About Step into the Arts
Step into the Arts is a youth led fund to provide opportunities and support for young people to get involved in the arts, especially young people who might not usually be able to access them. It was designed by a team of young grantmakers, recruited and trained by Youth Scotland, in partnership with Creative Scotland. £65,000 was available to young people aged 5 – 25 from across Scotland, however the fund is now closed to new applicants. The fund was divided into two strands:
- First Steps into the Arts – for young people who have some, a little or no experience with the arts, and want to explore them further
- Next Steps into the Arts – for young people who have experience in the arts, want to improve their practice, and may be considering a creative career
Fund criteria
All projects must be completely youth led – the idea must come from the young person or young people; they must decide on what to put in the application and carry out the project if they are successful. We will also be looking out for projects that meet one or more of the criteria below. Projects that meet three or more of the criteria points will be prioritised:
- Enable young people to access the arts who might otherwise face barriers
- Use arts to support young people’s self-expression
- Use arts to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing
- Use arts to get young people’s voices and perspectives heard
- Will have a lasting impact on the young people doing the project
What are the arts?
Our Youth Panel spent some time thinking about what the arts are. You can see some of their thoughts below.