The Times Higher Award 2007 for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts has been made to Performing Medicine, which was established two years ago as a project to research how the arts can be used for training in the medical curriculum. The collaborative venture involves theatre and performance company The Clod Ensemble (pictured), Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the Department of Drama at Queen Mary, University of London. It has programmed and delivered more than 146 arts-based workshops to help medical practitioners use their bodies and voices more effectively when dealing with patients and colleagues. w: http://www.performingmedicine.com
An online record of concert programmes from the eighteenth century to the present day, housed at leading libraries, archives and museums across the UK and Ireland, has been launched as the culmination of a three-year project by the Royal College of Music and Cardiff University, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Concert programmes, which are considered to be a vital source of information in musical research, have never before been documented at national or regional level in the UK, and only rarely by the institutions that hold them. w: http://www.concertprogrammes.org.uk
Visiting Arts has launched a new online version of Red Tape, its advice notes about the legal aspects that need to be taken into consideration when bringing an overseas artist or group into the UK. These include information about obtaining Work Permits, Visas, Entry Clearance, Leave to Enter, Tax Deductions, Insurance and Medical Services, and Carnets. w: http://www.visitingarts.org.uk/info_resources/red_tape/index.html
The Theatre Royal Plymouth has become the first theatre in the UK to be accredited under the Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme, joining top businesses and organisations including Tesco, HSBC and Manchester United Football Club. Awarded by the National Energy Foundation on behalf of the Carbon Trust, the accreditation lasts for three years, during which time the theatre must continue to demonstrate its commitment to energy efficiency. A guide has now been published by the Carbon Trust to help other heritage and cultural organisations identify the main areas where energy is being wasted and provide energy-saving advice. w: http://www.eeas.org.uk; http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/publications