Scotland's rising stars awarded creative talent funding

Published: 18 Apr 2019

Young Scots from across the country have been awarded funding to help pursue their creative ambitions through the Time to Shine Nurturing Talent Fund, supported by Creative Scotland.

The Nurturing Talent Fund enables young people aged 11- 25 who aspire to work in the creative industries to further develop their passions and creative projects.

The Fund has supported a wide range of exciting and creative ideas from t-shirt design and screen printing to filmmaking projects, an interactive artistic guide to Holyrood Park and a range of literary ventures including an independent literary-cultural magazine titled ‘Scoot Around’.

The Nurturing Talent Fund is administered by young people for young people, by the National Youth Arts Advisory Group for Scotland (NYAAG), a group of young Scots aged 14-23 from across Scotland who are working towards shaping the future of culture and creativity in Scotland.

Sarah Mcadam, Interim TTS Programme Manager, Creative Scotland said: “It is fantastic that the Nurturing Talent Fund will support more young artists from across Scotland to continue to develop their work and reach their creative potential. The range of projects that young people will be undertaking as a result of the awards is exciting and inspiring and we are delighted to be working in partnership with Young Scot and the National Youth Arts Advisory Group to make this fund possible through Time to Shine, Scotland’s National Youth Arts Strategy.”

Ellen Wilson from the National Youth Arts Advisory Group said : “The National Youth Arts Advisory Group, along with Creative Scotland and Young Scot, is delighted to be supporting our next group of successful applicants for the Nurturing Talent Fund. We are very excited about each of the projects that have been proposed, as each offer something new and innovative to the creative landscape of Scotland’s youth culture. We are looking forward to watching these projects develop and grow with the help of our fund and we hope they enable a wide variety of young people across the country to access the arts and create fruitful, artistic outcomes.”

Louise Macdonald, Chief Executive of Young Scot, said: “The National Youth Arts Advisory Group continue to show us how young people have a vital role in discovering and supporting new and existing art forms and shaping the future of arts in Scotland. Scotland is a country full of talented and inspiring young people. We’re delighted to support Scotland’s young creatives as they continue to push the boundaries of arts and culture”

More about the latest recipients:

• Olivia Khan, 23, will create a documentary style film around the insecurities and issues older care leavers face that they leave the care system.
• India May Johnson, 23, will explore the role of contemporary painting and weaving in the forever changing historical role of women on Orkney.
• Ciaran Roberts-Osterberg, 19, will promote and advance the musical development of their jazz trio as well as raise awareness for music’s therapeutic advantages for mental health, and people with Autism.
• Calum Stevenson, 20, will screen print t-shirts with their own original designs and sell them in a local independent music shop.
• Catriona McNicoll, 23, will put on a staged reading of new play Ladies.
• Victory Nwabu-Ekeom, 20, will create a submission-based compilation of poetry, short stories, and visual art from young people around Scotland based around a singular theme.
• ART SLAG works with women, non-binary people and the LGBT community to empower through fashion and arts activism.
• Liam Rees, 22, will participate in the National Student Drama Festival in April as a theatre critic and writer for Noises Off magazine. Takeover A project organised by young people aged 11 and 12 will use funding to bring a number of organisations together for an evening of art and entertainment that celebrates inclusion in the arts.
• Hannah Dudley, 12 and Lola Morrison, 11, will create an interactive guide in Holyrood Park which will represent their favourite park through the eyes of young environmental artists and activists like them.
• Jack Whitwell, 22, will research the Simmer Dim’s effects on the local culture of Orkney, by using a giant ultra large format (100x80cm), handmade camera to produce unique photographic sculptures of the prolonged twilight.
• Mark Sandford, 21, who plays bass for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland, will us the funding to cover travel costs to the Isle of Skye with a double bass in July.
• Greta McMillan, 14, will travel to Sweden to experience landscapes and art processes and create her own eyegaze painting informed by these experiences.
• Alisa Matyunina, 19, will create a literary-cultural magazine ‘Scoot Around’, which provides independent journalism with a fresh perspective on university culture and brings students across the world together.
• Future Leaders, a group aged between 19-22, will develop their skills from SambaYaBamba Youth Street Band, a Brazilian influenced street band, and the opportunity to develop skills & network with a course in Manchester
• Creative Collision will organise free youth arts networking events in Glasgow working as both a platform for young artists to showcase their work and to be exposed to industry professionals’ journeys.
• James Kane, 21, will create an original feature film set in rural West Coast Scotland utilising the beautiful locations of his childhood.
• Conor Sullivan, 17, will film a short psychological thriller that takes a look at the effects of a toxic brother-sister relationship.
• Kaden Stewart will create a film about alcoholism in the older LGBT+ community, which is an issue close to the directors (Kaden’s) heart.
• Jamie Bradley-Hay will use funding to support a group of young people aged between 19-24 to create their first film – Confidence Boost – to help build their careers.
• Gordon Cameron, 15, will create a short film, filmed at multiple locations about a villain who tries to obtain a really powerful object from the hero.

The Nurturing Talent Fund is now closed to new applications. The fund will return later in 2019.