YOUTH arts charity Total Insight Theatre has announced it has expanded its Academy programme following a successful pilot in 2024.
Aimed at underrepresented young artists aged 18-30 across England, the free talent development programme creates pathways for the artists to develop and use their creative practice to address social issues.
Funded by Arts Council England, the Academy is offering 10 creative individuals or groups the opportunity to be part of a three-month online coaching and mentoring programme working with industry experts.
The Academy will start at the end of February and run through until May. On completion of the programme, participants will receive a £500 bursary towards their first or next creative project.
During the programme, which aims to have at least 30 per cent of the participants from outside of London, participants will receive bespoke 1:1 support to help them to:
- Gain inside knowledge about and advice on artistic career pathways, plus employment and training options available to them.
- Identify goals to address the specific disadvantages they face and progress their creative careers.
- Build their confidence, self-esteem, aspirations and resilience.
The Academy programme will be led by Total Insight’s project lead Ella Schwarz who is also a transformative coach.
She said:
“It is great to be able to double the number of participants that can benefit from this programme, having seen the impact from the pilot.
“With the pilot, we were able to empower five participants who developed their creative practice, personal and professional values and gave them the tools to self-manage and motivate after the project ended – both in their professional and personal lives. Over the course of the programme we could see how they grew in confidence too.
“We are grateful for the support of Arts Council England to enable us to run the Academy again and reach out to those creatives who often feel marginalised and underrepresented.”
