News

Aberdeen City Council has approved plans to provide online instrumental lessons for pupils.

It first introduced digital music lessons during the pandemic, when Aberdeen City Music Service began uploading instructor videos for pupils to access between classes.

The provider says students have made "good progress" during digital lessons, prompting council officers to consult with pupils, parents and instructors to determine the scope of the offer.

The initiative will support an expected increase in the number of pupils taking lessons as Scotland becomes the first UK nation to mandate free instrumental music tuition.

"Our council has been pioneering in its use of digital technology - and there is a great opportunity to harness its power in delivering content to support those who engage with the music service," Councillor M Taqueer Malik commented.

The first ever Digital Culture Awards will celebrate and showcase digital innovation over the course of the pandemic.

Arts Council England has launched the awards, and is seeking applications for "the best in digital transformation, digital engagement and use of technology".

There are eight categories: social media, content production, content distribution, income generation, digital inclusion, use of data, organisational digital transformation, and emerging digital leader.  

Entries close at 10am November 8, with a shortlist decided thereafter.

Public voting to decide the winners will open mid-December before a virtual awards ceremony on January 20, 2022.

National Museums Liverpool (NML) has announced the winners of a competition to redevelop Liverpool’s Canning Dock.

Architects Asif Khan, Mariam Kamara and Sir David Adjaye will work alongside artist Theaster Gates to transform the area between the Royal Albert Dock and Mann Island.

Competition judges were unanimous in picking the winning team, whose plans start with redeveloping spaces in the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building “to explore and investigate the transatlantic slave trade and legacies”.

Gates hopes the redevelopment will “give emotional heft to the truth of slavery in the UK”.

“Canning Dock represents one of the most important racialised sites in the UK and it gives me tremendous honour to work with this team to realise the complexity of the site.”

Sunderland’s newest music and performance venue The Fire Station has released details of its opening programme.

Operated by Sunderland Culture, the £18m venue will open its auditorium on December 10, with events scheduled through June.

It expects to host up to 300 music and theatre events each year.

Music, Arts and Culture (MAC) Chair Paul Callaghan said the auditorium will not only feature established musicians, "it will also be the springboard to stardom for our own aspiring talent".

Sunderland Culture Chief Executive Rebecca Ball said the venue will be "a fantastic addition to the city’s cultural life" and thanked the MAC Trust for leading the building project.
 

British musicians touring the EU can now travel in the same vehicle as their equipment.

The Department of Transport has confirmed that so-called 'splitter vans' do not fall under the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), meaning individual EU states make their own rules.

The Musicians' Union (MU) and Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM), which have been lobbying for this arrangement, are delighted.

The TCA said people and equipment could not be transported in the same vehicle - "a disaster for touring musicians, particularly at grassroots level", the MU says.

National Organiser for Live Performance Dave Webster, said this is a relief and "a major step forward".

“A ban on splitter vans would have made European touring almost impossible for small to medium scale bands, especially given the costs of carnets, visas, work permits and Covid testing they are already bearing."

ISM Chief Executive Deborah Annetts said a visa waiver agreement is needed to remove the red tape.

"It’s great that on this occasion the industries’ campaigning work has paid off, but there is much more the Government should be doing."

PRS for Music has narrowed its gender pay gap but white employees earn up to 26% more than those of colour.

The collecting society has published reports on its gender and ethnicity pay gaps as it announces two new full-time posts to "provide further expertise in equality and diversity".

Its average gender pay gap has decreased from 13.5% last year to 10.6% this year. 

However, there is an average wage gap of 20% and a median gap of 26% in favour of white employees over their colleagues of colour.

This is "predominantly driven by the proportion of Black, Asian or ethnic minority background employees in lower banded roles," PRS reports

It says it has trained all hiring managers on inclusive recruiting and increase its use of recuritment agencies that specialise in diverse candidates.

"Internally, the organisation is increasing its focus on nurturing diverse talent using talent reviews and career development plans, including coaching and management development."

Northern Ireland is set to remove a one-metre social distancing rule in all settings bar hospitality.

The move will be welcomed by theatres and music venues, which had complained the restriction was financially unviable.

On Monday (September 27), the country's Executive decided instead to rely on guidance and mandatory use of masks in cultural spaces.

Arts Council of Northern Ireland Chief Executive Roisin McDonough said it was "an important step forward" and "a very positive sign that the wider arts and culture sectors in Northern Ireland are now on the journey to recovery at last".

"I know all those working in and around the arts sector will continue to enact every safety measure needed to welcome back audiences, they have been much missed."

Venues are being asked to ensure attendees are fully vaccinated or have proof of a negative lateral flow test; however there is no legal mandate.

Indoor concerts are allowed, though people must be seated.

The change of policy will take effect at 6pm on Thursday (September 30).

Research by art marketplace Artfinder has ranked Salisbury as the top art buying location in the UK.

The Wiltshire city ranked number one with 515 artworks bought per 100,000 inhabitants. Oxford and Cambridge placed second and third, with 478 and 471 art sales per 100,000 residents respectively.

The research also found UK art buyers purchase paintings more than other kinds of art, with oil and acrylic paintings the most popular.

Salisbury based artist James Earley said the city was an “ideal” place to practice and show art.

"It is a huge compliment to the city and to those who have pushed art to the forefront through opening studios and exhibitions. It is now one of the pillars of the city and I truly believe this to be a celebration for Salisbury’s diversity."