Grants available to freelance folk musicians working with youngsters
Freelance traditional musicians and creative practitioners involved in traditional music projects for children and young people on Arran are being encouraged to apply for a share of £40,000 to support their work, writes Colin Smeeton.
The Youth Small Grants Scheme is being distributed by Dingwall-based traditional arts organisation Fèis Rois as part of a Scottish Government Covid-19 funding package to support the arts. It is being administered by Creative Scotland.
Applicants for the fund can apply for between £500 and £5,000 to deliver their traditional music projects for young people.
The fund is open to freelance folk musicians, artists and creative practitioners living and working in Scotland looking to work directly with children and young people. As the fund directly supports freelancers, it is not open to applications from organisations, local authorities, groups or clubs.
Fiona Dalgetty, Fèis Rois chief executive, said: ‘At Fèis Rois we enable people of all ages to access, participate in, enjoy and benefit from the traditional arts across Scotland and even further afield.
‘This new fund will allow many of Scotland’s top traditional musicians and creatives to continue their work with young people at a time when it has been severely impacted by the pandemic.
‘Many of them have had to drastically adapt their ways of teaching and working and having the additional support to continue their important work with young people is crucial to ensure our young people don’t miss out on the huge benefits that being involved in traditional music projects can bring.
‘This fund is particularly aimed at activities with young people most affected by the pandemic and lockdown restrictions.
‘Priority groups for the Small Grants Scheme include young people living in areas of social and economic deprivation, young carers, young people with disabilities, those experiencing mental ill health and several other groups.
‘Fèis Rois has an extensive track record in working with a wide range of young people, from music-making projects in HMP Inverness to opportunities for young people in foster and residential care.
‘We are committed to supporting freelance musicians as they develop their projects to reach these groups and to make a positive impact through their work.’
The funding panel, which consists of Fiona Dalgetty, Siobhan Anderson, music officer at Creative Scotland, award-winning Gaelic singer and multi-instrumentalist Julie Fowlis and Ruairidh Gollan, a freelance musician and Fèis Rois board member, will meet in March to review the applications.
Successful applicants will be able to start projects from the end of April this year and will have until March 2022 to complete their projects.
They will also receive two training and networking sessions to support them with their projects.
The deadline for applications is Sunday March 14 and more information can be found on the Fèis Rois website at www. feisrois.org.