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articleindex followcenterhttps://www.communityfoundation.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Durham-Sixth-Form-Centre-2-scaled.jpgcentermodule_group modules Array 1 https://www.communityfoundation.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Durham-Sixth-Form-Centre-2-scaled.jpg Foundation students taking part in the Big Draw Workshop run by the previous artist in resident, Lizzie Lovejoy.
The latest round of grants from the Culture Bridge North East Fund at the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland has allowed five organisations to plan arts and creative activities for young people across the region.
The Fund makes grants to projects which support working relationships between art practitioners and cultural organisations with schools and youth programmes. As students return to the classroom following the latest lockdown, the Fund has pro-actively allowed disadvantaged students to engage in creative activities they may otherwise not have had access to.
Jo Cundall, Senior Advisor, Culture, at the Community Foundation explains:
“The Culture Bridge North East fund is a brilliant way of getting funding to schools and youth organisations to enable them to make creative things happen. This is always important but after a year like no other, where kids have had to adapt and compromise the arts have a crucial role to play in helping them to process it all.”
One organisation to benefit were Durham Sixth Form Centre (DSFC) who received a grant to improve their arts development plan and in particular, their Artist in Residence (AiR) programme. They recruited a local artist with experience, Lizzie Lovejoy, to work directly with a group of volunteer Foundation students who had missed out on working with artists over the past year. The programme support upcoming artists to develop their practice within an educational context, gaining expertise that supports their professional progression.
Hannah Scully, an art teacher at Durham Sixth Form Centre, described how the programme helped:
“It has been a hugely valuable asset to DSFC to have these talented artists working within the art department. The students have gained so much through their engagement with them and they have added great value to projects, transferable skills, university applications and aspiration. Access to these artists through the lockdown period has been priceless.”
Managed by Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums (TWAM), Culture Bridge North East is one of ten Bridge organisations funded by Arts Council England to connect and support the cultural and education sectors to engage children and young people in culture and the arts.
“We’re incredibly proud of the positive impact the Culture Bridge North East Fund has had, and we’d like to thank the Community Foundation for working closely with us to make it a reality. We’re thrilled that the grants received have made such great things happen, especially in light of Covid-19 and how it’s affected young people. We’re confident the fund will have a big and lasting impact on the lives of children and young people across the region and we look forward to the next round of funding next year.”
For more information about funding opportunities at the Community Foundation visit www.communityfoundation.org.uk/apply