This page answers some common questions. It's a useful place to look if you're a bit stuck or want to know anything about the website. If the answer isn't here then please search the website, or get in touch with us. It may also be a good question to ask on the Arts Award Facebook page.

Arts Award FAQ's

What is Arts Award?

Arts Award supports young people to develop as artists and arts leaders and can be achieved at five levels –Discover, Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold) across the UKFour of these (Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold) are national qualifications. For example, when you do Gold, you're working at the same standard as A-Levels. Find out more at the About Arts Award page.

Who runs Arts Award?

Arts Award is managed by Trinity College London in association with Arts Council England. On a local level Arts Award advisers, based at Arts Award centres (schools, colleges, youth clubs, arts centres, museums, galleries and many more), that run the Arts Award programme. If you want to take part in Arts Award please search for centres near you.

What is the Arts Award Youth Network?

The youth network started in 2012 following a year of research and development by a team of young people. . The Youth Network brings young people together to share their work and influence the future of Arts Award. Now it has a team of Youth Network Leaders, Arts Award Activists, and many members across the country. To be a member you just have to have, or be working towards, an Arts Award and to create a profile on this website.

How do I get an Arts Award?

You need to find a local Arts Award centre and do arts or media work that helps you build a portfolio. The activities and requirements are different at each level, but you will always be asked to develop:

your creative skills

your communications

your leadership abilities

your understanding of the world of arts and culture

Can I take Arts Award instead of going to school?

Arts Award is not a replacement for school. You can take Arts Award at school if your school or college is registered as a centre, though. Just ask your teacher and point them towards www.artsaward.org.uk if they want more info. You can also take Arts Award at lots of places outside of school, and even when you're working - until you're 25 years. It's a good qualification to do alongside an apprenticeship.

Can I run Arts Award?

You can run Arts Award if you're 18 years old and have experience of working with young people. Check our criteria at: http://www.artsaward.org.uk/site/?id=2007

Can I support young people doing Arts Award?

If you can't become an advisor but still want to help, then you could consider registering your organisation as an Arts Award Supporter. This means you'll be able to easily tell us about your event or course and we'll help you promote it to our networks. More information can be found at: www.artsaward.org.uk/supporter

What is an Arts Award Supporter?

Lots of arts organisations, museums and libraries want to help young people get Arts Awards, even if they don't run the qualifications themselves...so they create activities for young people doing Arts Award. These might be discount tickets, or priority for work experience, or access to professionals.

If you spot the badge on a website or brochure, ask what's available for you! And you can check Supporters near you on our online map at www.artsaward.org.uk/supporter

Arts Award Voice wants to shout about Supporters, so if you get a good experience please drop us a line at [email protected]

How do I create an Arts Award Portfolio?

There are a number of ways that you can create an Arts Award portfolio. This includes using our logbooks, creating your own scrapbook or creating a digital portfolio. Always talk to your adviser about how to create and present your portfolio so that it works for you and enables them to support your journey. You can also use our own e-portfolio platform Artsbox.

We have plenty of guidance with some examples and a list of possible platforms on our page at: artsawardvoice.com/digitalportfolio

Arts Award Voice FAQ's

How do I login?...How do I register?...

To log in or register, click the "sign in" link at the top of the page.

Once you register, you'll be sent an email with more instructions. Just follow these and you'll be active on the site in no time!

How do I comment on an article?

At the bottom of every article, event, review or feature where we'd like to hear your thoughts you'll see a comment box - or a message telling you to log in to comment. You need to be a registered user to comment, but once you are you'll find it really simple - pop your message in the box and hit go and your comment will be added.

Make sure you follow our house rules, though - don't swear, don't insult other users, and don't spam. If you see a comment which breaks any of these rules, click the link to flag it and it will be removed for review.

How do I contribute a review or opportunity?

We really want to hear about the events and opportunities you're involved in. If you add one to the website, who knows - someone else here might come along and review it!

To add an opportunity, just click Magazine > Opportunities in the top navigation and fill in the form (you'll need to be registered and signed in to do this). Alternatively, you can click My Arts Award > Add content > Opportunity.

To add an event, click Post on Voice > Post an Event. You can now fill in the fields:

Title: the name of the event (keep it short and snappy if you can!)

Image: do you have an image? Maybe a poster for the event? Upload it here - giving an event an image will really make it stand out!

Organiser: who's organising the event? Is it a venue, a theatre company, a band, a youth group? Add their name and link here. Don't forget the http:// bit of the link!

Event date: put the date and time of the event. If it's over more than one day, make sure you have "show end date" selected. If it's just a day-long event with no start and end date, tick "all day"

Location: type the address of the venue in here. As you type the address you'll see some options appear - click the one you want when you see it. Then give it a name.

Summary: if you want to, you can add a summary for the event: make it short and snappy and describe the event. If you can't see the summary box, click "edit summary" to show it.

Description: here's your chance to really sell the event! Tell us why it's worth coming. Who's performing? What sort of things will they be doing? Are there any special instructions - dress code, age restrictions, bring a lunch?

Categories and tags: pick appropriate categories from the list and then type some tags. For example, a poetry reading would be under the "literature" category, and you could tag it "poetry", "reading", "books" - anything you think is relevant and will help people find it.

Click submit, and your event is added!

 Can I write for Arts Award Voice? 

If you'd like to write for our magazine we'd love to see some of your work on the website. Add a few blogs or reviews and then contact us about writing for the magazine, letting us know what what you're interested in. If you've been blogging somewhere else, sign up and drop us a line with a link to some of your past work.

We're always looking for good feature writers!

How old do I have to be to use this website?

There is no age limit set for using the website, but we do ask that if you're younger than 13 you get parental permission before you sign up. Because anyone could be reading the content on the site, please respect our house rules. The website is designed for people aged 13-23, but it can be useful for anyone interested in opportunities in the arts or undertaking an Arts Award. You can register as a professional to contribute to the website.

Can I link to your site from elsewhere?

Yes please! Use the website address www.artsawardvoice.com wherever possible and only link to specific content when necessary (remember we may change where our content appears in the future).

Can I repost your content somewhere else?

As long as you link back to the original content or – at the very least - www.artsawardvoice.com and credit the author (if named). We love hearing from people who feature our content elsewhere so please let us know by contacting us. Remember that you cannot use any content for commercial gain without explicit consent from the author – including the use of any photography or comments.

How do I make a suggestion, compliment you, or raise a complaint?

We appreciate receiving your feedback and want to improve the site for all our users. Telling us what you really like, and what you don't like so much, can help us a lot. So contact us on [email protected] with your thoughts.

 How do I upload photos? 

Firstly, please ensure that you have the permission of the photographer and anyone, especially young people, in the photo. Then you can add photos to any piece of content you create by clicking 'Select Media' under the heading of 'Image' on the left hand side, where you can import directly from your computer, select one from the library already on the site, or input a direct URL link.

 How do I add videos? 

Firstly, please ensure that you have the permission of the person who made the video and anyone, especially young people, in the video. You should then upload your video to a site like youtube.com, vimeo.com or blip.tv. You can then copy the 'embed code' or direct link and paste it in to the text box provided when you click on 'Select Media' under 'Video'- or alternatively you can add it into the main body of the text.

 Do I own the content I add? 

As long as you created it, then yes you do. You may post your own content anywhere else you like. Although it is always good for you to link back by saying "First published on www.artsawardvoice.com, [YEAR]" - especially if you're going to be sharing that content with someone else. The last thing you want is for them to incorrectly assume you copied it from us! However, we reserve the right to use any content submitted to the website for the purposes of evaluating & promoting Arts Award and all it's products and services (including Arts Award Voice). You agree to this by posting on the website.