
Aberdeen creative community projects share in over £94,000
Two Aberdeen-based projects are sharing in over £94,000 of Scottish Government and National Lottery funds through the latest round of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund.
Support for the Scottish Culture and Traditions Association will grow traditional music activities for young people. With a focus on learning and playing for young people at different stages in their musical education, the Association supports beginners and those already involved in playing, as well as giving more advanced players an insight into establishing a career in Scottish traditional music.
A series of online taster videos will be produced for young people in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and further afield. Funding will also be used for online weekly classes, an online summer Youth Camp which is running from the 12th - 16th July 2021 and other online engagement opportunities. The project aims to see a more diverse range and greater number of young people participating in traditional music.
Project Manager Laura Harrington said: “We are really passionate about sharing our rich musical heritage. Our hope is that Scottish Culture and Traditions Youth will inspire, enthuse and enable young people to experience Scottish traditional music on all levels from beginner to advanced levels with events being accessible to all.”
Funding has also been awarded to Grampian Hospital Art Trust (GHAT) for Creative Call - a research pilot aimed at developing organisational knowledge and enhancing work undertaken with people at the bedside.
The project aims to engage creative practitioners to work on the development of an ‘Art On-Call' programme which places creative practitioners at the centre of remote and live delivery to improve access to live participatory artistic activities in the post-COVID landscape. The processes, developed as part of the pilot, will help GHAT to take art within wards to their rural community locations.
Director Sally Thomson says: “This funding will have a significant impact on our research into the benefits of engaging professional creative practitioners at the heart of arts and wellbeing within hospitals. COVID has been a challenging time and these funds will support us to create a new and innovative programme of work.”
NHSG Chairman Dr Lynda Lynch and Chief Executive Officer Professor Amanda Croft added, in a joint statement: "We have been incredibly fortunate to have GHAT working not only in parallel with us for thirty years, but now as part of the fabric of our everyday lives across NHS Grampian and all our healthcare settings within it.”
These projects are two of 45 in total across Scotland to have received a share of over £732,000 in last month’s Open Project funding round.
Iain Munro, CEO, Creative Scotland said: “We are committed to supporting a diverse mix of artists and creative groups through the Open Fund, in communities across Scotland. Many of the projects supported will spark a timely discussion over issues such as climate change, as well as a commitment to greater inclusion of underrepresented groups in the arts.”
“Thanks to the generosity of National Lottery players, who raise £30 million for good causes across the UK every week, and funding from the Scottish Government, these awards play an important part in enriching the lives of people throughout Scotland.”
A full list of recipients of Open Fund awards is available on the Creative Scotland website.
Contact Information
Olivia Carr
Media Relations & PR Coordinator
Creative Scotland
0141 302 1708
07970 962 322
Notes to editors
Background:
- The Open Fund: Sustaining Creative Development has no deadlines, and full eligibility criteria and application guidance can be found here.
- In response to feedback from applicants, Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals will move to a simplified online application process from Tuesday 10 August 2021.
- More information about Covid-19 funding and resources can be accessed via FindBusinessSupport.gov.scot, and through Creative Scotland’s Resource Directory for COVID-19.
- Regular updates on all emergency funding in response to COVID-19 are provided on Creative Scotland’s website: https://www.creativescotland.com/what-we-do/latest-news
The National Lottery has raised more than £42 billion for over 625,000 good causes across the UK since 1994. Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £1.2 billion has been awarded in the last year to support communities and thousands of organisations across the UK to cope with the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Image credit: Grampian Hospital Arts Trust (GHAT).