Highland’s queer youth arts collective based at Eden Court in Inverness sees funding extended
A creative arts group aimed at LGBTQ+ young people has had its funding from Awards For All extended.
The Queer Youth Arts Collective (QYAC), which was created in 2021 and runs every Thursday evening, received the funding to keep the group thriving for the foreseeable future.
Awards For All Scotland is a partnership between The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland, sportscotland and Creative Scotland.
Open to 13-18-year-olds, the group fosters an online creative space every week before coming together in person at the end of each school term in Eden Court.
Being an online space first and foremost means QYAC can include young people from remote areas who typically cannot access queer or creative spaces, but some accommodation can be made for attendees to come to Eden Court if accessing the sessions from home is challenging.
The group aims to build a welcoming and inclusive space that queer and questioning young people and allies can make their own through different art forms with the support of guest artists from all over Scotland.
Among the activities the group has taken part in are drawing and painting, textiles, filmmaking, poetry, zine making, collaging and storytelling.
QYAC provides a safe, social space for its attendees, one of whom commented: "Coming to QYAC gives me a space to be myself. Everyone is super accepting and lovely and it's really hard to find places that I feel so welcomed, especially because I'm queer and neurodivergent!"
Another continued: "QYAC has helped me figure out exactly who I am in a safe space and I always look forward to the sessions, no matter the activity."
A third added: "QYAC has given me a safe space as a queer disabled person. It's something I've looked forward to coming to for three years now and it gives me a space to interact with other queer people as someone who struggles to connect to others due to my disability."
At the other end of the scale, Eden Court also hosts a monthly group for LGBTQ+ elders, called Out Together, who similarly engage in different activities in each session.