Culture fund set to boost opportunities for young people

Young people across Renfrewshire are set to benefit from a series of community cultural projects awarded from the second round of a £500k culture fund.

Nine out of eighteen projects approved at Renfrewshire Council’s Leadership Board will provide opportunities for young people to get involved in music, art, dance, film and ceramic-making as part of the push towards Paisley’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021.

The projects include a Battle of the Bands and creative dance classes – both working with school children across Renfrewshire.

More than 50% of projects that submitted an application to the second round of the Renfrewshire Culture, Heritage and Events Fund have been awarded – totalling £128k.

The fund is key to Paisley’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021, aimed at unlocking the area’s creative potential by helping the cultural community run its own events and projects in the run-up to the bid.

The projects to benefit from the award are:

-CREATE Paisley (£4595) – support young people to create art pieces on their vision for Paisley 2021

-Lochwinnoch Arts Festival (£1800) – deliver 12 ‘come and try’ workshops during next year’s festival

-Brick Lane Studio album live launch (£6365) – Create an album on Paisley’s past, present and future

-Brick Lane Battle of the Bands (£4680) – host an event with local schools

-Linwood Youth Voice (£4500) – document the history of the group with a film to premiere in Paisley Town Hall

-Ydance (£13350) – cross-curriculum lessons and creative dance classes in schools based on one of Paisley’s historic buildings

-Karen Hanvidge Ceramics (£3668) – Twice weekly ceramic workshops for children

-Mandy McIntosh (£22000) – new public artwork on Slug in the Bottle story at Wellmeadow

-Abhinaya Dance Academy (£9900) – taster dance sessions across Renfrewshire to help establish regular classes

-Paisley YMCA (£8178) – 40-week digital music making and film project for young people in Renfrewshire

-Nil by Mouth (£800) – workshops across six Renfrewshire primary schools culminating in a Guinness World Record attempt

-Project Z (£3100) – exploring Paisley’s venue heritage and punk subcultures

-Project Ability (£2200) – 22 visual arts workshops on Renfrewshire’s textile heritage with pupils at Mary Russell school

-Paisley Poems (£920) – establish a literary magazine featuring poems and poets connected to Paisley

-Renfrewshire Witch Hunt 1697 (9450) – develop a interactive visitor attraction in a High Street property

-Renfrewshire Community Gospel Choir (£4000) – host an inaugural annual concert with Paisley musicians

-ConFAB (£24000) – project exploring Renfrewshire’s historical and present day women involving young performers and local choirs

-Elderslie Community Council (£5000) – feasibility study to establish William Wallace connections

Council Leader and Chair of the Paisley 2021 Partnership Board, Mark Macmillan, said: “Providing more opportunities for young people in Renfrewshire will be a significant boost to our ambitions to transform the area through culture. We know that being involved in cultural activity – such as dance, music, film and arts – has a positive impact on the confidence and wellbeing of children and these projects are fantastic opportunities to do that.”

Jean Cameron, Paisley 2021 Bid Director, said: “We’ve had an amazing response to our Culture, Heritage and Events Fund with more than £1million ask from community groups so far, showing that there is a real demand out there.

“We have a real passion in the area to boost our existing cultural scene and develop new opportunities for people to enjoy culture. We’ve already seen results from the first round – with PACE Massive Weekend and Dates n Mates drama show both featuring as part of our Paisley 2021 Weekend – and many ongoing projects, such as Feis Phaislig traditional music tuition and Right2Dance new free weekly dance classes.”

An incredible £1millon worth of funding was lodged for the first round of the culture fund – more than double the amount of money available in the fund.

Five additional projects from the first round of applications are also receiving funding. These include.

-Renfrewshire Tapestry Group (£9800) – create a permanent artwork involving local community and schools

-Taudevin & Hurley (£2000) – theatre play on what it is like to be female

-The Tannahill Project (£16342) – write, record and perform an original suit of music inspired by Robert Tannahill’s poetry

-Live Music Now Scotland (£10000) – new piece of music inspired by memories and culture of Paisley’s mills

-H-Arts (£5000) – part funding for an international theatre exchange

So far, more than £200k has been awarded to projects by community organisations, cultural groups and business.

Last year, Renfrewshire Council set aside £500,000 for the fund intended to last five years, with three funding rounds each year.

Paisley’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021 is taking place as part of a wider push to transform the town’s future using its unique cultural and heritage offering as the home of the Paisley Pattern and the one-time centre of the global textile industry.

Bids are expected to be lodged with the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport in spring 2017.

For more information on Paisley 2021, visit  www.paisley2021.co.uk, like /Paisley2021 on Facebook or follow @Paisley2021 on Twitter and Instagram.

danielle

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