Mapping the arts for children and young people

If you work or volunteer for children and young people through the arts in Powys then a new survey being conducted on behalf of Powys County Council needs to hear from you.

The audit of arts provision for children and young people, aged 0 - 25 years, across the County is one of the first steps towards establishing a Children and Young People’s Arts Strategy for Powys.

Consultants Julie Turner and Lydia Bassett, both of whom have worked in the arts in Mid Wales for many years, have been commissioned by Powys County Council’s Arts Development Service to find out exactly what arts activities are available for children and young people, where they take place and how they are supported.

The aim is to build up a comprehensive map of what is available – and where the gaps are. They have already begun contacting arts organisations and individuals who run arts activities for children and young people to ask about their work. If you want to let Julie and Lydia know about your own arts work you can contact them via Lucy Bevan, Arts Development Officer at Powys County Council on 01597 827564 or email lucy.bevan@powys.gov.uk .

Lydia Bassett comments: “Both Julie Turner and I are really proud and excited to be involved in this work. It is very important that we get a clear picture of what arts activities are available for children and young people across Powys in order to help the Council plan for the future.

“We will be contacting as many arts organisations as we can find and asking them to tell us about what they do, and equally importantly what they would like to do or think children and young people in their area want to see or take part in. If we don’t find you ourselves, then please do get in touch and let us know about your own arts work.”

The Children and Young Peoples’ Arts Strategy for Powys is being developed in partnership with the Youth Service and the Children & Young People’s Partnership, with the support of a grant from the Arts Council of Wales. “Touching the Arts” workshops have been taking place across the County offering young people the chance to try their hand at everything from street dance to jewellery making and also to let the Council know directly what they want to get involved in.

The draft Children & Young People’s Arts Strategy should be completed by next summer and will be circulated to all the arts organisations who have helped put it together so that they have a chance to feed into the process once again.