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Bournemouth has welcomed the UK’s largest artist-run gallery space outside of London.

The independently-funded 15,000sqft art centre opened August 7 with two exhibitions focused on Covid-19 and protest and activism.

Giant is a collaboration between site owner Ashley Nicholson and Bournemouth-based artist Stuart Semple, curator of one of the exhibitions.

Semple said there was a “huge queue” for the opening, with almost 1,000 visitors each day of its opening weekend.

“The [owners] vision of community, the arts and the building serving the public is a truly beautiful thing, and I'm grateful that they've put their faith in us to create something like this for the town.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has expressed sympathy for arts workers, saying he has "unbelievable admiration" for their tenacity.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Sunak sent a message to those who are close to giving up after nearly two years without job security.

"Stick with it. I know it’s hard, but we will be back watching you before you know it, and you will be bringing joy to so many people’s lives. Don’t give up now. We are behind you."

Manchester Pride has axed funding for two LGBT charities, leading to calls for CEO Mark Fletcher to resign.

The event ended guaranteed donations to HIV support charity George House Trust, which has lost 90% of its funding over the course of the pandemic, and a sexual health scheme run by the LGBT Foundation for 27 years.

In 2019, the Manchester Pride donated 3% of its £3.94m revenue to charity.

It spent £1.5m on hosting ticketed concerts in the same year, with headliner Ariana Grande receiving £250,000 for a 20 minute performance.

CEO of LGBT Foundation Paul Martin said: “You can see the accounts, which are quite stark, an increasing amount of artist fees, and a diminishing amount going to charities.”

A petition calling for Fletcher’s resignation has received more than 1,000 signatures online.
 

Audiences appear to be building confidence in attending live events, according to a survey by cultural consultants Indigo.

The Culture Restart Experience Survey gathered responses from audiences that attended an event in the two weeks after restrictions were relaxed on July 19.

There was a 22% increase in audience confidence after attending an event. 59% said they felt ‘brilliant’ or ‘fairly happy’ to attend the event beforehand compared to 81% after.

80% said the visit made them more like to go to another cultural event.

Half of respondents said mandatory face masks at venues would make them more likely to attend another event, with most happy to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to gain entry.
 

An £80,000 programme will help Northern Irish artists to develop the digital skills they need under Covid-19.

Individuals working across all art forms can apply for up to £10,000 from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) and Future Skills NI's Digital Evolution Awards.

The fund aims to support people to work with digital or immersive technologies in ways they haven't previously, such as developing new apps.

It will also help encourage innovation and cross-artform projects that build digital capabilities, ACNI Chief Executive Roisin McDonough said.

The scheme is open for applications until 4pm on August 31.

A new consortium has been awarded £1.18m to support the future of visuals arts in the West of England.

The West of England Visual Arts Alliance's vision is to make the local arts community more progressive, sustainable and inclusive by 2024.

Co-led by Bristol's Spike Island and Visual Arts South West, the alliance expects to make 2,760 opportunities available for at least 500 artists and provide bursaries and research and development fellowships.

"We can’t wait to start delivering on the many exciting projects and opportunities that this funding enables, to benefit local artists, curators and young people," said Spike Island Director Robert Leckie.

Manchester Museum has announced a temporary closure to complete the final phase of its £13.5m restoration project.

The hello future project will build a two-storey extension with new galleries, including the South Asia Gallery, the first permanent exhibition space in the UK dedicated to South Asian communities.

Funding has come from Arts Council England, alongside support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The University of Manchester and private donors.

Director Esme Ward said the museum will continue to hold pop-up events and outreach programmes once it closes on August 29.

“We look forward to opening the doors to hello future in 2022 and welcoming visitors to a bigger, more imaginative and even more inclusive museum.”

Edinburgh risks losing its world heritage status if the "festivalisation" of the city continues.

Heritage watchdog The Cockburn Association has warned the events industry has "taken over the city", criticising the growth of the Scottish capitals major festivals.

Chair Cliff Hague said a "thoughtless and short-term approach [will] only hasten the day we join Liverpool on the international naughty list".

READ MORE: Liverpool stripped of UNESCO World Heritage city status

Edinburgh's summer festivals held 5,000 events and attracted a record audience of more than 4.4m in 2019.

The city is operating a reduced programme this summer, with 1,100 events scheduled across 150 stages.

Director of Festivals Edinburgh Julia Amour said the Cockburn Association's fears over the city's heritage status were misplaced.

"We value the quality of experience over the volume of experience [and] that message is just being reinforced as we come back.”