News

Iconic London venues Village Underground and EartH have received a boost from Big Issue Invest, the social investment arm of the homelessness charity.

Funding committed to VU X Earth Limited, which owns the venues, will pay for refurbishments for a new creative training workspace.

VU will work with local providers including Hackney Empire to showcase young local talent and prepare them for careers in live entertainment over the next five years.

CEO Auro Foxcroft said: "We are grateful for Big Issue Invest’s support to lead us out of difficult times allowing us to launch new education facilities and programmes, renovate our venues and reopen bigger and better than ever before."

There has been little change to gender pay gaps at UK auction houses since 2018.

Reporting by the Art Newspaper has revealed worsening pay gaps at Bonhams, Christie's and Sotheby's. 

Women at Bonhams earn an average of 48p for every £1 their male colleagues receive. A company spokesperson said furlough skewed its figures for 2020 - just 16 staff were on full salary the day they were recorded.

The pay gap at Christie's is 25.6% compared to 25% four years earlier. The firm says most of its global workforce is female, including several new senior hires.

Sotheby's pay gap is now 24.9%; it was 22.2% in 2017/18. It expects new "family friendly policies" to make a difference soon.

New targets for decarbonising Wales' screen sector are on their way.

Screen New Deal: Transformation Plan will see the BFI, BAFTA albert and Arup collaborate with Creative Wales, Fflim Cymru Wales and Clwstwr to create new sustainability recommendations for the industry.

The 18-month programme will begin with 12 months' data collection, followed by zero carbon, zero waste plan of action.

The initiative responds to the Screen New Deal report in 2020, which explored the film sector's carbon impact.

“Taking this work across a screen cluster’will develop practical and sustainable outcomes that can work for all productions and help reduce the sector's carbon footprint,” BFI Deputy CEO Harriet Finney said.

Northern Ireland’s creative industries are set to benefit from a share of a £10m jobs and skills fund.

The Covid Recovery Programme Employment & Skills Initiative will support community services, including arts, heritage and creative industries, in their recovery from Covid-19.

The three-year commitment is the first multi-year investment into these industries' recovery in Northern Ireland and a direct response to the Culture, Arts and Heritage Recovery Taskforce Report commissioned by Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey.

Hargey said the initiative will fund new entry level jobs and increase the capacity of existing staff.

“This should bolster organisations to better survive and thrive post pandemic,and therefore help stabilise these sectors to continue to deliver their services for the public good.”

The third round of Wales' Cultural Recovery Fund (CRF) is open, with organisations that have not previously received support eligible to apply.

£15.4m is available in total, though £2.2m has already been awarded to over 88 applicants.

Businesses must prove their turnover fell by at least 50% during the past three months compared to the same period pre-pandemic.  

The Welsh Government's Cultural Recovery Fund is open to all cultural organisations and is separate to Arts Council of Wales' Cultural Recovery Fund, which is available to only arts organisations. 

The previous two rounds provided £93m to organisations and individuals across Wales' cultural sector.

“We are fully aware that these impacted sectors continue to face new pressures,” Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport Dawn Bowden said.

Applications close February 11.

Most adults think digital services are an inadequate replacement for traditional libraries.

More than half (57%) expressed their preference for in-person services in a survey by the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Just under a quarter (22%) agreed an online replacement was adequate.

The number of people using digital library services was up 11% last year on pre-pandemic levels, amounting to one fifth of all library users.

University of Glasgow professor David McMenemy, one of the research leads, said the findings suggest people missed libraries during the lockdowns.

"They are also social spaces at the heart of communities."
 

Lewisham’s Borough of Culture programme has begun.

Performances and workshops took place across the South London borough on Friday (January 28), including the projection of film We Are Lewisham in three local areas, plus Piccadilly Circus, in the evening.

Organisers say the year will be full of opportunities to get involved, showcasing local talent and offering young Lewisham residents chances to gain skills in the creative industries.

The official programme promises to celebrate the area’s diverse communities, legacy and history of activism.
    
“It is big and bold, created with local people, and sets the tone for what will be a wonderful, celebratory, inclusive year,” Mayor of Lewisham Damien Egan said.

“Art truly will be everywhere in the borough, showing the very best of what Lewisham has to offer.”

Helsinki will host the 10th World Cities Culture Summit, scheduled for October 5 to 7.

The Finnish capital is expected to welcome representatives from more than 40 cities for the first in-person summit since 2019.

The event's full programme is yet to be revealed, but a focus on reimagining cities to create sustainable and creative environments in the wake of the pandemic is likely.

World Cities Culture Forum Chair Justine Simons says the summit will embrace a new spirit of optimism and urgency.

“I am delighted that the wonderful city of Helsinki will be our host at this critical juncture.”