News
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
OYAP Trust Awarded Arts Council Funding to Develop Young Creative Leaders
Oxfordshire youth arts charity OYAP Trust is celebrating an award of £39,000 towards its pioneering project, Stepping Up. This will support young people aged 18-25, giving them a boost in their early creative careers, and will enrich the arts in Oxfordshire.
Over the next two years OYAP Trust will give 20 artists, arts managers and emerging creative practitioners the skills, training, mentoring, accreditation and confidence they need to make a successful start to a career in youth arts. In addition a network of established creative professionals across the region will be trained as mentors on the programme. The project is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
“The project addresses the lack of opportunity many young people (18-25) are encountering in the current financial recession, and the gap in this type of provision in Oxfordshire. The tailored programme will create a successful transition between learning and work and create opportunities for young people to participate in creative workshops and youth arts projects across the County”. Helen Le Brocq, Director OYAP Trust
Communities in Oxfordshire will benefit from activities and projects developed and delivered by the participants; providing high quality, positive activities for young people – by young people. They will be guided by professional artists and support workers, gaining their Gold Arts Award accreditation along the way. By investing in emerging youth arts practitioners, OYAP Trust will increase its ability to reach the most vulnerable young people, those who would not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in arts activities, young people ‘forgotten’ by other provision.
The project grew from a successful pilot programme developed with funding from the Big Lottery Fund via Awards for All and Creative Junction with advice and support from Oxford Brookes and Bucks New University. Graduates from the 2009/10 pilot programme are now actively working as arts practitioners across the county.
‘Anyone that wants to go into anything to do with being an arts practitioner or organising in the arts should do this course.’ Participant comment – May 2010
OYAP Trust is now recruiting young participants to enrol on the 2010 programme and for established practitioners to train as mentors to support a new generation of youth arts professionals. Visit the OYAP website to find out how you can get involved. For further details contact:
Liz McCaffry Payne
General Manager
OYAP Trust
The Courtyard Youth Arts Centre
Launton Road
Bicester
OX26 6DJ
T: 01869 602560
E: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
