Nurturing Creativity

The World Economic Forum (WEF) considers creativity to be the third most valuable attribute in the workforce of the future. Articulate’s access and participation programme uses the proven benefits of the arts to improve confidence and creativity as well as life choices and chances.

Through no fault of their own care experienced young people have some of the worst social, educational and economic outcomes in the country. The outcomes are so poor that Scotland’s First Minister has confirmed a root and branch review of the whole system to halt this downward spiral.

On the other hand, the creative industries are on an upward spiral of growth and are anticipating skills shortages in key areas. The sector is looking for imaginative and resilient young people to fill the 43,000 new jobs predicted for Scotland in the next 10 years. Employment in the sector has grown steadily over the past five years - but 92% of roles are carried out by people from ‘advantaged’ social groupings (DCMS, 2016).

Articulate believes that care experienced young Scots could strengthen and deepen this talent pool, fuelling the ongoing national and international growth anticipated, as well as resulting in a sector that is more diverse, representative and therefore resilient.

Our work with care experienced young people unlocks their creative potential in order to improve their choices, chances and skills for life, learning and the world of work. We do so by co-designing and delivering high quality, arts and cultural projects that focus on positive outcomes and lead to industry-standard productions, exhibitions and events, that in turn impact on well-being, aspiration and esteem as a stepping-stone towards further sustainable improvement.

In our employability work, we support young people to take part in bespoke and individualised programming; providing one to one scaffolding, enabling them to think of and prepare for ‘the business’, start-up, training or a career in the creative industries. Our aim is to develop our evolving model that will encourage creative and cultural enterprise and support care experienced young people into education, employment or training in the sector but also beyond.

We take an asset- and relationship-based, trauma-informed approach to a tailored skills development programme that is holistic, creative and empowering. We are responsive to the complex and multiple barriers that hold young care leavers back. Our success is due to a model that relies on building strong, trusting and long-term relationships, an approach that is structured around flexibility and understanding, with solutions-oriented supports that acknowledge person and place, as well as recognising and working out from innate interest and motivation towards acknowledged aspiration and solid, achievable goals.

Access to the arts, creativity and culture is particularly important for young people from low-income backgrounds. Studies show that young people who do not have access to arts and culture are at a disadvantage both economically and educationally in comparison with those that do. A system which means that only more privileged young people are able to access the arts does a disservice both to those young people who suffer as a result, and to a society that believes in the importance of social mobility and equality of opportunity.

We believe that art has the power to bring us together and create change, for the people of our community, and the place we call home. The arts unlock stories, re-imagine public problems, ask awkward questions and forge new connections. Why? Because we know that the arts can transform lives and deeply affect our relationship with ourselves and the world around us. For us, the arts are the starting point for each and every journey ...

The vision of Articulate is to put the arts at the heart of the lives of some of the most marginalised young people and to help them nurture and reach their creative potential.