Step into the Arts

Step into the Arts was a youth led fund to provide opportunities and support for young people to get involved in the arts, especially young people who might not usually be able to access them.

Thirteen young people stand and kneel in a group outside in front of a sunny hillside. They hold a large brown paper banner, which has white text reading 'Step into the Arts' digitally added to it.

About Step into the Arts

Step into the Arts is a youth led fund to provide opportunities and support for young people to get involved in the arts, especially young people who might not usually be able to access them. It was designed by a team of young grantmakers, recruited and trained by Youth Scotland, in partnership with Creative Scotland. £65,000 was available to young people aged 5 – 25 from across Scotland, however the fund is now closed to new applicants. The fund was divided into two strands:

  • First Steps into the Arts – for young people who have some, a little or no experience with the arts, and want to explore them further
  • Next Steps into the Arts – for young people who have experience in the arts, want to improve their practice, and may be considering a creative career

Fund criteria

All projects must be completely youth led – the idea must come from the young person or young people; they must decide on what to put in the application and carry out the project if they are successful. We will also be looking out for projects that meet one or more of the criteria below. Projects that meet three or more of the criteria points will be prioritised:

  • Enable young people to access the arts who might otherwise face barriers
  • Use arts to support young people’s self-expression
  • Use arts to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing
  • Use arts to get young people’s voices and perspectives heard
  • Will have a lasting impact on the young people doing the project

What are the arts?

Our Youth Panel spent some time thinking about what the arts are. You can see some of their thoughts below.

On a brown paper background, the word 'ARTS' has been written using letters cut from a magazine. Around this is a mixture of computer-type and handwritten text arranged in a collage with small hand-drawn images. Among the text are the words, 'writing,' 'dance,' 'fashion,' 'poetry,' 'graffiti,' 'video,' social media,' 'drama,' and 'subculture.' Among the images are a guitar, camera, paintbrush and palette, and t-shirt.

Fund deadline

The fund closed to new applications in May 2023. 45 successful applications have been funded, and young people will be executing their projects from July 2023 to early 2024. A report will be published in early 2024 detailing the impact and reach of the fund, and sharing some of the successes of young people’s projects.

Guidance documents

Step into the Arts guidance for applicants
PDF, 6 MB
Download
A youth worker nods and smiles in discussion with a young person. Between the two is a table with pens and notebooks.

Other Funding

Check out our other funding opportunities on the link below.

Funding