'Safe space' art club for LGBTQ+ young people set to launch

An art club for LGBTQ+ young people aged 13-19 living in Caithness and north Sutherland is set to get under way this week.

LAC LGBTQ+ Art Club will be facilitated by artist Drew Taylor-Wilson, who is a neurodivergent, queer creative working in TV, film and theatre. They are an award-winning theatre director, playwright, facilitator and theatre artist development specialist, trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Workshops as part of the art club will involve a variety of creative content allowing and encouraging an inclusive space where young LGBTQ+ young people can connect, collaborate and create.

The creative workshops, which will usually take place online with some in person at Lyth Arts Centre, will take place on Thursday evenings starting this Thursday, March 16. This week's workshop will be online from 6pm to 8pm.

Participants need to register via the Lyth Arts Centre website to receive the Zoom link. For more information, email LAC education and outreach co-ordinator Helen Moore on helen@lytharts.org.uk

The first in-person event will take place on Saturday, May 6.

The project is funded by Caithness Cares mental health and wellbeing funding, managed by Caithness Voluntary Group.

Speaking about the project in December, LAC director Charlotte Mountford said: "Through conversation with several youth groups that LAC works with, our participants often reference that there is a lack of safe spaces for young LGBTQ+ folk in Caithness. The LGBTQ+ safe space club will provide a weekly drop-in session for LGBTQ+ young people to engage in arts-based well-being activities in a supportive and safe environment."

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