Published: 01 Nov 2018
A youth film festival, a musical production looking at mental health, and several arts projects aimed at bringing communities together are amongst 144 projects today sharing in over £1 million of National Lottery good cause cash.
The projects, many of which will combat feelings of loneliness and isolation felt by people across Scotland, are sharing in £1,1054,804 from National Lottery Awards for All Scotland – a quick and simple way to access small National Lottery grants of between £500 and £10,000.
Small funding awards like these can make a big difference to the wellbeing and vitality of communities across Scotland.- Karen Dick, Creative Scotland
The Scottish Youth Film Festival gathers young film makers from all across the country and provides a rare platform for their work as well as giving them an opportunity to meet other young people with a shared interest. The festival also does outreach work that targets young people who might never get a chance to do something like this.
Festival co-founder Scott Mackay said: "We are delighted that Awards for All could help this year as the award maintains our recording of hosting an awards ceremony and screening for a continuous four year period and allows us to set up our charity for a larger expansion in the next two years."
The festival is free and takes place on Saturday 1 December 12018 at Kelvinhall in Glasgow, with workshops for camera, sound, directing and even zombie make-up effects.
Glasgow-based charity Vox Liminis will bring together local artists with a diverse range of people with experience of the criminal justice system, through shared meals, creative activities and music sessions - with a chance to showcase the resulting work to the local community.
As one previous participant, a former prisoner, said: “We learn from one another - I learn a great deal form the people who come here. It’s helped me a lot, actually. It’s kind of opened me up. It’s helped make me more expressive. And not only that - a bit bolder! You know, giving a wee bit more of myself, which is a good thing, that I don’t find easy."
Poetic Justice Productions will use their funding to stage a free musical in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, looking at mental health, happiness and well-being.
Celebrating the Year of Young People, the programme will see young participants learning about every aspect of staging such a production, covering everything from acting and singing to stage management, costume and set design. Through this, it aims to empower the community and tackle the issues that affect them.
Helen Aitken said: "We have first hand experience of how access to drama can make a major difference to people affected by such issues and by poverty. It can improve their feelings of self-worth, their confidence and their skills base. We would like to thanks Awards For All for this generous grant."
Elsewhere, Sanquhar-based community arts and crafts centre, A’ The Airts, will increase the amount of arts-based activities they provide for the local community. The fully accessible building is a hub where individuals can meet and express their creativity.
Centre Manager Yvonne Barber said: “National Lottery Awards for All funding means that we can grow our offer, develop our programmes and be a hub for local artists to showcase their work and performances. We can continue to build on our work with the community in Sanquhar.”
Other creative projects supported in these latest awards include:
See the full list of awards made over on the Big Lottery Fund website.
Karen Dick, Place, Partnerships and Communities Officer at Creative Scotland, said: We know that small funding awards can make a big difference to the wellbeing and vitality of communities across Scotland. We are pleased to support such a wide range of creative activities, from Dumfries & Galloway to Moray, through the National Lottery Awards for All Scotland programme, in partnership with Big Lottery and sportscotland".
A National Lottery Awards for All spokesperson said: "This is National Lottery money making a real impact helping bring people and communities together across Scotland. Many of these projects will give people who feel lonely and cut off from the outside world a chance to re-connect and make new friends. All the projects receiving funding today are fantastic examples of small amounts of money making a big difference.”
National Lottery Awards for All Scotland is now more straightforward to apply to and faster to get funding from. Applications are received on a rolling basis and can be received at any time. To find out what National Lottery Awards for All Scotland could do for your community visit the Big Lottery Fund website or phone 0300 123 7110.
For more info contact Big Lottery Fund Media Team: 0141 242 1458
National Lottery Awards for All Scotland is a joint awards programme from the Big Lottery Fund, Creative Scotland and sportscotland. It makes grants to help people take part in arts, sport, social, environmental, health related, educational and other community activities. The fund welcomes applications from, and focuses on funding, smaller organisations with an annual turnover of less than £250k (except for schools).
