Find Your Talent in North Somerset is celebrating a hugely
successful first year.
The scheme gives children and young people, aged between 0 and
19 years, the chance to try out different cultural and creative
activities. It's about helping them to discover new things, to
express themselves, to develop a passion and to make the most of
their talent.
North Somerset Council's executive member for children and young
people, Cllr Jeremy Blatchford, said: "We are one of only ten areas
in the country which were successful in their bids to be part of
the Find Your Talent pathfinder project. There has been a
real variety of opportunities on offer to our young people - music,
art, film, theatre, dance, digital media, exploring libraries,
museums or heritage, are just some examples of what our young
people have been able to experience thanks to this scheme.
The project is for every child and young person, whatever their age
and whatever their ability."
North Somerset Council has been awarded £1.6m funding to develop
and commission a variety of cultural activity between September
2008 and July 2011.
Highlights from the first year include several large-scale
collaborative projects:
The Youth in Action project which involved 15 very talented
young people from the Mpumalanga region of South Africa travelling
to North Somerset for a three-week visit to share their creative
and cultural experiences;
A group of renowned performers and teachers from the Punjab
region of India travelled to North Somerset to share their skills
and expertise in schools. The visit has been organised by the North
Somerset Music Service as part of its commitment to bringing an
extensive range of high quality musical experiences to children.
During the project the seven Punjabi artistes worked directly with
about 3,000 young people;
Fifteen students from the PRU (Pupil Referral Unit) attended a
graffiti taster session with Zap Graffiti Arts, one of the UK’s
leading graffiti art specialists;
Children and young people from seven schools in the Clevedon
area have come together to create the first ever Clevedon Schools
Together Arts Festival which took place between 6 and 10 July;
Pupils from seven schools across Clevedon were able to watch
their own film productions on the big screen at the Curzon Cinema.
The ideas came from the children involved, reflecting their
interests, experiences and imaginations. Along the way, they
were introduced to the whole creative process of filmmaking, from
ideas and storyboarding through to editing;
During the last six months, children from the Nailsea cluster of
schools have been visiting Goblin Combe Environment Centre and
under the guidance of Chris Sperring MBE have studied the impact of
climate change upon the natural history of the 130 acre
woodland;
The Goblin Combe project included children from Kingshill,
Tickenham, Wraxall, Golden Valley Primary Schools, Grove Junior
School, Ravenswood Special School and Nailsea Secondary School who
were recently invited to London’s South Bank Centre to share their
experiences with the children and young people from the nine Find
Your Talent pathfinders across the country.
During this first year the Find Your Talent North Somerset
pathfinder has funded over 110 exciting projects enabling almost
14,000 children and young people from more than 85 North Somerset
schools and youth settings to have a more active, empowering and
inspiring engagement with the creative arts and culture.
A leaflet highlighting the aims, outcomes and first-year
achievements of the project has been produced. The leaflet can be
downloaded from www.n-somerset.gov.uk/fyt ,
picked up from the Town Hall reception in Weston-super-Mare or by
contacting the Find Your Talent North Somerset office on 01275 884
220.
Create Culture Groups have already been established in 15
primary, secondary and special schools, enabling young people to
collaborate with professionals and organisations to shape and
deliver other cultural programmes and services, beginning with
assessing designs for new play areas through the £1.5m Playbuilder
programme.
"The many varied and interesting projects within the scheme have
involved organisations such as The National Trust, our museum and
library service, South West Screen, Goblin Combe Environment
Centre, Curzon Cinema, Weston College, Barnardos, Avon and Somerset
Police, Youth Dance England, Sea Change, and Playbuilder programmes
as well as many local arts practitioners," added Cllr
Blatchford. "This can only enhance the cultural experience on offer
to young people in North Somerset."
