Explore drag artistry, culture & history
Project Drag is a dynamic creative programme for young people where you can explore a wide range of creative elements associated with drag culture and its history.
Whether you’re just curious about the art of drag or ready to develop your own persona, this programme provides the tools, inspiration, and community to help you thrive – all within a safe and inclusive space.
Creative workshops will include activities such as: creating a drag persona on a budget, wigs and hair styling, makeup and introduction to SFX prosthetics, prop construction, and intro into hosting, game creation, and comedy.
Please note: Project Drag is now fully booked with a waiting list in operation.
A safe space for you to explore your creativity, learn about drag history, and make new friends
Programme details
Glasgow
Dates: September 15th – December 15th 2025
Days: Mondays, 6pm-8pm
Venue: Impact Arts at The Boardwalk, 105 Brunswick St, Glasgow G1 1TF
Explore your artistic side
You will be supported by an experienced Drag Artist and a Wellbeing and Opportunities Worker. Sessions with also featured guest artists and a photographer who will work with you to create final artworks towards the end of the programme.
All materials for the programme will be provided and we will reimburse any public transport costs dependent on journey length (just keep hold of those receipts).
We work with some incredible partners
See them all
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This project is now full
Get set for your creative career
Sketchy Youths is a peer-led artists’ collective for young people aged 15-25 who want more advanced training to prepare for a career in the creative industries.Â
In Autumn 2025, this Impact Arts’ programme will relaunch and open its doors to new and past participants.
Over the course of 10 weeks as one of our Sketchy Youths ‘champions’, you’ll meet weekly to receive training in preparing and delivering your own creative workshops for young people on the next Impactful Starts programmes. These workshops may include painting, digital art, podcasting, comic book making, and more.
Throughout the following 20 months, you’ll will encourage Impactful Starts ‘graduates’ to join monthly half-day workshops to learn additional creative skills and shape the ongoing design of our programmes.
To strengthen community arts, youth voice, advocacy, and leadership skills, you’ll also encourage the ‘graduates’ to volunteer on programmes and you’ll get access to studio space within The Boardwalk.
This programme is now full.
Develop your creative skills & inspire other young people
What’s on offer
As a Sketchy Youth, you’ll get the opportunity to opportunity to join one of our Creative Industry Academy courses which offer specialist training in specific areas of the creative industries.
Volunteers are also supported with regular supervision meetings with the Youth Voices Coordinator – this will provide an opportunity to discuss your learning and development goals, accreditation, and employability skills.
Suitable accreditations will also be offered to each volunteer – this could be an SQA, Community Achievement Award, or Saltire Award.
Sketchy Youths is for young people who are…
- Able to commit to 6 months of volunteering: 4 hours a month minimum (volunteering on one of Impact Arts creative projects)
- Sensitive to other people’s needs
- Responsible and reliable
- Interested in a career in the creative industries
- Enthusiastic and motivated to help Impact Arts to best support young people’s needs
Programme details
Full details on locations, dates, and course contents are coming soon…
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We Work With Some Incredible Partners
Get creative & shape your future
Are you ready to take your next step? Join Making It! It’s our free creative employability programme for unemployed young people and unemployed adults in North Lanarkshire.
Discover your artistic side with a range of creative activities that could include painting, sculpture, photography, filmmaking, animation, music making, and creative writing.
No prior creative experience is required.
In Making It, you’ll also receive 1:1 support and advice on how to plan your next steps and progress into employment, further education, or training.
We’ll also cover your bus or train travel expenses to the venue.
This programme includes a range of workshops, outdoor visits to improve mental health and physical wellbeing, training in core employability skills like CV writing and interview prep, and support to gain qualifications
Eligibility
To be eligible for Making It North Lanarkshire, you must be either a young person aged 16-24 who has left school within the last 6 months and is currently out of work, education, or training, or an adult aged 25 or over who is currently out of work, education, or training (must be of working age i.e. not retired).
If you are an adult experiencing unemployment, you’re eligible if one (or more) of the following statements apply to you:
- You have a physical or learning disability
- You have a health condition
- You live in an area of deprivation
- You are an ethnic minority resident (including refugees)
- You are a parent/caregiver, lone parent, or a parent under the age of 25
Programme details
Making It for young people (aged 16-24)
Dates: Every Tuesday at 10am-3pm, April 7th – June 23rd 2026
Venue: North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre, High Road, Motherwell, ML1 3HU
Making It for adults (aged 25+)
Dates: Every Wednesday at 9:30am-2:30pm, April 8th – June 24th 2026
Venue: North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre, High Road, Motherwell, ML1 3HU
Making It is made possible by
CashBack Hubs
*PLEASE NOTE OUR GLASGOW GROUPS ARE NOW FULL*
Are you a young person aged 14-19? Interested in exploring creativity? Join CashBack Hubs and build your confidence through art!
Our CashBack Hubs programme offers a great first steps to meet like-minded young people, learn new skills, improve physical and mental health, build confidence, and form friendships through creative engagement
Over the course of 10 weeks, participants will experiment in a whole range of art forms and enjoy some trips to galleries and museums, exploring our theme of heritage. Where it suits their needs, we can also support young people to gain a level 3 or 4 SQA qualification.
We provide young people an opportunity to explore their creative side and grow as a result. The groups will be supported by a Creative Lead Tutor and a Wellbeing and Opportunities Worker. At the end of the 10 weeks, we host a celebration event to showcase all their amazing works.
No prior arts or creative experience required for this project; it is a fun way for everyone to develop core transferable skills.
This is a free course, all materials, snacks and public transport costs are provided
Young people will be able to explore creativity, imagination and making through digital and visual art.
Programme details
Glasgow (FULL – no longer taking referrals)
Location: The Boardwalk, 105 Brunswick Street G1 1TFÂ
For 14-19 year olds
Days & times: 10am-3pm on Tuesdays & Wednesdays | 21st April – 24th June 2026
In Glasgow we are working with the Hunterian through the Creative Minds fund; Collections Creatives.
The young people will:
> Engage with the Hunterian’s collections in different ways
> Share their thoughts and responses to the collections
> Create interpretive and expressive artwork/performative or digital content and
> Have the opportunity to share their work with a wider audience
Edinburgh
Who it’s for: 14-19 year olds
Days & times: 10am-3pm on Wednesdays | April 22nd – June 24th 2026
Location: The Crannie Community Hub, 9 Cranston Street, Edinburgh EH8 8BE
North Ayrshire
Location: Impact Arts, 60 Bank Street, Irvine KA12 0LP
Group 1: For 14-19 year olds
Days & times: 10am-3pm on Wednesdays | April 21st – June 24th 2026
What we offer
Over 100 young people reported improved confidence from taking part
Our Cashback Hubs programme is a fun way to grow your skills and confidence in a non-traditional environment, beyond the classroom or local youth club.
Over the course of the programme, using the arts as a tool, we will support you to feel more confident, overcome some of the hurdles you might be facing and gain qualifications. We will provide you with everything you need to get involved.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Cashback Hubs programme, the young person must be aged 14-19*Â and either:
- Living in an area of deprivation (as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation)
- At risk of disengaging from school
- At risk of engaging in anti-social behaviour
- Living with a disability or mental health condition
- Not in employment, education or training (if over 16)
Where
Glasgow – 105 Brunswick St, Glasgow, G1 1TF
North Ayrshire – 60 Bank Street, Irvine, KA12 0LP
Edinburgh – The Crannie Community Hub, 9 Cranston Street, Edinburgh EH8 8BE
We Work With Some Incredible Partners
Creative Connections
[please note this project is not currently open for referrals]
Creative Connections is an innovative programme that engages secondary pupils who are experiencing difficulty or declining to engage in mainstream education. Piloted in the East End of Glasgow in 2015 the programme is proven to dramatically increase pupil engagement with education.
Our experience tells us that school refusers are often those experiencing extreme social anxiety which in some cases is as a result of bullying or those engaging in anti-social behaviour. Creative Connections has been designed in response to these challenges and aims to build confidence and ignite an interest in learning as a result of working in small peer groups.
We are able to work with schools to identify young people who are not engaging in education or are at risk of being excluded from school and particularly where there are major contributors of turning to crime and antisocial behaviour. Furthermore, through our existing relationships with Children Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Throughcare we are able to engage with young people who may have had adverse experiences in their formative years.
Through the project, participants will:-
- Engage in an alternative curriculum designed to reach out and -reconnect with low and non-attenders
- Build confidence, core skills and early stage employability & enterprise skills
- Gain vital accreditation
- Overcome obstacles and identify opportunities for positive progressions beyond school
Make Space
[please note this project is not currently open for referrals]
It’s important to take time to look after your emotional health and mental wellbeing. With all the challenges life throws at us, this can sometimes leave you feeling anxious, down, filled with negative thoughts and reluctant to go out and engage with friends and family.Â
Make Space sessions are fun, varied and will help you protect your mental well-being as well as bringing happiness and structure to your day.Â
This programme is ideal as an introduction to our work, or for those looking for something they are able to drop in and out of as and when they like.
Remember, this programme is for everyone – not just creative types. We just ask that you are open to the idea of working creatively in order that you are able to achieve amazing things.
Make Space sessions are fun, varied and will help you protect your mental well-being as well as bringing joy and structure to your day.
What to expect
A virtual programme accessed at a time to suit your needs.
Make Space offers you a virtual, creative hub designed to support and develop your emotional and mental wellbeing.Â
Activities are varied, sessions can include visual and digital art, photography, creative writing, guided nature walks and top tips for ways to protect your wellbeing – there is something to suit everyone.
We will ensure you have everything you need to get involved, including materials/art packs and a device or data if this is a barrier to getting involved.
You will:
- have access to pre-recorded online content, (so that you can take control and access this at a time to suit your needs)
- be invited to join live online, therapeutic group work sessions with our artist and youth worker
- access a wide range of wellbeing activities
- receive 1-to-1 phone support from our Youth Worker
WE WORK WITH SOME INCREDIBLE PARTNERS
Create, grow & connect
Are you aged 16+ and currently out of work, education, or training? Join Impactful Starts Glasgow!
Impactful Starts is a stage 1, non-traditional creative employability project. Over 12 weeks, using the arts as a focus, we will support you to feel more confident; overcome some of the hurdles you might be facing; and gain some qualifications. You will be supported by an artist, youth worker, and opportunities co-ordinator who will provide 1:1 and group support. Additionally, your bus or train travel expenses will be covered.
At Impact Arts, you can be creative, gain confidence, make new friends, and plan next steps for your future. No creative experience necessary.Â
We are also running Green Starts in Edinburgh. Green Starts is an innovative new employability programme that will be running April-June 2026 in Edinburgh. It is open to 16-24 year olds who are not in education, training or employment.
Impact Arts is delighted to be working in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland’s Holyrood Park Rangers on this project which will have a strong focus on environmental conservation.
Programme details
Green Starts Edinburgh
Days: Mondays and Tuesdays, 10am – 3pm
Dates:Â April 7th – June 23rd 2026
Outdoor Sessions: Holyrood Park, Edinburgh
Indoor Sessions: The Crannie Community Hub, 9 Cranston Street, Edinburgh EH8 8BE
Impactful Starts Glasgow
Days: Thursdays and Fridays, 10am – 4pm
Dates: April 9th – June 25th 2026
Venue: The Boardwalk, 105 Brunswick St, Glasgow G1 1TF
North Lanarkshire
Impactful Starts won’t be taking place in North Lanarkshire for the rest of the year, but take a look at Making It, our new creative employability programme running in the area.
What to expect
In our Impactful Starts programme in Glasgow, you’ll get to take part in creative engagement techniques such as painting, sculpture, musicmaking, photography, animation, or poetry. You may also have the opportunity to go on field trips and take part in local community art and/or climate action projects.
We’ll also support you to prepare for progressing into work, further education, or training; establish a routine; create a CV; prepare for interviews; and look for new opportunities.
There will be a focus on mental health and wellbeing where you can learn about mindfulness and good eating, getting out and visiting community projects, and taking part in confidence-building creative workshops.
There will be a training allowance of £10 per day paid to all participants for attending Impactful Starts. There will also be snacks available and travel reimbursement can be given for those who do not have a Young Scot card.
Green Starts is an innovative new employability programme running in Edinburgh and is open to 16-24 year olds who are not in education, training or employment.
Impact Arts is delighted to be working in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland’s Holyrood Park Rangers on this project which will have a strong focus on environmental conservation.
Participants will spend a large amount of time outdoors in Holyrood Park, working with and learning from the Park Rangers. There will also be creative arts activities and employability activities delivered by Impact Arts’ highly skilled delivery team.
The aim of the programme is to develop employability skills, support participants to gain a qualification and to help them progress to a positive destination. We are particularly keen to engage with people who are interested in pursuing a Green career or who have an interest in nature, conservation or climate action. As we are an arts-based charity, there will also be an abundance of creative activities to enjoy!
The sessions will be fun, inclusive, creative and supportive. Our staff team will work with participants in groups and also individually to provide guidance and support.
A daily training allowance will be paid to all participants who attend. There will also be snacks available and travel reimbursement can be given for participants who do not have a Young Scot card.
We Work With Some Incredible Partners
Make It Your Own
Make It Your Own is a tenancy sustainment and creative interior design programme, helping you take ownership of your tenancy and decorate it so it feels like yours.
You’ll benefit from practical support to find your own style, life skills training and development (e.g. financial management, basic DIY skills, setting routines and planning), and support to set goals for the future as well as a home improvement budget of up to £150 per participant.
This programme is suited to people who: have been homeless or are at risk of homelessness; are care experienced; are about to move or have just moved into their first tenancy; and/or are struggling to make their house feel like a home.
Impact Arts can also support with you with travel expenses.
We will work with you to explore how you can turn a house into your home
Creative projects for your new home
Almost 100% of participants sustain their tenancies long-term
Together, we’ll work on small scale creative projects such including decorating household items, making wall art and small ceramics, hand sewing, machine sewing, and upcycling small pieces of furniture.
- Learning the design process: You’ll learn how to research, mood board, generate ideas, plan and implement projects in the home.
- Light touch DIY teaching: Using videos and explanations. You’ll also get a resource pack to keep with links and how-to tutorials.
- Learning to DIY on a budget: You’ll learn and the group will share hints, tips, and resources.
- Shopping trips: You’ll go on trips to local secondhand retailers to look at and buy furniture or items for the home with your personal shopping budget.
Here’s what you’ll receive
- Receive a home improvement budget
- Receive a welcome pack that is tailored to you and contains creative and practical materials
- Have weekly one to one sessions with the tutor, where they will work with you to set out tasks for the week ahead. Including a tour of your home and discussions to establish what you would like to improve while creating mood boards.
- Have the opportunity to attend weekly private Facebook live sessions to allow you to join in a creative activity, ask questions and have the opportunity to share your creative creations with other people on the project
- Remain part of the Make It Your Own community after sessions are complete
Programme details
MIYO Renfrewshire
Location: 35 George Street, Paisley, PA1 2LE
Eligibility: For aged 18+ Renfrewshire Council tenants only
How to join:Â Click here to sign up
MIYO Falkirk
Dates: May 19th – July 23rd, Tuesdays 9.30am-12.30pm
Location: 1st Falkirk Scout Hall, Pleasance, Falkirk FK1 1BG
Eligibility: Adults at risk of homelessness
How to join: Click here to sign up
FHANS MIYO North Lanarkshire
This MIYO project is a weekly parents group session running at Motherwell Library. The programme consists of workshops facilitated by an Interior Designer and Wellbeing Support Worker.
Dates: Jan 20th – March 31st 2026, Tuesdays 10am – 2pm
Location: Motherwell Library Makers Space, 35 Hamilton Rd, Motherwell ML1 3BZ
Eligibility: North Lanarkshire parents only
How to join: MIYO North Lanarkshire is operating as part of the Families Here and Now Service (FHANS). For more information, please contact jamielee.aitken@impactarts.co.uk or call on 07919 501 479.
We Work With Some Incredible Partners
CashBack Summer
CashBack Summer will open again for new participants in 2026.
Are you aged 14-19 and interested in exploring creativity? Our experienced tutors can help you build confidence through art!
This is a fun opportunity to make friends, learn new skills, try out a variety of creative activities, improve your physical and mental health, and have your voice heard.
This programme is ideal for young people who are: finding school tricky, struggling with mental health, care experienced, or new to Scotland.
For CashBack Summer 2026, we’re offering two groups in Glasgow and one group each in North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire and Edinburgh.
Explore creativity, imagination and making through digital and visual art
What we offer
Over 100 young people reported improved confidence from taking part
Our Cashback Summer programme is a fun way to develop your skills and confidence in a non-traditional environment, beyond the classroom or the local youth club. Delivered at a venue near to you, we give you the opportunity to explore the creative side of who you are and grow as a result.
Where it suits your needs, we can also support you to gain qualifications or a dynamic youth award.
CRWIA CashBack to The Future
Programme details
This year, CashBack Summer is running for five weeks from July until August 2026.
All blocks will run three days per week from 10am – 3pm (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) in the following locations:
- Glasgow – The Boardwalk, 105 Brunswick Street, Glasgow G1 1TF
- North Ayrshire – 60 Bank Street, Irvine, North Ayrshire KA12 0LP
- Edinburgh – Venue tbc
- North Lanarkshire – Venue tbc
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Cashback Summer programme, the young person must be aged 14-19Â and either:
- Living in an area of deprivation (as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation)
- At risk of disengaging from school
- At risk of engaging in anti-social behaviour
- Living with a disability or mental health condition
- Not in employment, education or training (if over 16)
We Work With Some Incredible Partners
