| A POPULAR and influential Sunderland multicultural youth and community project is now a core partner of an award-winning arts project.
Young Asian Voices (YAV), based in Sans Street Centre in the city’s East End, has become a core partner at The Cultural Spring, an Arts Council England funded project aimed at increasing the number of people taking part in arts activity in Sunderland and South Tyneside. YAV’s Executive Manager Kumareswaradas Ramanathas, known as Ram, will represent the organisation on The Cultural Spring’s Steering Group. Ram said: “We’ve been working with The Cultural Spring for about four years and delivered a project working with young people and local residents. “Since then we’ve hosted Cultural Spring workshops and other activity at Sans Street, including the last meeting of The Cultural Spring’s Steering Group. The organisation does some great work in engaging more people with arts and culture, and we’re delighted to be part of The Cultural Spring. “It’s important to us that we now have a strategic relationship with them and we can build on this platform to create new opportunities for young people from our communities. “We’re already working in partnership with The Cultural Spring and last week provided musicians and singers for a Cultural Spring project at Barnes Park Bandstand, and I hope there will be many other opportunities for joint working. “I also hope that through our involvement we can increase the diversity of artists The Cultural Spring is working with – and we can work together to showcase the work of artists, musicians, singers, dancers and performers from our communities and introduce them to new audiences.” Emma Horsman, Project Director at The Cultural Spring, said: “We’re delighted YAV has agreed to join us as a core partner and to welcome Ram on to our Steering Group. YAV and Ram are very well respected in Sunderland and do some amazing work with young people from a diverse range of backgrounds. “It’s important we engage with every community across Wearside and South Tyneside and we hope through YAV we can improve our networks and connections.” The Cultural Spring was launched in 2014 and is funded by Arts Council England’s (ACE) Creative People and Places (CPP) project. It aims to increase participation in arts activity in Sunderland and South Tyneside, and its five partners are University of Sunderland, the Customs House (South Shields), Sunderland Music, Arts and Culture (MAC) Trust, YAV and The Cultural Spring Charity. Last December, it was announced the project had been granted £1m to extend its work by three more years. Its next three-year programme, which starts next year, will work solely in Sunderland after an ACE survey revealed the number of people engaging in the arts in South Tyneside had risen to a point the borough was no longer eligible for CPP funding. It means South Tyneside is set to qualify for different funding streams after being announced as a priority funding area by Arts Council. |
