Starmer pledges arts education overhaul

Keir Starmer speaking at the Labour Creatives Conference
14 Mar 2024

Labour leader sets out his plans for creative education, improving conditions for freelancers, and his hope to boost funding for arts and culture organisations across the country.

Frazer interview: Trigger warnings + ACE plans

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer
12 Mar 2024

Culture Secretary doubles down on previous comments around trigger warnings and speaks about forthcoming review of Arts Council England during interview with Arts Professional.

Spring Budget: Higher culture tax reliefs made permanent in ‘game-changing’ move

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt
06 Mar 2024

Jeremy Hunt's Spring Budget 2024 has unveiled a range of tax relief support and project funding for the cultural sector.

Europe-wide project aims to create network of minority theatres

04 May 2017

(IN CROATIAN) Five minority theatres in Romania, Italy, Serbia, Albania and Croatia will combine to produce a play and a series of workshops in Spring 2018 using European Union funding.

New York opera security scare after powder sprinkled into orchestra pit

31 Oct 2016

The Metropolitan Opera cancelled a performance during the interval as a safety precaution after somebody sprinkled an unknown powder into the pit.

Library scoops £3,000 in the National Lottery Awards

25 Aug 2016

St Helens Libraries’ Cultural Hubs attracted over 2,000 votes to be named Best Arts Project for its work promoting health and wellbeing.

ACE and National Archives extend collaboration for a further three years

18 Mar 2024

Arts Council England and The National Archives have signed a new collaboration agreement for the three-year period up to 2027. 

The bodies said the agreement outlines how they will build on their previous work together to ensure a comprehensive cultural offer for the public.

As partners, the organisations said they "aim to act strategically and practically to help communities across England engage with culture and ensure that our sectors’ collections and activities are accessible to everyone". 

Darren Henley, Chief Executive at ACE, said: “The Arts Council has many values in common with The National Archives and we have shared sector audiences particularly in museums and libraries which are fully embedded in our Let’s Create strategy. 

"We have already produced joint initiatives such as the Standard Charge and will continue to explore how we can support the sector strategically and practically through the challenges it faces. "

Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper at The National Archives, said: "Through this agreement, we will be able to tackle shared challenges across our sectors and make the most of opportunities to advocate, share knowledge and secure funding for arts and culture.”

Rising number of performers seeking mental health support

View from behind a clinical specialist speaking to a patient
18 Mar 2024

Calls for sector focus to reduce high levels of poor mental health among performers following a 'destabilising and challenging' five years.

Derby Council to put community libraries out to tender

18 Mar 2024

Organisations interested in running 10 community libraries in Derby have been given a month to register their interest.

Following Derby City Council's approval of plans for the city’s non-statutory libraries to be run by a trust, a formal expression of interest process has opened to invite viable proposals. 

Under the plans, legally required statutory library provision will continue to be delivered by the council from five static libraries.

But the council wants the city's 10 community libraries to be run by a separate organisation, either as itself or through the establishment of a new trust.

Organisations have until 26 April to submit an expression of interest.

Baggy Shanker, Leader of Derby City Council, said: “Our ambition is to protect and sustain our libraries for the future and drive forward their growth.

“This is a different opportunity from previous proposals as the council is now seeking a single, separate trust to champion all 10 of Derby’s community libraries to deliver and enhance needs-led, sustainable services.

“Libraries are the backbone of thriving communities. They work hand-in-hand with other public services."
 

Protesters occupy Barbican

Protesters inside the Barbican Centre
18 Mar 2024

'Guerilla' festival of Palestinian art and culture staged by protesters inside London's Barbican Centre.

University and theatre partner on skills initiative 

18 Mar 2024

Staffordshire University has teamed up with the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford to give students a chance to get involved in productions on and off stage.

The BBC reports that under the scheme, drama students will be guaranteed an audition for the theatre's annual Shakespeare production.

In addition, students on other creative industry courses will be encouraged to try out backstage and technical roles.

Deborah Sanderson, Head of Strategic Marketing at Staffordshire University, said the scheme has the potential to "open doors" for students and graduates to get experience of the backstage environment and meet the people behind productions.

Former Chair of Science Museum to lead review of ACE

Arts Council England sign
18 Mar 2024

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer says forthcoming review will help 'ensure that Arts Council England is driving creative excellence in the arts by funding ambitious projects of the highest quality'.

Community culture in Bradford gets £1m boost

14 Mar 2024

Scores of community-led arts, culture and heritage initiatives in Bradford will get combined funding of £1m, it has been announced.

As part of a programme funded by Arts Council England and Bradford Council, Creative People and Places organisation The Leap will share the money between around 140 new projects run by individuals and groups across Bradford and Keighley.

The BBC reports that each project will get between £250 and £10,000 to spend on creative schemes and events.

Shabz Musaji, from The Leap, said: "We want to inspire the next level of young people as well as all other groups to come forward to engage with The Leap," he said.

"We're looking forward to promoting arts and culture, because there are a lot of beneficiaries to this. We have projects that address mental health; we have projects that address heritage. These are really good things to talk about and to celebrate."

Creative Scotland withdraws 'sex project' funding

14 Mar 2024

Creative Scotland has withdrawn funding for a project featuring participants engaging in "non-simulated" sex and "hardcore" acts.

The funding body had previously agreed to award £85,000 for the development of the Rein project, a 45-minute film by director Leonie Rae Gasson that was initially presented as “an exploration of dyke sexuality”.

But concerns were raised after the project's website advertised for people to take part in "non-simulated" sex, including "hardcore" acts for a fee of £270 per day.

A statement issued by Creative Scotland today (14 March) said the latest phase of the project "represents a breach of the conditions of funding award, as the nature of the project has changed". 

"The central role that ‘non-simulated’ (i.e real) sex acts now play in the project, marks a significant change to the nature of the work presented in the original application which was assessed for funding," the statement said. 

"Following a review of the application, assessment, and contractual agreement regarding the project Rein, Creative Scotland has made the decision to withdraw support for this project and will be seeking recovery of funding paid in respect of this award to date."

Earlier this week Scotland's Culture Secretary Angus Robertson told the Scottish parliament that Rein should not have received public money and that he “shared the concerns that have been raised”.

Vault Festival closes after funding for new venue falls through

14 Mar 2024

London's Vault Festival of theatre and performance has announced its closure after funding for its new venue fell through.

Council rent subsidy saves Bath arts charity from closure

14 Mar 2024

A charity providing affordable artist workshop space in Bath has been saved from closure thanks to a local council rent subsidy.

44AD, which is based in premises on the city’s Abbey Street, has agreed a three-year lease extension for £10,000 per year, well below what Bath & North East Somerset Council believes is the market value of £40,000 per annum.

The decision is part of the council’s plan to establish the city’s nearby Milsom Quarter as a fashion, art and design destination. 

Paul Roper, Cabinet Member for Economic and Cultural Sustainable Development at Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “Thriving creative arts charities like 44AD have many social and economic benefits and enable more people in our communities to access the arts.

“Making sure established art spaces such as this one can keep providing affordable, creative workspaces for start-ups and small businesses is key to positioning this area of Bath as a leading arts and fashion destination.”

He added that the council’s support “will also help the charity stay financially resilient by allowing it to access grant funding”.

Katie O’Brien, 44AD Project Director, said: “To have security of tenure will enable us to access funding streams, plan ahead and develop more arts projects which champion the creative expression and ideas of young people, students, graduates, local artists, along with our many visitors.”

British Library shares learnings from cyber attack 

Exterior of the British Library
13 Mar 2024

The institution says its reliance on legacy infrastructure has impacted its ability to restore services quickly in the wake of a major ransomware attack last October.

Shropshire yoga centre gets ACE grant

13 Mar 2024

A yoga centre in Shropshire has been awarded a £22,000 Arts Council England grant for a community project that will combine creativity and wellbeing.

Jenna Blair Yoga in Shrewsbury will deliver a series of workshops aimed at community engagement that will target those who wouldn’t usually have access to the yoga studio’s facilities.

The Creative Awakening project hopes to engage with refugees, people experiencing physical and mental health challenges, young carers and the homeless. 

Blair said she was “blown away” to have been awarded the grant, which follows a recent £10,000 National Lottery award.

She continued: “I am hugely passionate about the power that both creative practices and yoga can have on our lives – the two are so connected and help us to find opportunities for self-expression, relaxation and mindfulness, as well as being invaluable in supporting our wellbeing.”

Blair added that the ACE funding would enable the studio “to offer a breadth of enriching creative experiences that support people’s wellbeing, as well as helping to develop new skills”.

Workshops will also be delivered in partnership with local mental health charity Shropshire Mind and the national brain injuries charity Headway. They will take place in Shrewsbury and be open to people across Shropshire.

Tate Britain seeks to contextualise 'offensive' mural

13 Mar 2024

Tate Britain has unveiled a new video work made in response to a 1927 mural that has been closed to the public since 2020 due to its offensive imagery.

‘Vive Voce’, a two-screen 20-minute video by Keith Piper, is installed next to the Rex Whistler painting, ‘The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats’, in what was formerly the London gallery’s restaurant.

The film depicts an academic challenging Whistler about the mural, which includes offensive depictions of black slaves on a leash and caricatures of Chinese people.

Tate said the film explores "the social and political context of 1920s Britain”. It includes archive footage of black soldiers in World War One and the ‘Races in Residence’ pavilion at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition.

Piper said he wanted "to give a sense of how and why the mural exists” and defended Tate Britain’s decision to keep the work rather than remove it.

He said: "I know there is an argument among young people now that these images re-traumatise, but I think we either look or forget.

"We are very good at forgetting nowadays and things that are out of sight go out of mind. To keep a clear sense of history we need to see these things.”

Stone theft from heritage sites on the rise

13 Mar 2024

Calls for co-ordinated response to heritage crimes from police forces across England as study highlights impact of opportunistic offenders and organised crime groups on the sector.

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