Young Scots take to the stage thanks to £880,000 in funding to kick-start arts careers

Projects helping thousands of young Scots to explore their creative talents are today (THURSDAY 17 FEBRUARY) sharing in £880,817 of Young Start funding.

Young Start, delivered by The National Lottery Community Fund, awards dormant bank account funding to projects that help young people reach their full potential. See full list of projects here.

Could the next Calvin Harris or Sam Heughan come from a Dumfries project which encourages and inspires young people to hone their creative and performing skills?

Despite having no vocational courses available in the performing arts, Dumfries and Galloway has produced many well-known actors and performing artists over the years and that’s set to continue thanks to an award of £78,000 to The Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival. The funding means that they can run their Stage iT project for the next three years, giving many more young people across the region the opportunities and training needed to pursue a career in the performing arts.

Jodie Rae, a 22-year-old musician, songwriter, and actor from Dumfries is one of the thousands of young people who have benefitted from the project so far. Jodie developed a video project which involved a British Sign Language performance of three original songs.

She said: “Being involved with this project has allowed me to meet and work with lots of people who are involved in the creative industries in Scotland. It has given me a platform as I am able to perform at, and be promoted by, the same festival as many other types of artists from the region and beyond.”

When asked how she feels the funding can benefit future generations in the area, Jodie said: “Although more Dumfries & Galloway artists are being recognised for their work and there has been substantial creative development in the region, there are still many voices that haven’t been heard. This funding gives creatives a platform to showcase their existing work, but also presents the opportunity for them to develop and expand even basic ideas.

Melanie Purdie, Strategic and Creative Director at Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival says that the project provides much-needed opportunities for young people to gain creative skills. She said: “Stage iT is a vital programme for young people from Dumfries & Galloway to engage with the performing arts industry. It provides professional opportunities and creates pathways to establish careers in the arts.

“This will provide us with invaluable capacity to embed this programme into the region’s cultural sector. It will provide a steady and reliable resource for young people to benefit from. We look forward to presenting more performances made by young people, for young people.”

In North Lanarkshire, Young Start funding will help inspire hundreds of young people to engage with their local heritage, mainly in the form of traditional tunes and songs.

‘Wait Till You Hear This’ is a new youth-led engineering, computer aided design and traditional arts project for being delivered by Gael Music with the help of their folk academy pupils and HND students from New College Lanarkshire. An award of £39,320 means they can work with local primary schools and youth groups on a project that will culminate in a programme of public performances of animation and folk music at the Summerlee Museum in Coatbridge.

Luke Daniels, Director, Gael Music, said: “This is a complex project which represents a unique opportunity to the children and young people taking part. I am acutely aware that work of this nature would simply not be possible without the support of Young Start. The activities we have planned over the next eighteen months will have such a positive impact on the lives of everyone taking part whilst also benefiting participating families and their surrounding communities.”

The National Lottery Community Fund, Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “We’re thrilled to have been able to fund such innovative and inspiring groups through Young Start once again. The skills, confidence, and knowledge the thousands of young people like Jodie will gain through taking part in these projects will be invaluable in building brighter futures with more opportunities in the creative industries.

“We are always keen to support projects which put Scotland’s young people at the heart of the development and running of services. If your group has an idea how you would make this happen, then we’d love to hear from you.”