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1/10 Reason to Support NYAT: Artists-led Charity

Help us raise £10k this Christmas season

It’s NYAT’s 10th anniversary of being there for disadvantaged young artists. Stay tuned this Christmas season, as we present 10 SOLID REASONS to you why you should support & connect with NYAT.

1/10 Reason to Support NYAT: Artists led Charity

Afolabi Alli: NYAT’s ex-bursary holder now our Trustee & an NT cast

“I am Afolabi, an actor, an ex-NYAT’s bursary recipient and now an NYAT trustee. Without NYAT’s bursary I wouldn’t have been able to begin my arts education and training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and then work with the RSC. Most recently I performed with the National Theatre for their production of The Grapes of Wrath. In addition, I am also a lead voice artist for BAFTA nominated game Valorant. I am working across film and television, and all set to feature in ‘Micky 17’ by Oscar winning director Bong Joon Ho. It is incredible to work as a trustee for the charity that helped kickstart my career. I am now helping NYAT to set up their mentoring scheme which partners under-privileged young actors with industry mentors to support them in building a career in the arts.” Afolabi Alli

Hannah Balogun: NYAT’s ex-bursary holder & ex-mentee now our paid Admin Assistant & a full-time actor

“NYAT has done so much for me as a creative over the past few years. The bursary scheme helped me pay for some of the cost I encountered as part of going to drama school and the NYAT mentorship program supported me as I left that same drama school, a time that can feel very isolating for a young actor. The workshops we did as part of the mentorship scheme meant I was able to keep my acting muscles flexed in a supportive environment and my sessions with my mentor kept me inspired and motivated. I also received lots of practical advice that I have been able to implement along my acting journey. I did my first feature film “Run” which, set in a not too distant future, follows a group of migrants as they reach the Italian coast and in very different ways, try to fight for survival. When I booked the job, it was amazing having someone I knew I could turn to and ask how I could navigate being on my first ever set!  Thanks to that conversation, I was able to step on to set a bit more confidently, trusting myself and all I had to offer would be enough. 

I have now been cast in the show “Wonder Boy” (the same one as Hilson, another NYAT mentee) as the understudy supporting character and working part-time as an Admin Assistant at NYAT. My experiences have highlighted how important youth arts organizations can be for young artist and I love that I can now support that vision at an organisation that has helped me so much.” – Hannah Balogun

Grace Smith: NYAT’s ex-youth theatre beneficiary at Hull then our paid youth theatre assistant

“I started the NYAT youth theatre club in Y8 and I found such a sense of belonging and was welcomed with open arms and since that I came back to the program as an assistant mentor which helped me develop teaching skills and it gave me a chance to give back the feeling of belonging I had received to other kids who needed it. I’m now studying acting for screen at metfilm and couldn’t have done it without the support of NYAT” – Grace Smith

Most of NYAT’s trustees & staff members have lived experiences of coming from under privileged backgrounds and working their way up in the arts industry. We are a passionate and driven team that really works together to help provide voice to disadvantaged young children via arts.

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