Musical learning should be recognised as part of formal education, says Union

25 Nov 2020

The Musicians' Union is calling on Ministers to issue “more pragmatic and clearer guidance” on out-of-school music learning under the new tiered restrictions that will apply after 2nd December at the end of England’s current lockdown. The Union is contesting the government’s current classification of music classes or drama tuition as “extracurricular and therefore inessential”.

It highlights inconsistencies between Cabinet Office guidance, which bars pupils from leaving their homes for music tuition, and the Department for Education’s guidance, which states that music lessons in private homes can resume if there is no viable alternative. The Union’s letter to Ministers says: “Taken together, these two documents suggest that lessons are permitted only in pupils’ own homes, since pupils are not allowed to leave their homes to attend lessons elsewhere (limited exemptions aside). This position does not support the Government’s desire to reduce Covid-19 transmission, because teachers’ homes/studios and private music schools – where Covid-secure measures have been in place for months – are likely to be just as safe if not safer than pupils’ own homes.”

Its recommendations include “reasonable exemptions to online teaching” where exams or university/college entrance is being prepared for; when a high level of musical learning is being undertaken; if there is a risk of exclusion because of digital poverty; where there is an adverse mental health risk to learners; and if learners have additional needs that cannot be met online.

Science Museums to scale down in anticipation of longer-term losses

25 Nov 2020

With a £23m drop in income expected for 2020/21 and a predicted shortfall of £15m next year, the Science Museum Group has announced more measures to help mitigate losses. These will include moving to five-day opening outside of holiday periods and up to 95 redundancies initially.

As well as “significant cost-saving measures already taken and others planned” there will be a six-month strategic review of the organisation’s operations and the scale of its activities will be reduced further.

Emergency funding from the Government, the Job Retention Scheme and revenues from “loyal supporters and partners” have kept it going so far, but self-generated income accounts for half its annual turnover. The museum believes ongoing restrictions and the impact on international tourism mean revenues will remain severely depressed for some years.

Five-year investment in Manchester communities project

25 Nov 2020

Oglesby Charitable Trust will invest £150,000 over five years to help develop creative projects in Manchester.

SICK! Productions will use the funding on a 10-year programme addressing mental health, social inequities, end of life care, disability and gender - topics it says have become ever more relevant amid the impact of coronavirus on communities.

Projects will be co-developed with locals and a programme of international commissions will bring artists into Manchester to work with communities in Moston and Harpurhey.

SICK! Productions Creative Producer Steve Vickers said he wanted to shine a light on the areas, which are not normally considered hubs of artistry.

"There’s a pool of talent here that can be drawn on to become a part of Manchester’s cultural offer... Our job is to highlight this with a genuine long-term commitment.”

The trust's commitment is expected to leverage another £700,000 over the project's lifetime.

No date for Culture Recovery Fund loans

25 Nov 2020

DCMS says it does not have a date for announcing successful applicants for the last rounds of the Culture Recovery Fund.

Loans of more than £3m and a capital grants programme are yet to be publicly confirmed despite award applicants being told they would hear the initial outcome of their applications mid-October, and Arts Council England saying the finance would be distributed before December 2020.

Asked whether it had a date in mind, a DCMS spokesperson said "a date for planning purposes" would be shared as soon as the department was able.

Additionally, Arts Council England has rejected a Freedom of Information Act request to disclose the number of unsuccessful applicants to the funding rounds that have already been announced.

The funder says it intends to make that information publicly available soon.

 

'No evidence' of Covid transmission in well-ventilated, socially distanced spaces

24 Nov 2020

The Government has permitted venues to open with up to 50% capacity from early December. What does the science say?

Royal Academy of Music students 'feared speaking out' about sexual harassment

24 Nov 2020

A review highlighting shoddy employment practices and a lack of pastoral support doesn't go far enough to change the conservatoire's culture, critics say.

Covid winter plan: indoor performance allowed in England's lower tiers

24 Nov 2020

A new, tougher system of local restrictions will allow theatres and other venues to reopen in theory. But the sector remains on a knife edge.

Female artists are probably earning less than minimum wage

23 Nov 2020

Research into gender pay gaps and the representation of Britain's female artists shows some measures of equality are moving backwards, while others are "incredibly slow" to change.

Benefactor's change of heart put arts centre plans in doubt

23 Nov 2020

Plans for the former home of French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine to be turned into an arts and education centre have ground to a halt after Michael Corby, the benefactor who promised to bequeath the historic building to the charity a decade ago, changed his will and decided to sell the house on the open market.

The CEO of the Rimbaud and Verlaine Foundation only found out about the sale after an estate agent’s sign went up, and the charity is now seeking legal advice.

ROH Chair rescues Hockney portrait to raise funds

23 Nov 2020

David Hockney's Portrait of Sir David Webster, formerly owned by the Royal Opera House where Webster was CEO from 1945 to 1970, has been bought at auction for £12.8m by David Ross, current Chair of the Royal Opera House, to prevent it being sent abroad.

The sale of the portrait was part of a fundraising drive by the Opera House and the billionaire Co-Founder of Carphone Warehouse has loaned the painting back to the organisation until it goes the National Portrait Gallery - where he is also a trustee - for its grand reopening exhibition in 2023.

Brexit could cause two-year cultural hiatus

19 Nov 2020

A new study warns the sector faces a unique battle against "the double consequences of Brexit and Covid-19", with communities in need of cultural funding most at risk.

Cornwall sets out 5-year ambitions for culture and creativity

19 Nov 2020

A Creative Manifesto has been published to explain how Cornwall will define and strengthen its position as a leading rural creative economy over the next five years. Drawn up by Cornwall Council, the manifesto presents both local and global ambitions, setting a focus for collaborations and investment from 2021–2025.

More than 160 creatives contributed to the thinking behind the report, led by an engagement exercise run independently by the Hall for Cornwall.

The main ambitions are for all Cornwall's residents to have access to "more culture in their lives"; to support people to work creatively in the county; to encourage different people to work in creative jobs; and to stimulate creative and cultural activities without damaging the environment.

2023 Borough of Culture to go ahead despite council's financial woes

19 Nov 2020

Croydon is still developing the cultural showcase despite an order against non-essential spending, a review over alleged financial mismanagement, and a £67m deficit.

At least £1bn loss expected due to Covid-19: UK Music report

19 Nov 2020

The economic value of music industries reached a £5.8bn high in 2019. Then the "hammer blow" happened.

Landmark Loughborough building earmarked for creative arts

19 Nov 2020

A Community Interest Company (CIC) has bought the former arts college from Loughborough University and will be providing workspaces for local creative businesses, with the first tenants expected to move there in January.

The CIC is also drawing up detailed plans and applying for further funding which it hopes will allow them to create a multi-media arts venue for live performances and exhibitions. This would also provide a permanent home for community arts organisation Charnwood Arts. Proposals for the new venue have been included in the Council's £32m bid for Government cash to transform parts of the town.

Science Museums to hold suppliers and sponsors to account on climate change

19 Nov 2020

The Science Museum Group’s (SMG) new Sustainability Policy has made a commitment to “working with funders who, like us, are also on a journey to decarbonize”. They aim to become the first UK cultural organisation to use the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) to evaluate the progress of potential investors or sponsors in transitioning to a low-carbon future.

TPI provides independent research evidence that is used to assess companies’ planned or expected future carbon performance against international targets and national pledges made as part of the Paris Agreement. A joint initiative established by the Church of England National Investing Bodies and the Environment Agency Pension Fund, it has become “the leading corporate climate action benchmark”.

The SMG aims to reduce the carbon emissions from its operations, procurement and supply chain, using resources more efficiently while still investing in and developing its estate in a sustainable way.

Director and Chief Executive Sir Ian Blatchford said: “Our Sustainability Policy is as much about driving change in our own behaviours as it is about our ambition to lead public engagement on the science of climate change…

“We have cut carbon emissions from our operations by 69% since 2011/12 despite a 24% increase in floor area of our estate but we have so much more to do. Over the next 12 months, we will set out how work to transform many of our buildings will lead to significant further reductions in our carbon footprint as well as acknowledging significant remaining challenges that will need to be addressed through further investment during this decade.”   

Ethnic representation in children's literature reaches new, low high

18 Nov 2020

Ambitions to increase the number of creators of colour have been raised amid improvements in the incidence and portrayal of Black, Asian and ethnic minority characters.

Philanthropist funds platform to connect composers with patrons

17 Nov 2020

A new online platform is setting out to deliver direct sources of funding for the creative work of today’s composers. The initiative has been speaheaded by philanthropist and composer Anthony Bolton, who is also funding it for five years through the Boltini Trust, his family trust. The aim is to enable composers to spend more of their time composing, enable patrons to engage directly with composers and the music they create, and to attract new audiences.

The development will be led by Sound and Music, the UK’s national organisation for new music, and the annual grant funding will support the new appointment of Sonia Stevenson as Head of Music Patron.

ICO fines Ticketmaster over data security breaches

17 Nov 2020

Ticketing giant Ticketmaster has been fined £1.25m by the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK for having inadequate security measures to protect its customer's data. The data of 1.5 million customer records in the UK, and a further 7.9 million elsewhere in Europe, was compromised and the company has been held responsible for 60,000 payment cards belonging to Barclays Bank customers being subjected to known fraud.

EU culture budget to double, but UK remains outside

16 Nov 2020

The European Parliament and the European Council are proposing a budget of €2.8bn to support the cultural field. Intense lobbying has led to this top-up of almost €600m on the initially proposed €2.24bn for Creative Europe, the new cultural program that will start in January 2021 and run for the next seven years.

The new culture budget is almost twice the 2014-2020 budget of €1.46bn, but as things stand, British arts and cultural organisations will be unable to participate as a non-EU member. This could still change as earlier this year Downing Street said the Government is “ready to consider participation in certain EU programmes … taking into account the overall value to the UK of doing so”.

Before the Creative Europe money is made available to the cultural sector, the whole €1.8tn EU budget must be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the council and ratified by member states. This could prove to be more than a formality, with Hungary and Poland currently witholding their vote. 

Pages

Subscribe to News