EXPLORE ABERDEEN

Arts Development

Northfield AcademyWelcome to the Arts Development team webpage.

Arts Development is part of Aberdeen City Council's Culture and Learning service. The team co-ordinates a programme of visual arts, drama, music and new media projects for and with communities in the City, and delivers bookable specialist workshops through its city centre venue, WhiteSpace. 75% of the work of Arts Development is delivered in local venues and 25% at WhiteSpace.

The Arts Development team works in partnership with other agencies to remove all obstacles - financial, social, health, geographical or physical to ensure all City residents can access culture in Aberdeen and contribute to the cultural life of the City.

Arts Development - aims and objectives

The emphasis of the Local Government Scotland Act (2003) on increased community involvement and the development of local Neighbourhood Community Plans has been a key driver of Arts Development work plan, with a commitment to:

  • Engage with partners and the citizens of Aberdeen to ensure the widest possible Northfield Bus Shelter'community engagement, consultation and participation' and 'effective, safe service delivery ', whilst underpinning the 'delivery of national priorities, - locally'
  • Deliver on a range of neighbourhood priorities by leading arts development programmes in local areas whilst fundraising, and furthering the development of multi agency activity
  • Ensure that the arts are key for engaging with hard to reach groups in Community Planning processes and develop a number of arts consultation tools for use by and with partners
  • Work closely with City Alliance partners to deliver day to day programmes - in particular, ACVO, Grampian Police, Grampian Fire and Rescue which link to shared objectives
  • Increase opportunities for local people to access further education and employment, and to build community capacity
  • Deliver arts activities to further the aims of communities of interest groups, and key national and local initiatives
  • Place cultural participation at the heart of Community Planning in Aberdeen

Arts development @ WhiteSpace

WhiteSpace is our city centre venue where we provide a range of Arts Development workshops. WhiteSpace facilities include an IT suite, darkroom, kilns and a studio workshop. Following recent consultation with the public we are moving, with a greater proportion of our activities being delivered from partners' venues. We hope this will encourage new participants and allow us to channel our existing funding into creating better, new and exciting workshops.

We are currently establishing our new base, and when we do so will write to all on our mailing list with a date and place for our relocation in late 2009.

Arts development - the staff

Arts Development is staffed by a Community Arts Manager, a team of Community Arts Officers, Arts Tutors and Clerical and Administrative staff. Practicing and degree qualified artists lead all workshops. Community Arts Officers each have a geographical or thematic remit, details of which can be found in the current Arts Development brochure.

Opening hours

Our office opening hours are: Monday - Thursday 9 -5pm, Friday 9 - 4pm

WhiteSpace office is closed evenings, weekends and public holidays, but the building is open to the public evenings and weekends depending on workshop activities. For further information on disabled access to WhiteSpace, please visit  DisabledGo Whitespace access.

Contacting Arts Development

For further information on Arts Development in Aberdeen, please contact the Community Arts Manager: