Three youth arts and civil society organisations have received a total of £223,530 to help the recovery of youth arts provision across the city of Edinburgh, ensuring employment for youth arts practitioners and creative opportunities for children and young people continue despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Action for Children, Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival, North Edinburgh Arts, SambaYaBamba, Made in Midlothian CIC and Wheatley Foundation 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.
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.”
Genevieve Kay-Gourlay, Depute to Director, North Edinburgh Arts said: “North Edinburgh Arts (NEA) is delighted to be awarded funding from Creative Scotland to deliver a youth arts residency programme, in partnership with Independent Arts Projects (IAP), for freelance artists and creative practitioners working across a range of artforms.
“The programme will empower freelance arts practitioners to take the lead in the design and delivery of accessible creative opportunities for children and young people living in Muirhouse and North Edinburgh.
“Artists will be supported through mentoring, advice and training, and will have access to a regular peer forum; trying out ideas as part of new or longer-term piece of research and development, whilst strengthening and broadening longer-term connections with the individuals and organisations involved.”
Paul Carberry, Director for Scotland, Action for Children said: “We are very pleased to have secured funding from Creative Scotland to undertake youth arts projects within our services in Scotland.
“This money will allow our services to deliver a range of arts projects, with the young people themselves deciding the arts they want to explore.
“This fund will also enable us to work collaboratively with a range of artists across the country, allowing the children and young people we work with to benefit from a rich and diverse creative experience to support them.”
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.”
Giles Agis, Carnival and Community Manager, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival said: “Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival’s Small Grants Fund project ‘Routes to Roots’ will see a diverse range of freelance musicians, dancers, circus artists, spoken word performers, street theatre artists and carnival costume makers re-imagine Edinburgh Festival Carnival 2021 through ‘artists led’ projects.
“The selected artists will work with children and young people across Edinburgh’s diverse communities, creating new mobile performance work which will animate our annual carnival parade, or static work which will be performed in Princes Gardens after the carnival has finished.”
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.”
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.”
Action for Children has received £50,000, Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival £30,000, North Edinburgh Arts £36,025, SambaYaBamba £27,505 and Wheatley Foundation £50,000.
These organisations are five 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.
Image: Zoo Arts participants, project led by Alice Betts at North Edinburgh Arts