as they are having to cope with the impact of the pandemic on top of the distress of having a sick or injured child.
“Thanks to donations like this, ECHC is helping to ease anxiety and bring comfort to families both in hospital and shielding at home through the provision of Emergency Care Packs filled with food, toiletries, arts and crafts and books – giving them a few less things to worry about.
“Thank you for standing beside children, young people and families when they need it the most.”
Claire Narrie, 32, from Bonnyrigg, has been shielding at home with her husband, John and son Josh (2) for the past three months. Claire said: “Our son Josh has congenital heart disease and chronic lung disease and we have had to shield with him pretty much since he was born.
“Getting the care package was such a help as we didn’t want to risk going out and I was emotional when we got it delivered as it was a real act of kindness. Josh was so excited to open the arts and crafts and it was a real surprise for him. It really helped alleviate the stress we were going through and was a real lifeline which provided us with a link to the outside world.”
An award of £4,500 means that Passion4Fusion can run a series of online learning sessions and virtual classroom sessions for young people from BME communities living in Edinburgh and West Lothian.
Jonathan Ssentamu, Community Development Worker, Passion4Fusion, said: We are delighted that this funding from National Lottery Awards for All will help out community to thrive in Edinburgh and West Lothian.
“The project is being delivered by a group of staff, peer volunteers and young people who are peer leaders and who fully involved in the development and implementation of the programme. We envisage that this project and funding will put smiles again on the faces of BME young people and their families.”
TheNational Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Director, Neil Ritch, said: “I’d like to congratulate Edinburgh Hospital Children’s Charity and Passion4Fusion on their funding which has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players.
“This funding will make a huge difference to the lives of many people and reminds us all how important a package of tailored support can be to improve well-being and keep people connected.”
