TTS.Digital has announced £5,000 of funding has been awarded to Artlink Central in Stirling for The Hidden Ward Trail. The funding will enable young people in health settings to transform their environment through the digital technology platform, allowing them to reinterpret the clinical setting as a creative space.

Catherine Middleton Findlay, Artistic Programmer at Artlink Central, said: “Artlink Central are delighted to receive Creative Scotland Time to Shine: Digital funding to support and continue exploring technology and arts with children and young people in hospital settings. Through our new partnership with Lens on Legs and our existing partnership with NHS Forth Valley, we plan to build on the already successful gaming residency and investigate ways of literally ‘animating’ a clinical ward using inspiration and creative involvement from the young patients themselves.”

Gillian Morton, General Manager of Women and Children’s Services at NHS Forth Valley, added: “This is great news as projects like this are key in keeping children entertained and help to take their mind off their treatment. We look forward to working with Artlink Central on this exciting venture.”

Overall £49,850 of funding has been awarded to ten Youth Arts Agencies in Scotland, across eight local authority areas in Phase One of the programme. These projects cover multi-artforms, film, digital, visual arts, design, music, theatre and craft.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, said: “We must support and encourage our young people and our children to develop a love, a curiosity and a value for culture, regardless of their class, background or where they live. Our work with young people under the umbrella of Scotland’s youth arts strategy, Time To Shine, is designed to ensure that no-one’s background is a barrier to taking part in cultural life.

“It’s important that we and the sector develop new partnerships and seek new and creative ways to engage and reach out. These innovative new projects, led by young people and delivered by a partnership of arts organisations in collaboration with technology partners will help enable more children and young people to take part in culture and creativity across our communities in Scotland.”

TTS.Digital is a programme strand of Time to Shine, Scotland’s National Youth Arts Strategy. The strategy sets out a vision and key recommendations to enable Scotland’s children and young people to flourish and achieve, in and through the arts and culture.