The arts scholarship scheme has been relaunched, raising the original €200,000 investment by 20 per cent this year.

Overall, the number of government scholarships over six years amounted to 1,543, adding up to an investment of €15 million.

Speaking at the School of Arts in Valletta yesterday, Education Minister Dolores Cristina said this year’s spend on scholarships was up €600,000 over last year, amounting to €3.5 million for 2012. This, she noted, “at a time when other countries were introducing austerity measures and cutting spend”.

Over the last two years, more than 100 applications for the arts scholarship were received and 24 were awarded. Considering the high level of the applicants and their increased numbers, the government upped the investment by 20 per cent, Ms Cristina said.

“The idea is for artists to have the tangible opportunities for their dreams to become reality,” she added.

Students could specialise in theatre, music, dance, drawing, creative writing, films and visual arts.

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