Emerging beat-box star Tom Thum, the day's MC actor Jorde Lenoy and Arts Minister Rod Welford.

The Queensland Government celebrated the launch of its four-year plan for getting children and young people active in the arts with a showcase of some of the hottest young acts in the state.

Actor Jorde Lenoy, beat-box prodigy Tom Thum, schoolgirl indie-pop sensation The Danger Bunnies, emerging acoustic musician David Di Marco, Backbone Youth Arts and the Poetic Murriz provided the perfect backdrop to launch arts, culture + me: Children and Young People in the Arts 2008/11 on 11 April at The Edge, located at the Cultural Centre, South Bank, Brisbane.

The action plan will support and create opportunities for children and young people in the arts and was developed following a statewide, three-month consultation with children and young people, parents, teachers, community members and elders.

The action plan empowers children and young people as creative arts makers, participants and creative citizens. It also supports the organisations that drive these arts activities and enlivens the spaces that house them.

Initiatives include This is Serious Mum! Creative Ambition grants and Culture Love workshops. This is Serious Mum! Creative Ambition grants provide funding of up to $50,000 for young artists and arts workers to start or grow their creative businesses. The Culture Love program will employ Indigenous artists to work in their own communities in regional Queensland to run holiday art workshops.

The cornerstone of the action plan is The Edge, a dedicated space designed for and with young people. Built on the philosophy that young people have the right to experience arts in a way that is meaningful to them, The Edge will become an ideas and technology centre focused on exploring and developing creativity.

The Queensland Government is investing $7.9 million to develop The Edge, and young people have played a pivotal role in developing it. A group of 13 'Edgy Advisors' have consulted with leading Brisbane architect Robin Gibson, the original designer of the Edge auditorium space, and community members, to ensure the space achieves what young people want in a creative environment.

Learn more about The Edgy Advisors and The Edge in our interview with Edgy Advisor Yassmin Abdel-Magied.

Copies of arts, culture + me: Children and Young People in the Arts Action Plan 2008/11 can be downloaded from Arts Queensland or mailed following an email request to Reception @ Arts Queensland.

View photos from the launch.

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