News

A theatre in Hartlepool has been temporarily closed after problems were discovered with its plaster ceiling.

The BBC reports that issues were found at Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre following an assessment of the ceilings last week.

Mike Young, leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: "Initial assessments undertaken by specialists took place over the last week or so and have assessed the current condition [of the plaster ceiling].

"As a result of this a number of issues found now require more detailed investigations.

"A temporary closure is our only option at the current time."

A theatre that will only allow vegan food to be consumed on site is to open in Canterbury.

Kent Online reports that the performing arts building of a former Steiner school in the city has been transformed into the Garlinge Theatre which will welcome the public to its first production next month.

The school closed suddenly last year after Ofsted inspectors highlighted a range of failings.

Anything eaten or consumed in the 300-capacity venue must be vegan, a rule that applies to anyone renting the site, organisers have said.

“We need to reduce cruelty and industrial agriculture," Terry Thompson, a member of the collective running the venue said.

“What we should be moving towards is an organic and non-cruel system that would free up land for food production.

“I felt the entertainment industry, especially in a theatre, was not offering enough of that and getting on people’s radar.

“We are not going to have it on every production promotion, but it will be underlying so people can ask questions.”

Artists across the UK are being invited to take part in a survey intended to gain a better understanding of how they earn their money.

Commissioned by DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society), the independent study will be conducted by the Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy (CREATe), University of Glasgow.

The work follows a 2010 study that found artists' earnings averaged around £10,000 a year.

Christian Zimmerman, DACS's Chief Executive, said: “With the effects of Brexit, the pandemic, cuts to arts funding and the challenges posed by AI, it is more important than ever that DACS campaigns for stronger intellectual property protection, for policies that better support artists’ livelihoods, and for the arts to be a secure career prospect. 

"We need to build a clear and comprehensive picture of artists’ earnings today and how they are generating income in order to understand the challenges artists face in sustaining their practice. We want to hear from artists at all stages of their careers and from all disciplines.”

The survey, accessible here, is open from March to Sunday, 7 April. CREATe will publish a report on it in late 2024.

Practical solutions need to be found to ensure the visa process for international artists coming to contribute to cultural events in Scotland is as smooth and straightforward as possible, Scotland's Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has said.

In a letter to UK Home Secretary James Cleverly, Robertson highlighted the vitally important contribution these artists make to the success of events in Scotland. 

He has called for an urgent meeting with the Home Office to discuss what can be done to remove barriers, which he said put extra financial and administrative pressure on cultural organisations and creative professionals.

"I am increasingly concerned that the Home Office’s procedures for processing visa applications are having a negative impact on the ability of international artists and creative professionals to contribute to cultural events in Scotland," Robertson said in the letter. 

"Each year we hear examples of creative professionals having their work disrupted or delayed, and festivals and events facing challenges programming international performers due to delays with the UK visa process. 

"Approaches to immigration can often lead to discriminatory outcomes for people from minority ethnic backgrounds through combinations of post-colonial legacies, unconscious and conscious bias, and systemic or institutional racism. 

"Stakeholders have repeatedly raised their concerns of this worrying trend and its impact on our culture sector."

Two collectors have revoked loans of artworks on display at a Barbican exhibition after the institute backed out of hosting a talk in early February by the writer Pankaj Mishra entitled 'The Shoah after Gaza', accusing the institution of "censorship and repression".

In a statement to The Guardian, the Barbican said its decision to withdraw the talk, hosted in partnership with the London Review of Books (LRB) winter lecture series, was made in response to the LRB “prematurely” publicising the lecture and its title.

A description of the talk posed the question: “What is the fate of universal values after Israel’s collapse into violent nationalism?” The Barbican said its senior team did not have time to "do the careful preparation needed for this sensitive content”. 

Following the decision, two quilts by Loretta Pettway that were being exhibited at the Barbican were removed at the request of the owners Lorenzo Legarda Leviste and his husband, Fahad Mayet.

A sign on the plinth where the works were on display says: “These two works have been withdrawn at the request of the lenders, as an act of solidarity with Palestine, in response to the Barbican’s decision to not host the London Review of Books (LRB) Winter Lecture Series.” 

Leviste contacted the exhibition curators with concerns over the Barbican’s cancellation of Mishra's talk. In his email correspondence with the curators, which he has published in full online, he accuses the Barbican of enforcing “censorship and repression,” from which “fascism emerges and our freedoms are eroded.”

The curators responded by saying they are “against anti-Palestinian racism and all kinds of racism, and are deeply horrified at the brutal genocide of Palestinians in Gaza”, adding that there was "no intention to censor the speaker involved" and an "agreement was reached with the LRB that they would use an alternative venue".

They added that holding the talk would have been contrary to the Barbican's policy of "properly considering" how to address sensitive topics.

In a statement to The Art Newspaper, Leviste said the Barbican was "refusing to engage with the serious and urgent questions that we’ve posed about how internal decisions are made and who makes them".

"These are answers that the public is owed, particularly given the systemic recurrence of repressive and racist incidents at the Barbican.”

Last June, the Barbican was accused of censorship when it asked a Palestinian speaker to avoid discussing Palestine at length during an event. The organisation later apologised, describing the decision as “a serious error of judgment”, for which it was “deeply sorry”. It has since hosted the London Palestine Film Festival, in November.

Five trade unions have written to the Chair of the government’s Cultural Education Plan Expert Advisory Panel, saying the panel has failed to engage with them in the development of the forthcoming Cultural Education Plan.

The letter to Baroness Deborah Bull, signed by the general secretaries of the National Education Union, Equity, Musicians’ Union, Bectu and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, expresses "disappointment" that no union representatives have been invited to sit on the panel.

"Despite terms of reference which require the panel to represent 'those responsible for delivering cultural education and wider related sectors such as arts', no trade union representatives in the arts, entertainment or education were invited to participate since the panel was established in July 2023,” the letter states.

The panel, comprised of 22 people, has been overseeing the development of a new plan to improve cultural education for young people, which was due for publication by the end of last year.

Equity’s General Secretary Paul W Fleming said: “The fact that representatives of those involved in delivering the arts, education or entertainment have not been invited to input into this process beggars belief.”

“The complete lack of engagement calls into question the robustness of any recommendations which the so-called ‘expert’ advisory panel makes to government in advance of the proposed Cultural Education Plan.”

“If you want expert advice, you’re best off listening to the hundreds of thousands of world-class educators and creative practitioners working every day to deliver the arts, culture and education. You simply won’t have a meaningful Cultural Education Plan without them.”
 

King George's Hall in Blackburn will undergo an £8m renovation, it has been announced.

The Lancashire Telegraph reports that the money will come from a Levelling-Up grant of £20m to Blackburn with Darwen Council from the government, with the work concentrating on the interior of the building.

The remainder of the new money will go on refurbishment of nearby Tony’s Ballroom, the redevelopment of Blackburn's historic town centre The Exchange building, and transforming the Imperial Mill for employment and cultural use .

Blackburn with Darwen Council Leader Phil Riley said: "The announcement comes after months of hard work between council and government officials, who have together developed a strong investment package to support town centre growth priorities.

"At the heart of the bid is an impressive £8m to renovate the ever-popular King George’s Hall - a key element of Blackburn’s new £50m Cultural Quarter.

"There’ll also be new investment for the likes of Tony’s Ballroom, The Exchange and Imperial Mill.

"I am delighted with the money for King George's Hall which is an vital part of the cultural, artistic and leisure life of the borough and wider area."

A garden in front of Tate Britain to integrate art with nature will open in 2026, it has been announced.

Museums and Heritage Advisor reports that the gallery is working on the garden project in collaboration with landscape design practice Tom Stuart-Smith Studio and architects Feilden Fowles.

The project, dubbed the Clore Garden, after its backing by the Clore Duffield Foundation, has also received advice and guidance from horticultural experts at the Royal Horticultural Society.

Tom Stuart-Smith, who has previously created gardens for Hepworth Wakefield in Yorkshire and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, said: "Since this area was last redesigned, the world has changed and we all feel that public spaces in the heart of our cities need to work harder. 

"Mown lawns and clipped hedges are hard pressed to do this on their own. We hope to make Tate Britain a haven for wildlife, and bring beauty, complexity and joy into this garden in the heart of London.”

Chiswick House & Gardens Trust (CHGT) has unveiled plans to create a new learning hub with facilities to support 200 volunteers and artists’ studios.

The project aims to address the charity’s long-term viability and will also work with local residents to turn an unused outdoor space into a fruit garden.

CHGT said creating its new "campus”, Cedar Yards, will support the growth and accessibility of its volunteering and community activity. The addition of affordable workspaces for up to 100 artists and makers will also offer a new source of income for the trust.

So far, a third of the project cost has been raised, underpinned by funding from London Borough of Hounslow through Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) grants and funds from the Thriving Communities and Creative Enterprise Zone Grants. The rest of the funds are being raised from charitable and private sources.

Xanthe Arvanitakis, Director of Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, said: “This ambitious project has been designed to directly impact the wellbeing of our local community as well as enhancing cultural and creative enterprise activity in London Borough of Hounslow.

"By creating more public green spaces for local people, we can expand our learning and community programme, which is currently running at capacity. With the introduction of affordable workspaces for artists and makers, we will foster a local creative economy and generate much-needed new income for the trust.”