Celebrating youth arts at TTS Unconvention

Published: 20 Oct 2016

Young people, artists, creatives, youth workers, teachers, organisations and charities working with children and young people across Scotland gathered together in Glasgow today to celebrate the success of Time to Shine, Scotland’s National Youth Arts Strategy.

The event featured a series of performances, screenings, panel discussions and debates from a range of youth arts projects supported through the different strands of the pioneering TTS programme, including the Youth Arts Hubs, targeted programmes and digital projects.

Launched in November 2013, Time to Shine core purpose is to enrich young people’s lives through arts and creativity.  It recognises that engagement with the arts and creativity has huge benefits for individuals and society that cross many national agendas. The programme has benefited from £5m investment from the Scottish Government which has supported a number of initiatives based on key objectives of the Strategy.

The event coincides with the publication of key findings from research undertaken by Research Scotland in the first two years of the programme from April 2014 to September 2016. Key successes from the programme include:

• Nearly 38,450 young people aged 0 to 25 have taken part in creative arts activity across 24 local authorities
• The Youth Arts Hubs have delivered over 54,000 hours of youth arts activity to over 19,800 young people
• The Nurturing Talent Fund has awarded over £39k of grants directly to 150 young artists  
• Time to Shine activity has created at least 382 jobs and 449 volunteering opportunities for young people aged 25 and under
• Activity has engaged over 227 partners including local and national youth arts organisations, local authorities and community planning partners, youth work, community learning and development, leisure trusts, community groups, equality groups, colleges and universities, local artists and arts projects, and organisations focusing on health, housing, sports, outdoor activities and festivals.

The following showreel was also shown on the day:

View the key fundings and case studies.

Time to Shine - Key Findings from the Evaluation October 2016

Download the key findings from research undertaken by Research Scotland in the first two years of the Time To Shine programme from April 2014 to September 2016.

Time to Shine - Case Studies

Download case studies of Time To Shine youth arts projects, in PDF format.

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Today's TTS Unconvention, held at Glasgow’s SWG3, included performances by Scottish Youth Theatre and others, and also featured the following encouraging words from Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External affairs:

Speaking at the event Joan Parr, Head of Creative Learning, Creative Scotland, said:

“Creative Scotland is committed to creative learning and ensuring everyone can access and enjoy artistic creative experiences.  We believe that this has huge benefits for individuals and society in terms of skills development, employability, as well as our happiness and well-being.

“This youth-led event, hosted in this amazing venue, is a fantastic chance to celebrate what’s been going on the length and breadth of Scotland in youth arts recently. A huge amount has been achieved through Time to Shine and we are committed to continuing  to work with partners, including the Scottish Government, to explore new opportunities to build upon the successes of Time to Shine in further delivering the ambitions within the strategy beyond March 2017.”

Notes to Editors

Time to Shine is the national youth arts strategy for Scotland. The aim is to support all of Scotland’s children and young people to flourish and achieve through arts and creativity. Young people lead the development of Time to Shine and have been key to creating this exciting event. Key initiatives include:

• £3.1m of funding to establish nine Youth Arts Hubs across Scotland developing dynamic new routes for young people to participate in and access arts and creative activity.
• The creation of a new online national youth arts calendar to showcase talent and encourage audience support and engagement.
• An Lanntair and VOMO have delivered work addressing youth access issues in the Western Isles and the Borders.
• What's Your Story delivered by Scottish Book Trust is a Young Writers Programme designed to address gaps in provision for young writers in Scotland.
• The establishment of a National Youth Advisory Group (Youth Arts Voice Scotland). Youth arts advisors have been selected from communities across the country to guide the delivery of Time to Shine in collaboration with Young Scot and Creative Scotland. This group is now playing a crucial role in shaping the future of arts for young people in Scotland.
• Young Arts Ambassadors have been recruited by Young Scot from across Scotland. The ambassadors work in partnership with Youth Arts Voice Scotland in their local area to increase the profile of arts opportunities, and encourage improved access to the arts for young people of all backgrounds and ability. 
• The National Youth Orchestras of Scotland, National Youth Choir of Scotland, Scottish Youth Theatre and YDance have been supported to deliver additional project work to nurture the progression of young people from regional, national and international activity.
• A Nurturing Talent Time To Shine Fund for young people aged 14-20 years. The funding, administered by Young Scot, offered awards to those who demonstrate ambition, enthusiasm or talent in their chosen art form and require some financial support to develop or promote this further.
• TTS.Digital - a £450,000 fund to develop young peoples’ digital creativity and experimentation.