The first website aimed at all young people across the UK who enjoy the arts and want to get involved will be launched in February. Youthartsonline.org provides loads of information – addresses of arts organisations, lists of workshops, courses, times and so on – about a huge range of arts activities going on in city centres and village halls from the north of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall. Youthartsonline.org is aimed at anybody up to 26 --- all you have to do is click on the category that interests you and find out about opportunities close to where you live.

The arts information on the website is divided into 10 areas:

• Dance
• Drama
• Music & Singing
• Visual Arts
• Creative Writing
• New Media
• TV & Radio
• Film & Video
• Carnival & Circus
• Crafts

and includes

• interviews
• reviews
• portfolios of work by young artists.

youthartsonline.org has been developed as a dedicated directory or “portal” aimed at two main audiences:

• young people who want information about opportunities in the arts wherever they live in the UK
• youth arts practitioners and organisations who want to provide young people with free information about workshops, training, courses and events.

youthartsonline.org also provides a place online for networking, exchanging information and promoting young people’s work.

The project is the brainchild of Steve Shaw who founded and runs Paddington Arts in West London. Youthartsonline is funded by A Glimmer of Hope UK, which seeks to make a significant and lasting improvement to the lives of excluded young people in the United Kingdom.

For more information, contact Juliet Maingay-Cooper juliet@youthartsonline.org M: 07971 91 61 74