[2] It was part of the Sky Academy programme from 2013 until its final year in 2016.
The panel changed each year and former members have included Godfrey Worsdale (former Director of BALTIC Contemporary Art Gallery); Louise Jeffreys (Director of Arts, Barbican); Radio presenter Jo Whiley; Nancy Durrant (Arts Commissioning Editor for The Times); Iwona Blazwick (Director of Whitechapel Gallery); Cam Blackwood (Music producer).
[5][6] Melvyn Bragg, who was an ambassador at the Sky Academy stated "I genuinely believe that the Sky Arts Scholarships are a substantial and far-sighted contribution to the best arts practice in this country, and already we see tremendous talents being encouraged and developed as a result of it"[7] and in an interview with the Radio Times he said about the scholarship "People seem to think the arts just pop out of the ground.
Young people need support, and our scheme should be replicated all over the place.
[9][10] Winners of the scholarship have included Mark Simpson who went onto win the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Classical Music which he wrote while on his scholarship,[11] while Sabrina Mahfouz whose Edinburgh Festival play Chef was written during her scholarship[12] and won the Fringe First Award.