Nurturing Talent Fund Supports Young Creative Stars

Published: 25 Jul 2016

Today (25 July), 12 young people from across Scotland have been awarded funding from Young Scot and Creative Scotland for projects that will nurture and develop their creative talents.

The Nurturing Talent Fund aims to support young people’s creative work regardless of geography, affordability and disability. The recipients in the latest round of funding are:

• Edinburgh indie-rock band Skjør (pronounced “sure”) who will use the funding to release a new single and produce a music video.
• Ellen Renton, 20, a visually impaired spoken word poet from Edinburgh who performs on Glasgow’s poetry scene. She recently appeared on BBC1Xtra and plans to record her poetry. The Nurturing Talent Fund will help Ellen host a launch event for her first CD.
• Martin Tazioli, 19, a fashion photographer and magazine editor from Fife, will use the funding to open a pop-up gallery of street fashion photography in Edinburgh.
• Cormac McGoldrick, 17, a fashion designer from Fife will create a new range of exclusive t-shirts and hoodies.
• Arthur Coates, 14, a traditional musician from Aberdeenshire who plays the piano, fiddle and pipes. Arthur will use the funding to attend auditions and rehearsals.
• A group of four men aged 17-20 are hosting a series of comedy workshops to raise the aspirations of Young Offenders. Comedian Gary Little will run the workshops, drawing on his own experiences in prison to show how he turned his life can be turned around.

Young Scot and Creative Scotland awarded just under £3,000 to these projects to help them deliver their ambitions.

The Nurturing Talent Fund is part of the Scottish Government’s Time to Shine youth arts strategy, which seeks to change the way the arts is viewed and help Scotland become an international leader in young people’s creativity. 

The Nurturing Talent Fund is available for young people aged 14-20 years old. Applications are administered by young people on the Youth Arts Voice Scotland funding panel who gain experience in grant-making. Grants up to £600 are available every two months and applicants can apply on the Young Scot website at young.scot. The next round of applications closes on 28 August.

Louise Macdonald, Young Scot’s Chief Executive, said: “Young people are at the heart of Scotland’s continuing success as a creative nation. Young people have aspirations to unleash their creativity and reach for the stars. The Nurturing Talent Fund helps young people get started or move to the next level regardless of their background, location or personal challenges.”

Colin Bradie, TTS Programme Manager, Creative Scotland, said: “From indie-rock, spoken word, fashion photography and street wear to comedy workshops these awards are helping young people across the country to progress their creative ambitions. We are delighted to be working in partnership with Young Scot to make this fund possible through Time to Shine, Scotland’s National Youth Arts Strategy.”

For more information on the Nurturing Talent Fund, Youth Arts Voice Scotland and Time to Shine, visit young.scot

ENDS

For further information, media interviews or images please contact Shaun Bell or Tara D’Agostino at Stripe Communications on 0131 561 8628 or email youngscot@stripecommunications.com 

Notes to Editors

Young Scot is the national youth information and citizenship agency for Scotland, and currently has a membership of over 620,000 young people across Scotland.Young Scot provides all young people in Scotland aged 11-26 with information, ideas and incentives to enable them to make informed decisions and choices, turn their ideas into action and take advantage of opportunities available throughout Scotland and Europe.

young.scot – The national youth information portal for Scotland

youngscot.net - Young Scot’s corporate website

Time to Shine was published on 8 November 2013. Scotland's first National Youth Arts Strategy, Time to Shine –  is centred around the three key themes of creating and sustaining engagement; nurturing potential and talent; and developing infrastructure and support - sets out a vision and key recommendations to enable Scotland’s children and young people to flourish and achieve, in and through the arts and creativity. Follow the latest from Time To Shine @TTSYoutharts.

Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We do this through funding, development, advocacy and influence and we distribute funding from the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. We want Scotland to be a country where excellence and experimentation across the arts, screen and creative industries is recognised and valued; everyone can access and enjoy artistic and creative experiences; places and quality of life are transformed through imagination, ambition and an understanding of the potential of creativity; ideas are brought to life by a diverse, skilled and connected leadership and workforce; Scotland is a distinctive creative nation connected to the world. Follow us @creativescots and facebook.com/creativescotland.