Co-leadership is key to diversity

Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah, Co-CEO's of Birmingham Museums Trust.
08 Mar 2023

In the cultural sector, leaders too often fail to reflect the diversity of society - in ethnicity, gender and disability. So, cultural organisations are losing out on the full range of leadership talent, writes Claire Antrobus.

Drama school to close despite successful campaign

07 Mar 2023

Drama school READ College has announced that it will close at the end of the academic year, despite reaching a fundraising target to keep it open.

The Reading-based performing arts college did not specify the reason for its closure at the end of the academic year but has previously detailed financial stuggles due to increased running costs, the impact of the pandemic and its inability to host international students.

It said that it needed to raise £40,000 to stay open, a target met successfully in December. However, despite the fundraising drive it announced the upcoming closure on Twitter.

“We are heartbroken to have to make this announcement. We will be making the most of our time together as we focus on concluding the academic year,” the tweet said.

A statement added that the college’s current priority is “supporting our staff and students through this difficult transition”.
  
 

How to get ahead in arts management

Orchestra on stage
28 Feb 2023

If you don’t have industry connections, trying to break into the sector can be overwhelming. So, courses that provide work experience are in high demand. Meet Karen Pimbley (course leader) and Annabel Atkins (student). 

Culture organisations 'struggling to retain staff'

People looking at exhibits within an art gallery
26 Jan 2023

Galleries, theatres and museums struggling to attract and retain staff due to rising wage demands in face of cost-of-living crisis.

National History Museum criticised for gagging clause with oil sponsor

11 Jan 2023

The National History Museum has been widely criticised for a contract it signed with a Danish oil company. 

The contract was originally negotiated in 2016 with Dong Energy, a Danish company with substantial investments in oil and gas. The company changed its name to Ørsted the following year, switching its focus from fossil fuels to renewables.

The current agreement with Ørsted, which sponsors the museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, is set to continue until September 2023.

The Observer reports that the original contract included a gagging clause that prevented the museum from making “any statement or [issuing] any publicity which may reasonably be foreseen as discrediting or damaging the reputation” of the company.

Environmental groups have denounced the partnership, raising concerns about the influence of large corporations on public discourse around environmental issues and accusing the museum of greenwashing.

“It is totally unacceptable that, when the public walk through the doors of British museums, the information they consume is being controlled by large corporations,” said Robin Wells, a spokesperson for campaign group Fossil Free London.

The National History Museum has issued a statement denying that sponsors have influence over the editorial content of its exhibitions. 

“Clauses such as this are standard for corporate partnerships but, as they can be open to misinterpretation with regards to the absolute editorial control we retain, we no longer include them in new agreements,” it said.

A spokesperson for Ørsted said that the company “would not seek to influence the Natural History Museum’s views or limit its ability to provide its usual high standard of independent, critical, fact-based commentary on any aspect of the energy industry sector”. 

Theatre company to offer full-time PAYE contracts for actors

Members of the Creation Theatre rep company
14 Dec 2022

In response to the current economic climate and the lack of job security, Creation Theatre is set to create a repertory company with actors on full-time contracts.

Deadline extended for museums' VAT refund scheme

08 Dec 2022

The closing date for a government scheme allowing museums and galleries to claim a VAT refund has been extended by two months.

The scheme, which has been running since 2001, is open to any museum or gallery that provides free access to the public for at least 30 hours a week. It last accepted new applicants in 2018/19.

Institutions eligible for the scheme are entitled to a refund on VAT incurred on goods and services purchased in order to facilitate free admission. The scheme reopened for applications in October, with an original deadline of 3 January 2023.

The closing date has now been extended by two months to 5pm Wednesday 1 March 2023.

Taking the pain out of digital projects

Hand drawing a site map for a website
29 Nov 2022

Getting the go-ahead for a new digital project is exciting. Here Katie Moffat lays down the ground rules to ensure progress is smooth.

North East to pilot £2.25m tourism project

28 Nov 2022

The North East has been chosen as the location for a government pilot programme aimed at developing tourism.

NewcastleGateshead Initiative will lead the pilot in partnership with Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham, working across seven local authority areas.

The Destination Development Partnership (DDP) will receive £2.25m to “help successfully develop and market the region as a must-visit destination while attracting further private investment and driving growth”.

This is expected to include the creation of cultural events.

The DDP pilot follows an independent review into Destination Management Organisations published earlier this year, in which the government committed to streamlining tourism boards. 

If the pilot is successful, the government expects to roll the partnership model out to other regions across England.

“We are looking at what more we can do to streamline the way the region’s tourism bodies work together, improve the region’s offer and the way it markets itself,” Tourism Minister Stuart Andrew said.

With £2.25 million in funding, we hope the North East can be a pioneer for other areas in unlocking its potential and putting its best foot forward.
 

Tate slashes wage bill

Interior of Tate Modern
22 Nov 2022

Tate's annual report highlights lasting impact of pandemic with more than 180 redundancies made to reduce staff costs by a fifth.

How many arts administrators does it take to change a lightbulb?

09 Nov 2022

A recent article* from academic and musician Thomas Wolf makes a strident argument that arts organisations employ too many administrators. Ash Mann disagrees.

Merger creates nationwide alliance for the arts

24 Oct 2022

A charity and campaign group have joined forces to create one organisation working to “champion, defend and expand access to arts and culture”.

The National Campaign for the Arts, which launched in 1985, and Public Campaign for the Arts (PCA), which launched in June 2020 to urge the government to deliver the Culture Recovery Fund, will now be known collectively as Campaign for the Arts.

With a combined supporter-base of more than a quarter of a million people, spanning each UK constituency, Campaign for the Arts says it will use digital tools and its UK-wide network to “inform the public, express support and engage more and new people”. 

It plans to continue with the Hearts for the Arts awards, which recognises exceptional arts initiatives in local government, and the Arts Index, which has analysed the health of the nation’s arts and culture since 2011. 

It will further develop the Arts Map, which was conceived during the pandemic for people to check the reopening status of cultural organisations near them.

Former PCA Director Jack Gamble has become the organisation’s first CEO. He says the merger has given him hope “at an extremely difficult time”.

“Creative subjects are being stripped from our state schools, inequality of opportunity is rife and the arts sector is having to contend with unprecedented challenges,” he added

“No one person can turn the tide – we need to do it together. That’s why we’re joining up to form the Campaign for the Arts, and why every supporter of our campaign really matters.”

Responding creatively to change

14 Sep 2022

Welcome back to this series on dynamism from Cimeon Ellerton-Kay and Natalie Hall. In this third article, we explore the final principles of the concept of effectuation.

National mourning: arts sector 'under no obligation to close'

Union flags flying at half mast
12 Sep 2022

In the absence of formal rules relating to national mourning of a monarch, arts and culture organisations were left to make independent decisions on closures and cancellations.

Accommodation costs pose 'major threat' to the Fringe

30 Aug 2022

Eight of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s biggest producing venues have issued a collective statement decrying soaring accommodation costs as the biggest risk to the festival’s future.

Assembly, Dance Base, Gilded Balloon, Just the Tonic, Pleasance, Summerhall, Underbelly and ZOO – the venues behind EdFest.com – collectively sold 1,965,961 tickets in 2019, the last edition of the festival before the pandemic. This year’s combined sales are forecast to reach fewer than than 1,500,00.

“The forecast number of tickets we’ve collectively sold is down 25% compared to 2019, which is a major threat for everyone involved in the festival”, a spokesperson for EdFest.com said.

The ticket sales were achieved “despite the very real continuing challenges to our industry, including the cost-of-living crisis, the lingering effects of coronavirus, the cost and uncertainty of international travel, the recent train strikes and more,” the spokesperson continued. 

“Chief among these, however, is the soaring cost of accommodation in Edinburgh in August – audiences and artists alike are being priced out of town, out of experiences.”

The spokesperson said that the lack of safe, affordable housing is a year-round problem that affects the artists, staff and audiences who live in Edinburgh, as well as visitors to the city. 

It is “imperative that local and national government, landlords, the universities, Fringe venues and the Fringe Society all come together to find a lasting solution for this issue, or the future of the Fringe is in very real danger”, the spokesperson added, anticipating that restoring the event to normality may take several years and require public support.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society released figures showing that Edinburgh residents accounted for 39% of all ticket sales, up 4% from 2019. Overseas audience attendance also increased, accounting for 10% of all tickets, up 2% from 2019.

Organisers acknowledged that “audience patterns have changed, industrial action caused significant disruption to rail travel and refuse collection and affordable accommodation in Edinburgh was at crisis point”.

“This year’s festival is the first step in what will be a long road to recovery and renewal,” said Shona McCarthy, CEO of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society. 

“We recognise the significant amount of work that is still required to support the long-term sustainability of this phenomenal Festival… Collectively we will work to advocate for greater support for those at the heart of the Fringe – our artists.”  

Edinburgh Fringe returns: triumphant or troubled?

Outside the Royal Academy and National Gallery during Fringe
18 Aug 2022

The first full version of the festival following Covid restrictions is in full swing, but concerns about its direction of travel persist.

Bristol Harbour Festival suffering ‘identity crisis’

02 Aug 2022

A report by Bristol City Council has found that Bristol Harbour Festival is suffering from an "identity crisis", with many people unclear as to the nature of the annual event.

“Some think it predominantly a music or food festival due to the programming… Generally there is a feeling it is commercialised, with big brands monopolising the food offer and few people see it as a community festival,” the report noted.

It added that many people were put off by the festival’s “drinking culture”, calling for major changes to the event.

“The drinking culture has a detrimental affect on attracting participants from different cultures and the older community,” the report found, with many visitors to the festival choosing to leave the area before evening. The report also raised concerns that the event is “too middle class and white”. 

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests and the toppling of Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol in 2020, it said that the festival needed to make changes to “better reflect Bristol’s communicates in the context of these global events”. Recommendations include installing a creative director to help attract a more diverse audience.

“The festival needs to reflect recent events in its addressing of the issues around the harbour as well as celebrating the diversity that Bristol represents,” the report said.

Despite this, members of the council's are expected to approve an extension to 2023 for the current festival organisers, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

They are expected to use next year’s event as a transition to a new contract, which will be retendered in 2024.

Government commits £4m to overhaul local tourism boards

The Royal Pavilion Brighton
02 Aug 2022

Responding to an independent review into England’s local tourism bodies, DCMS commits to pilot project to test new ways of operating.

Easol launches tech toolkit for festival organisers

27 Jul 2022

Experience commerce technology company Easol is launching a new toolkit designed to help festival organisers run profitable events and deliver “gold-standard” customer experience.

In the wake of the pandemic, festival organisers are facing challenges including rising costs and supply chain issues, loss of labour due to the pandemic and a saturated market after two years of postponements, the company said. It also cited low consumer confidence and the cost of living crisis as factors affecting ticket sales.

The new toolkit aims to help tackle the problem of organisers using multiple websites and systems to manage customer bookings and payments, which Easol says leads to “increased fees, loss of data and a loss of control over the customer experience”.

“It is amazing to see festivals up and running again but as festival organisers ourselves, we know that they are facing an uphill battle by using outdated technology that erodes the control they have over their business,” said Ben Simpson, Co-Founder and CEO of Easol.

The company plans to reveal full details of the toolkit at an event on September 22.

Relocation dilemma for NPOs as Arts Council reports record grant demand

30 Jun 2022

Stick or twist? London-based cultural organisations confronted with tough choice to move elsewhere in England or to stay put in capital, with no guarantee of funding success in either scenario.  

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