News

Artists' representatives seeking transparency over unpaid resale royalties have commenced historic legal proceedings against multi-millionaire art dealer Ivor Braka.

The Artists’ Collecting Society (ACS) and the Design and Artists' Copyright Society (DACS) say they began making requests to Braka for information in 2006, with Braka reportedly refusing to respond.

The case is the first of their kind brought under the Artist’s Resale Right Regulations in the UK.

The regulations entitle artists to a royalty payment of up to €12,500 on the secondary sale of their works by dealers and associated art market professionals.

“The Artist’s Resale Right, now more than ever, provides invaluable financial support to artists and their estates, so it is imperative that we shine a light on those who are cutting off this essential source of income,” ACS Managing Director Harriet Bridgeman said.

Seventy-one organisations have been awarded a share of £4.2m in the third round of the Culture Recovery Fund in Wales.

It brings the total amount distributed in Wales via the flagship Covid emergency fund to more than £87m, a contribution the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) expects will save up to 1,800 sector jobs.

Awardees include Wales Millennium Centre, which won the largest grant of more than £496,000, several theatres in Cardiff, and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

97% of applicants were successful in this latest round, ACW says.

A theatre sheltering over 1,000 people has been bombed in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Satellite pictures show the word "children" had been marked in large letters outside the theatre.

The majority seeking refuge inside are thought to be children and elderly people.

In a video address, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia deliberately targeted the theatre: "Our hearts are broken by what Russia is doing to our people. To our Mariupol."

Earlier this week, a museum in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv was severely damaged by Russian strikes.

The Tarnovski Chernihiv Regional Historical Museum, also home to a regional youth library, is one of Ukraine’s oldest historical museums.

The library was almost completing destroyed by bombing, according to museum director Serhiy Laevsky. 

Writing on Facebook, he said the main museum is in “full order”. Its collection devoted to military history was moved to a secure location after its building was also damaged.

The museum survived shelling during the First and Second World Wars.

The Welsh Government is putting £22m towards a green redevelopment of Theatr Clwyd.

The three year project for a more energy efficent building is expected to cost £42m, £9m more than first indicated.

Attracting more than 200,000 visitors annually, the North Welsh venue is the biggest producing theatre in the country.

Executive Director Liam Evans-Ford said the support makes a “significant statement about how the arts, and its social and economic impact, is viewed in Wales”.

“This funding will unlock further private investment and enable us to deliver something that our local communities, our theatre makers, our audiences, our region, and our nation can be proud of.”

Fifty creative professionals will develop an immersive storytelling experience as one of the 10 commissioned projects for UNBOXED 2022.

Billed as the biggest project of its kind ever in the UK, StoryTrails will use augmented and virtual reality to reanimate public spaces in 15 locations across the country this summer.

The recruited creatives will co-produce, design and write the project, with support from StoryFutures Academy, the UK’s National Centre for Immersive Storytelling.

UNBOXED Chief Creative Officer Martin Green says the creatives were recruited from diverse backgrounds: “In doing so, they are playing a vital role in building a dynamic future workforce for the creative industries in the UK.”

StoryTrails will run between July 1 and September 18, culminating in a film presented in cinemas and on BBC iPlayer.

Local museums in Wales need councils to invest in their culture strategies ahead of this year's election cycle, a manifesto says.

The Museums Association and the Federation for Museums and Art Galleries in Wales are calling for policies to develop museums' digital capacity, diversify the workforce and its skills, attract donors, and catalyse new economic initiatives, for example in tourism.

Local authority investment in museums has declined by nearly a third in the past decade, the manifesto says.

It adds that museums have supported the Welsh Government's priorities over the past four years, crucially providing 'Cynefin', or a sense of place, throughout the pandemic in spite of their lengthy closures.

"In 2022, we are asking politicians to imagine what could be achieved with an ambitious new investment to secure the cultural and creative future of the nation."

Ten venues in Newcastle and Gateshead have launched a campaign to encourage the public's return this spring.

Some local venues, including the Tyne & Wear Museums' Newcastle sites, have lost more than half their pre-pandemic visitors: "By joining forces in this way, we want to highlight the strength of the cultural sector in Newcastle and Gateshead, and what it offers," Director Keith Merrin said.

'Make Your Moment', a joint advertising campaign with Newcastle and Gateshead Councils, will appear on the metro and bus shelters, and it is hoped a series of exhibitions and events will kickstart the sector's recovery..

The partnership is emphasising the ability to enjoy culture safely.

“Now that these venues have reopened and restrictions have been lifted, and with the necessary safety measures in place, we can all once again make the most of our city’s rich history, take in amazing performances and exhibitions, and experience more of what Newcastle and the wider region has to offer," Newcastle Councillor John-Paul Stephenson said.

“We can still take precautions... but we can do this while supporting our brilliant cultural sector.”