Lottery funds commercial panto company deal

05 Nov 2020

Lottery operator Camelot says money for a seat buying scheme has not been diverted from not-for-profit arts activities. 

'At risk' Enfield theatre faces demolition

05 Nov 2020

London's Enfield Council has approved plans to demolish a local theatre against the objections of the Theatres Trust.

The trust says that local arts provision will suffer if Intimate Theatre, a repertory theatre since 1935, is redeveloped into a parish hall and residential accommodation by its operator, St Monica's Church Parish.

The parish says the building is no longer fit for purpose, and Enfield Council has supported its application as meeting planning law requirements.

The Theatres Trust says "demand is still evident" for the venue, which used to host the St Monica's Players and other groups. 

It is one of 30 theatres in the UK considered by the trust to be "at risk", and was recently listed as an Asset of Community Value.

A recent policy change to protect cultural venues affected by the lockdown from demolition and redevelopment does not apply here: St Monica's Church Parish has been pursuing the change in use since May 2019.

Cut-price ACE Edinburgh showcase to go ahead

05 Nov 2020

Arts Council England (ACE) is pressing ahead with plans to fund an Edinburgh Festival Fringe showcase in 2021.

A consortium comprising Battersea Arts Centre, Dance4, Fierce, GIFT, MAYK and Transform will recieve £500,000 to develop the showcase, £250,000 less than was announced when the showcase was first publicised in August 2019.

The purpose of the showcase also seems to have shifted. ACE initially promoted the initiative as a way to "increase international exchange" and "strengthen international partnerships" after Brexit; it now says the showcase "aims to pilot new ways of working for the post-pandemic Fringe".

The showcase will feature both live and socially distanced performances. An ACE spokesperson said the ultimate budget for the multi-year project remains £2.25m.

However, funding for years two and three of the programme will be decided based on "the outcome of next year's pilot, as well as the changing nature of the post-pandemic Edinburgh Festival Fringe," the spokesperson said.
 

London to display art on ‘the largest digital canvas in the world’

05 Nov 2020

The centrepiece of a £1bn commercial redevelopment of an area in central London will be 2,000 sq m of 8K resolution, 360-degree screens, which will show a programme of public art “similar to the ambition and excitement of Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.” The development, around Tottenham Court Road tube station, will also include a 2,000-capacity underground music venue – the biggest live music space created in London since 1940.

New award for cultural organisations with a ‘communities-first’ mission

05 Nov 2020

Publicly funded arts bodies that have responded to the pandemic by putting their communities first, despite the hardships they face themselves as institutions, will be highlighted through a new award being made by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in partnership with King’s College London.

The Award for Civic Arts Organisations will make three grants – one of £100k and two of £25k – to arts organisations that have re-conceived their civic purpose despite, or in response to, the Covid-19 challenges, and “boldly reimagined their missions”. This could be, for example, by using the arts and creativity to forge connections and combat loneliness, working with existing networks to deliver arts packs with food parcels, or focusing on digital co-creation. The founders say: “much of this pioneering work is unknown, even within the arts sector itself. This award seeks to change that.”

Equalities Minister held to account for remarks on segregation

05 Nov 2020

101 members of the Black Writers’ Guild have condemned claims by Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch that some authors of best-seller anti-racism novels “actually want a segregated society”. The authors have signed a letter saying the allegation is “not only clearly false but dangerous” and poses a risk to the personal safety of anti-racist writers. They call on government to “ensure ministers are responsible with their language, avoid spreading misinformation and apply better judgment in order to protect the lives and freedom of minorities”.

New support to boost digital developments in museums and galleries

05 Nov 2020

Museums and galleries are being invited to apply for new funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to kick-start, scale up, and evaluate the innovations they’ve introduced in response to the pandemic. The Digital Innovation and Engagement Fund, being manged by the Museums Association, will focus on supporting organisations to deliver more diverse content to more people by developing and testing new approaches. An associated programme, ‘Mindsets for Museums of the Future’, will provide a series of workshops and networking opportunities to support museums and galleries to “probe and action their own post-Covid futures”.

“Out of touch and and unempathetic”: artist fury at Perry comments

05 Nov 2020

Artists have reacted angrily to comments by Turner Prize-winner Grayson Perry, who claims a side-effect of Covid-19 will be clearing galleries of “dead wood”. Perry’s comments that “some things needed to go” have been widely condemned at a time when many arts workers are struggling to survive. Perry tweeted that his remarks, made in an interview with Arts Society Magazine, have been taken out of context, and clarified that he was not referring to the loss of people’s jobs and opportunities in the arts.

Call to boycott casting company over option to exclude disabled actors

03 Nov 2020

Performers and advocates are outraged after casting directors were able to list roles as unavailable to D/deaf and disabled actors.

The second lockdown: Rehearsals and streamed performances allowed

03 Nov 2020

Venues can open as places of work, Culture Secretary says as income supports are extended.

Final Culture Recovery Fund revenue grants awarded in England

30 Oct 2020

A further £75m of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) has been awarded in England. 35 organisations that applied for sums of between £1m and £3m will receive grants to help them survive through to March 2021. No information has been shared about how many applicants were unsuccessful.

The seven awards for the maximum £3m went mainly to theatres: Birmingham Hippodrome, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Norwich Theatre, The Mayflower and the Old Vic. English National Ballet and Shakespeare Birthplace Trust will also receive the highest level of grant. Few commercial companies were successful at this level of funding, with the exceptions including event technology companies Adlib Audio and Lights Control Rigging.

More than £500m has now been allocated from England’s Culture Recovery Fund to nearly 2,500 cultural organisations and businesses that operate in related industries.

Major cultural organisations notable by their absence from the list of CRF grant recipients so far include several of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations, such as the Royal Opera House, English National Opera and the National Theatre, and the major commercial theatre groups such as Ambassador Theatre Group and LW Theatres.

Cultural organisations needing more than £3m have been ineligible for CRF grants and have had to apply for Repayable Finance. £270m has been made available for long-term loans of over £3m, which are open to both charitable and commercial organisations. These awards are yet to be announced.

West Midlands artists pledge 'genuine action' for Black creatives

29 Oct 2020

Artists and arts organisations in the West Midlands have collaboratively developed a pledge to take "genuine action" on issues of systemic racism that prevent Black creatives from reaching their professional potential.

The document, called 'More than a Moment', promises sustained long-term change through accountability, compassionate leadership, progression planning for the Black creative workforce and better recruitment practices.

Artistic programming also forms part of the pledge, with committments to "connect and engage with Black communities in the region all year round, not only in relation to specific programmes or pieces of work" and defer to Black workers on culturally-specific commissions.

"We will not appropriate; we will collaborate."

Government rejects petition for industry-specific jobs scheme

29 Oct 2020

The Government has officially rejected a petition signed by more than 42,000 people calling for an extended furlough scheme for the theatre and live music industries.

Its response says that it recognises this is a challenging time for the sector.

"However, the Government’s judgement has been that it would be extremely challenging to extend the CJRS (Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme) for specific sectors in a fair and deliverable way, and that to do so would not be the most effective or sensible means by which to provide longer term support for those sectors most affected by COVID-19.

"It would also be difficult to target the CJRS at specific sectors without creating economic distortions, particularly since many firms work across multiple sectors."

It highlighted the Job Retention Bonus, a one-off payment of £1000 to employers for each furloughed employee, and the Job Support Scheme, the successor to the CJRS.

Ticketing companies aghast at 'ridiculous' funding awards

29 Oct 2020

Many ticketing companies believed they weren't eligible for Cultural Recovery Fund grants. Arts Council England says they should have read the fine print.

Artist donates almost £290k to fund a Council's public art scheme

29 Oct 2020

Graffiti artist STIK, who has sold a smaller model of his four-metre Holding Hands sculpture at auction for almost £290,000, is donating the money to the London Borough of Hackney to create a series of outdoor art works. STIK said the project is intended to "facilitate a new wave of public sculpture in East London, celebrating the diverse communities who live here.”

Artists share lockdown experiences of working in care homes

29 Oct 2020

Although pre-lockdown many artists were already skilled in working with older people face to face and had established relationships with care homes and housing associations, their online activities had to be developed suddenly and they were challenged by the intergenerational ‘digital divide’, according to a new report published by the Baring Foundation.

The experience of 62 arts organisations and artists offering creative activities to older people during lockdown have been documented in the report, Key Workers: Creative ageing in lockdown and after, which examines what artists have learnt about the benefits and limitations of engaging remotely with older people.  

It concludes that the creative ageing sector needs to innovate and adapt through researching, refining, documenting and disseminating new ways of working, which for the foreseeable future is likely to mean a blended digital and non-digital approach, reliant on the support of funders, especially in the arts and health sectors. 90% of those who took part in the study are worried about their financial viability.

Performing arts graduates report high levels of career satisfaction

29 Oct 2020

Research into the careers of graduates from six leading theatre and dance institutions has revealed complex working patterns and a wide range of career trajectories. A report, ‘It helps to have more strings to your bow’: Exploring the careers and success of graduates of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama’ presents a new, holistic model of graduate success, examining artistic engagement, wellbeing and making a difference, as well as earnings.

After leaving their institutions, almost 90% of the students surveyed had maintained a connection to the artform they had studied, either through paid or unpaid activity. 4 out of 5 think they have built a good career since graduation – most being highly satisfied with many aspects of their work.

 

Council / College collaboration to rescue Peterborough’s cultural services

29 Oct 2020

The operation of Peterborough’s cultural, heritage and library services will be taken over by City College Peterborough after the previous not-for-profit trust operators, Vivacity, handed back control of the loss-making enterprise to the City Council. The college is legally a department of Peterborough City Council but operates with an independent board of governors.

City College Peterborough Foundation, the college’s charitable arm, has created a trading company called City Culture Peterborough Ltd which will run the former Vivacity services. City Culture Peterborough will be accountable both to its own foundation and the city council.

Taskforce to tackle the ‘cultural catastrophe’ facing London

29 Oct 2020

Leaders from sectors including financial and professional services, tech firms and cultural organisations are meeting over the next three months to find new ways that London’s cultural and commercial sectors can work together to support creative businesses and sustain London’s position as a global business hub. The new Culture & Commerce Taskforce is chaired by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, William Russell, and will be driven by the City of London Corporation and ‘Culture Mile’, its cultural district.

Estimates suggest that the creative industries are suffering twice the hit as the wider economy due to the pandemic, with London expecting a £14.8 billion drop in GVA and 110,000 job losses.

Busking licences will ruin livelihoods, campaigners say

29 Oct 2020

Plans to restrict busking in London's West End would limit the number of street performers and criminalise shows outside of 25 designated spots.

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