January 2003

Front Page Archives

Young people in Caithness will have the opportunity to change the look of their local communities due to a new grant from the Scottish Arts Council.  The Highland Council has been awarded �40,000 to encourage young people who live within Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) areas of the Highlands to work together with their peers, artists and voluntary organisations to create public artworks.

The "Promoting Inclusion through Public Art" project will involve young people aged between the ages of 14 and 25 in Caithness, Sutherland, Lochaber, Inverness and Ross and Cromarty.  A number of artists will be appointed to work with the youngsters in a range of visual arts projects, which may include projection, film and animation.  The young people will drive the project and decide whether temporary or permanent installations will be created, as well as identify possible locations for exhibiting the work.

Arts Development Officer for Caithness, Tom Bryan, who helped write the application for the project, was delighted: "The young people of Ormlie in Thurso deserve this equal opportunity to participate in an exciting and worthwhile project. They will learn many new skills, which will last a lifetime. They will also be able to share this new knowledge with the wider Thurso and Caithness communities. It is a unique opportunity."

James Sutherland, The Highland Council's SIP Co-ordinator added:  "This initiative will provide the skills and resources for many of our young people to further unlock their creative potential, and in a way that their communities will literally 'see' the end results.  It is another innovative step towards social and cultural inclusion for these young people, and towards making the Highlands the most exciting place in Scotland to be young."