Foot Locker launches grant to empower artistic young creators

Foot Locker has today announced a new partnership with Creative Debuts, offering young creators across Europe the opportunity to receive financial investments towards their futures.

To re-enforce its commitment to back the youth community through relevant tools and platforms, and to support its Back to School 2021 campaign, Foot Locker is launching The Young Creators Grant, offering €15,000 worth of financial grants to help young creators continue their work and passion for self-expression.

To be in with the chance of receiving a €500 investment from The Young Creators Grant, creators living in Europe aged 16-29 years old can apply online, submitting a link to their creative work, a short bio, and three photos of their work.

Applicants must create work focused on footwear, and footwear youth culture – whether that’s illustrating kicks, or upcycling traibers. The 30 recipients will be chosen by a panel of judges, including talents starring in the Back to School campaign film.

The grants have been created to help young creators kickstart creative careers and ventures, and recipients are free to spend the money however they choose – from paying studio rent, to buying supplies or a new kit.

The campaign and partnership with Creative Debuts is the most recent instalment in the brand’s platform, ‘Shoes Don’t Change the World. You Do’, which celebrates today’s youth who are striving to make the world a better place.

To help bring the story to life, the Back to School 2021 film, directed by James Beattie, and photography captured by Raffaele Cariou, features leading voices in the youth community from the UK, Spain and France, who are using their creative skills to champion a brighter future for their communities and beyond.

The soundtrack of the campaign is by UK based artist BEBELUNA. Identifying as gender fluid, BEBELUNA was born into a family of Somalian immigrants who came to London before they were born.

Carmen Seman, VP of Marketing for Foot Locker Europe, said: “Our lives have been put on hold over the past year, but we’re ready to get back, back to our education, back to our beginnings, and back to our futures. We’re passionate about supporting the youth community and helping them to achieve their hopes and ambitions for their futures in the new world.

“We’re so excited to have partnered with Creative Debuts to offer €15,000 worth of grants to young creators throughout Europe. We’re really looking forward to seeing the entries and helping young talent to continue to express themselves creatively.”