What does Artswork mean by the term ‘Youth Arts’?
Although we work for and with young people aged 12 – 25, we don’t have a strict cut-off at either end of the age group. We work with a whole range of art forms, and don’t like to use a strict definition of what ‘art’ is. The best definition of Youth Arts that we have found is: ‘Youth Arts refers to young people taking part voluntarily in creative and expressive activity outside of the formal education process. It can encompass participation and appreciation, as well as engagement with arts work specifically created by, with, or for young people.’ Nick Randell Associates
What do you mean by ‘Young People At Risk’?
Artswork uses the terms young people at risk and vulnerable young people interchangeably. We use these terms to encompass a very wide range of young people at different stages in their lives. Elsewhere these young people may be referred to as disaffected or socially excluded. The reasons why young people may be deemed to be ‘at risk’ include the following:
- mental health problems
- risk of abuse
- excluded from school/non attenders of school
- living in areas of economic deprivation or rural isolation
- young carers
- homeless or vulnerably housed
- young parents
- young people leaving care
- known to the criminal justice system
- young offenders/at risk of offending
- misuse of drugs and alcohol
We have a programme of work directed at young people at risk because they are frequently invisible and invariably unheard.
Can we apply to you for funding for our project?
No. Although we are supported by the Arts Council of England we raise all of our project funding from scratch from a wide range of sources. We can give you advice about where to go for funding, and run training courses in raising money for youth arts projects.
We would like to work with you – how much do you charge?
Many of our services are offered for free – such as our own project developments, general telephone or email advice, initial consultation, and some support to organisations in the Arts Council England, south east region. Project management, training, and consultancy work has a cost attached, but we can often work with clients or partners to identify subsidies or funding to help. We are always very clear about fees and costs from the start, and can tailor work for different sizes of organisation.
