The Arts Award is the first award scheme to recognise the development of young artists and young arts leaders. If you're a young person aged between 11 and 25 and enjoy the arts...then the Arts Award is for you.

The Young People's Arts Award is the first award scheme to recognise young people's development through the arts. It focuses on young people's involvement and engagement so each award is built around a programme tailored to the individual's ability, level of knowledge and skills. The young people taking the award are able to grow as young artists and young arts leaders by setting their own starting points and challenges.

The Arts Award can be run wherever young people engage in the arts – in arts organisations, schools, youth arts projects, youth clubs or community groups. It is aimed at young people in their teens and early twenties, from all backgrounds and diverse cultural interests - whether they're into opera, performance art, painting or hip hop.

Young people get support from other young people as well as their Arts Award adviser – who may be an arts worker, teacher or youth worker. Advisers must undergo training in running and assessing the award before they can work with young people. The training will provide advice about running Arts Award programmes and assessing young people's progress. Any organisation (or individual) running the Arts Award is known as an Arts Award centre. Centres may be schools, youth groups, arts centres or organisations, or individuals.