Youth Arts Now is an initiative led by Waterford Youth Arts that aims to research and advocate for the future development of youth arts practice in Ireland. The initiative is a call to youth arts practitioners, groups, leaders and stakeholders to advocate for the development of a national policy for youth arts in Ireland, a strategy to support the development of sustainable funding and professional development of youth arts.

Youth Arts Now is committed to youth-led creativity and holds central the voice of young people and their active participation in the design, delivery and engagement in Youth Arts Now.

In 2020, Youth Arts Now undertook a three month research piece on the resourcing of youth arts in Ireland and the potential for national youth arts network: https://www.waterfordyoutharts.com/youth-arts-now-findings

On November 4th 2021, at the Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford, Youth Arts Now will bring young people from Bui Bolg Youth Arts, County Carlow Youth Theatre, County Wexford Youth Theatre, Dreamstuff Youth Theatre, Kilkenny Youth Theatre and Wexford Artists Community Theatre (WACT) together for a sharing of practice and performance (without an audience) led by a practitioner and facilitator from Youth Theatre Ireland, all enabled by Youth Arts Now resourced by Creative Ireland Waterford and supported by the Arts Offices of Wexford County Council, Waterford Council, Kilkenny Arts Office and Carlow Arts Office.

Please note that the details of events listed above are provided by the relevant Local Authorities.