The Government raises curtain on £600,000 Creative Bursaries Scheme to help talented graduates find work in the arts.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Culture Minister Margaret Hodge today announced a two-year grants programme to provide at least 40 internships with established arts companies for graduates from deprived backgrounds. The initial £600,000 programme will begin in September and be managed by the Jerwood Foundation.

The pilot scheme announced in March 2010 will make it easier for talented creative young people, with an arts degree, to find jobs in a market where unpaid internships are common, and those from low income backgrounds are often at a disadvantage.

Speaking in Downing Street at an event to mark the 5th anniversary of Billy Elliot the musical, a story which celebrates a young boy realising his dreams, the Prime Minister said:

“We are rightly proud of the huge amount of talent and creativity that exists in the arts in the UK.

“This funding will help give some of our gifted young artists the extra support and valuable experience they need to get a foot in the door of our creative industries and help them on their way to realising their full potential. It is a vital boost for some of our great future actors, artists and musicians who may otherwise have slipped through the net."

Culture Minister Margaret Hodge said:
“There is no shortage of cultural and creative talent in this country. But breaking into the business, and turning talent into a job or career can be really difficult unless you come from a well-off or well-connected background. This pilot scheme aims to help create a level playing field of opportunity so that real talent in the arts can get through, regardless of economic barriers. It further demonstrates how the Government has nurtured creativity, ensuring that the past ten years have been a golden age for the arts.”

Chairman of the Jerwood Foundation, Alan Grieve said:

“We have given strong support to young people in the performing and visual arts for some 20 years and opened doors to a wide range of careers. The DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries will give more opportunity and an entrance to the arts for committed arts graduates.”

Stephen Daldry, Director, Billy Elliot The Musical said:

“What a great moment for our Billy Elliots to have been invited to Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister in a welcome break during rehearsals for our fifth birthday celebrations.”   
“Today’s news, announcing the Government’s new Creative Bursary Scheme managed by the Jerwood Foundation, is not only good news for young people who are interested in the arts, but also a fantastic opportunity for the industry to nurture the next generation of creative talent.”

‘Creative Bursaries’ are intended to make careers in the arts more accessible to people who cannot afford to pay for training or to volunteer in organisations, and whose background and family circumstances might make it difficult for them to take up unpaid internships.

The DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries scheme will enable graduates wishing to work as actors, musicians, artists, dancers or elsewhere in the performing and visual arts as well as in front of house and managerial roles, to gain work experience in their first year after university. The key points behind a creative bursary are:

They are for arts graduates as defined for the purposes of this scheme;
for those from less affluent backgrounds (who couldn’t support themselves through an unpaid internship); and the length of the internships will be up to one year long, starting in September 2010.

This will be a pilot scheme which will provide a minimum of 20 bursaries in the first and second year. The aspiration is for these Creative Bursaries to be developed into a long term programme, subject to evaluation findings.

The scheme will be managed by Jerwood who will be responsible for the following:

Promotion and publicity. Building a profile for the programme with both potential applicants and potential employers; and brand development

Management of application process, including designing the process (with DCMS), sifting graduate applications and coordinating appointments with host employers.

Recruitment of employers/host organisations ensuring as far as possible that there is a wide spread both geographically and in terms of types of art form and work experience offered

Ongoing support of both interns and employers throughout the duration of the internship and quality assurance of placements

Evaluation. A robust evaluation of the scheme will to be built in from the start.

Eligibility Criteria
The purpose of the scheme is to enable graduates from less well off backgrounds to undertake internships and as such is a response to the Fair Access to the Professions report.

It is proposed to use having been in receipt of the full maintenance grant as the key criterion for eligibility.

Host Employers
Jerwood will ensure that host employers are drawn from a wide range of arts organisations, large and small and that there is a good geographical spread

Jerwood makes strategic capital and revenue grants, reflecting its passion for the arts and education and has made a major contribution to the arts in the UK since its formation in 1977.

For more information visit www.jerwoodfoundation.org/