Whether you are an accomplished practitioner, well versed in the facilitation of youth theatre or a complete newbie who has only just embarked upon the immensely rewarding, yet sometimes fretful, path of life as a freelancer - we need YOU!

After the success and positive response to the Youth Theatre Survey, Promote YT are delighted to launch their first survey specifically created for freelancers working in the youth theatre sector.

This is an oportunity to have your say and inform us of the state of play in the freelance sector today and which direction you would like to see it take in the future.

National Youth Organisations in Scotland have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to £50,000 through a new fund set up by the Scottish Government....

Application deadline MAY 10, 2008
                                
White Wave invites you to submit applications for this exciting 2008 Festival:

We encourage modern/ballet dance emerging and established choreographers/companies to apply.

Application forms can be downloaded at
web.tiscali.it/internazionaldance/italiadancegrandprix008.html

Contact organizer E-Mail: internazionaldance@tiscali.it

Please take this opportunity to make your views heard about the development of your local area. This survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

Generous tax breaks exist to encourage you to support the arts as an individual or sponsor them as a business.

New Webpages for EU Funds

EUCLID now offers a range ofrevised and additional webpages for EU funds relevant to the cultural sector:

 As part of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008, the Intercultural Cities Conference will look at migration, diversity and urban life in a fresh way. The conference will not only provide an opportunity for International city leaders and experts to look at how different cultures can live together but how mixing can be turned to economic, social and cultural advantage. New thinking is needed on how diverse communities can co-operate in productive harmony instead of leading parallel or antagonistic lives.

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop - Co-ordinator Artists Professional Development Programme

International Summer Camp for Contemporary Art Professionals Symptoms of nationalism and critique of nationalism in the practice of contemporary art

July 10--17, 2008, Pärnu, Estonia

Public Preparation, an international platform for knowledge-production and  network-based communication, calls for applications to participate in the  2nd thinking camp for contemporary art professionals which will be held in  July 10--17, 2008, in Pärnu, Estonia. Focusing on the symptoms of  (anti-)nationalism and the critique of nationalism in contemporary art  practice, we invite art professionals, especially curators, theoreticians  and art historians, but also artists, who have been dealing with the issue  and related topics in their previous practice to participate, to share
their knowledge, experience and ideas in the thinking camp which might  also take a form of summer school without lectures but a week-long  discussion instead.

for more information please follow this link

Deadline: 6 June 2008

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has produced a consultation paper in response to Ofcom's recent review of community radio and to seeks views on the future scope of community radio funding. To contribute to the consultation, please visit http://tinyurl.com/2fn3kw.

We're just putting together plans for this year's Forum, which is to be held on Saturday 7 June 08 at

Here Now, There Now is an art project taking place in the landscape along Scotland s busiest rail commuter routes linking Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Here Now, There Now explores notions of time, travel & utopia and will include a series of performances and artworks that will be viewed from the trains.

engage Scotland wishes to commission a researcher / programmer to develop the concept for the engage Scotland Interpretations Conference taking place in Edinburgh on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 September 2008 and to programme this important annual event. [more]

Cupar Arts and Heritage Project is currently planning its inaugural arts festival due to take place from
10 26 October 2008.

The festival will showcase artists across all disciplines including musicians, poets, visual artists and performers. We hope to include local organisations to exhibit work or present events of their own as part of the festival and we would like to include a wide range of creative activities and workshops for both adults and children......more

Criteria: This category is open to anyone who uses a traditional skill or craft to earn their living. Please give details (in no more than 500 words) of how the individual uses a traditional skill or craft, the products, markets sold to and reason why this person should win Artisan of the Year e.g. passion for their craft, commitment to the passing on of skills, technical ability/expertise etc.
Prize*: £4,000 plus a bottle of The Balvenie Thirty – an exquisite, rare single malt worth £250 and a specially commissioned trophy.

Criteria: This category can be applied for by the apprentice themselves or they can be nominated for inclusion. It is open to anyone (aged 18 or over) who is currently undertaking formal training in a craft or skill. Please provide full details of the apprentice, their age, the skill/craft they are learning, their training details to date, plus supporting text of no more than 500 words on why this individual deserves to be Apprentice of the Year – passion for their craft, demonstration of ability/excellence etc.
Prize*: £2,000 (to be put towards training/development) plus a selection of whiskies from The Balvenie and a specially commissioned trophy.

Criteria: *The business should be less than two years old on the closing date for entries - 30 May 2008. Please give details (in no more than 500 words) of the growth/progress of the business since formation, its main activities, products and markets, and any plans for further development.
Prize*: £1,500 plus a selection of whiskies from The Balvenie and a specially commissioned trophy.

Criteria: Please give details and show evidence of a traditional skill/craft being passed from one person/team to another including details of the skill, relationship between the two parties eg employer/apprentice and supporting statements (of up to 250 words each) from both the employer and apprentice regarding the benefits that each is gaining.
Prize*: £1,500 plus a selection of whiskies from The Balvenie and a specially commissioned trophy.

In the last month Peacock's have received two pieces of wonderful news.

First came the annoucement that the Scottish Government have approved the plans for Aberdeen's new centre for the contemporary arts.

Then, just last week the Scottish Arts Council announced they will be providing £4 million of capital funding for the centre. It's the largest single grant being awarded in Scotland and we are delighted!

Emails generated thousands of messages of support which sent a loud and clear message that the public were backing the new centre.

They are now on track to developing a magnificent new arts facility for everyone to enjoy.

The Gordon Highlanders led project: Camouflage'08 was successfully launched today (April 1st 2008).

Tim Newark, authour of "Camouflage: Now You See Me, Now You Don't" opened the event with an introduction to what camouflage was, is and can be...

Events run from April - October and the Gordon Highlanders would like Aberdeen's creative forces to join with them to create new work, projects, classes, workshops etc to make this event Aberdeen's most encompasing, engaging and interactive art experiences in a long time!

For more information, please visit : www.camouflagecity.co.uk

Deadline: 17 September 2008

The Clore Performing Arts Awards fund performing arts education initiatives aimed at children and young people (aged 0 to 18) across the UK. The Awards will fund education programmes that cover every aspect of the performing arts including opera, dance, music, musical theatre, the spoken word and theatre. The following are eligible to apply:

- Registered charities
- Limited companies
- Early years settings, primary, middle and secondary schools, sixth-form colleges, SEN schools
- Pupil Referral Units
- Voluntary youth organisations
- Professional and amateur arts organisations

Applicants must be able to demonstrate both artistic excellence and fully participatory experiences for young people. The Awards will fund project costs ranging from £1,000 to £10,000.

To read the guidelines and download an application form go to www.cloreduffield.org.uk/page_sub.php?id=71&parent=35 or phone Clore Duffield on 0207 351 6061.

Creative Communities is the national conference for strategic decision-makers working in regeneration, neighbourhood renewal, housing, culture and leisure. Promoting participation in the arts, cultural and creative activities has a profound effect on deprived neighbourhoods and their communities. Embedding arts and cultural projects into community plans and Local Area Agreements can unlock new funding routes and help local authorities achieve statutory outcomes and shape places.

Leading speakers will explore the latest opportunities to meet Government targets through community-led creative programmes which successfully address issues of deprivation, diversity, cohesion, employability, health and wellbeing. The 2008 event will also celebrate the fantastic success of the Creative Communities programme led by Liverpool, European Capital of Culture 2008, which has rekindled Liverpool's famous enthusiasm for creativity and brought a new lease of life to some of the UK's most deprived areas.

Register at www.neilstewartassociates.com/se216/ or phone Laura Brownlee on 020 7324 4372 for more information.

Community Cash Awards are grants of up to £5,000 to help young people set up a project that will benefit their community. You just have to come up with an idea for a project that will improve life in a local community in the UK. Maybe a new basketball court, a music studio, a youth club, sex education workshops in schools, a youth advisory board, even a local magazine. Anyone who is aged 14 to 16 and is in school but struggling, or aged 16 to 25 and unemployed or working less than 16 hours a week are eligible to apply.

Projects must:
- be run and managed by people between the ages of 14 and 25;
- clearly benefit the local community;
- benefit the people running the project;
- be a new or developing project.

The following are not eligible:
- formal groups or organisations;
- expeditions or overseas travel;
- fundraising activities for charity;
- trips and outings, unless they have educational value.

Funding of up to £1,000 is available for 14 to16 year olds and up to £5,000 is available for those aged 16 to 25.

Call free on 0800 842 842 or visit the Prince's Trust website for more details.

deadline: 14 April 2008

The Centre for Social Justice Awards 2008 is looking for small grass roots charities, voluntary groups and community groups who are tackling poverty in your local area. If you are people focused, tackling causes as well as symptoms, driven by conviction and motivated by compassion then it wants to hear from you.

There is no application form. Simply describe in 500 words or less how your organisation makes an exceptional contribution to tackling poverty.

For more information, see www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/awards.

1:: Call for media to be put on the Lumpen "El Artes Media Push Cart"

We want to distribute your media to visitors of the Version Dark Matter Group show that is opening April 18, 2008 at the Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Our media cart was designed to distribute media and to broadcast karaoke music. We like to deliver the goods to people who want independent media.

We need zines, pamphlets, stickers, papers and comics to be given away off of the  Lumpen "El Artes Media Push Cart"

Send as many copies as you like.
We will be giving them all away.

A picture of the cart being pushed down some Miami Florida street by Eric "guns" graf can be viewed here is if you scroll down:
http://www.lumpen.com/V8/program.html

The deadline for sending us your stuff is April 7, 2008.

If you plan on sending or dropping stuff off lets us know first via email:: ed (At) lumpen.com
Subject: media push cart stuff.

Mail stuff to
Version>08 media pushcart
960 w 31st st
Chicago il 60608

It’s nearly the start of the new financial year and the Youth Music Initiative (YMI)’s Informal Sector fund will be re-opening for 2008-09 on 1 April.  The first deadline for large grants is Monday 7 April 2008 – less than a month away!

Salary £23,292 £28,296
We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated individual to develop and manage our outreach programme. With experience of coordinating education projects in a community setting, a passion for art and a commitment to increasing access for a diverse range of audiences, you will have a good knowledge of current issues and legislation in the  community sector.

SIMULTAN04 is open for submissions of innovative works which use technology in a creative, ingenious way or are based on a peculiar, unusual story. The video section is open to all video artists and not only, who can apply with narratives, experimental video, animations, vj-ing movies and motion graphics.

Those interested may apply with a maximum number of 2 video works, each having a duration that must not exceed 3 minutes.

NOISE Festival 2008 launches its national call for submissions at 11 Downing Street.

NOISEfestival.com the Europe-wide media showcase for young creative people aged 25 and under, opened its website doors for submissions on 25th February at 11 Downing Street.

Aberdeen City Council (ACC) and Aberdeen Performing Arts (APA) on Friday 22nd announced that APA are taking over the running of the city arts centre, The Lemon Tree, from April.

What best sums up the distinctive nature of Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire – the oil industry or fishing? Farming or information technology? What do people imagine when they hear of the City and Shire – is it Doric, or a cosmopolitan community? The weather, or the granite?

Aberdeenshire Arts* in partnership with the Cultural Enterprise Office are offering a series of one-to-one advice sessions to creative individuals and organisations across Aberdeenshire.