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Plans for the Grade II-listed Palace Theatre on Swansea’s High Street would see the 132-year-old venue become a new home for "exciting young tech and creative businesses". The Council aims to preserve its historic features while providing workspace for more than 130 people, and the public is being invited to comment on the plans prior to a new planning application being made later this year.

Meanwhile a change of use planning application to turn a Grade II listed former chapel in Machynlleth into an arts centre has been refused after the Town Council said the town "does not need another performance venue", particularly close to residential areas. The plan to use it as a community arts centre would have offered a home to artists, musicians, craftspeople, community groups, the elderly, children and those with mental health issues.

In Dunfermline though, new plans for a performing arts centre in the town have been approved by Fife Council. A retail building “in a state of disrepair” and vacant for more than a decade will be turned into the Ironmongers Studio, which will house a 200-seat theatre and cinema.

35 arts studios in Liverpool city region are to be connected through a new network that aims to provide a voice for the studios, raise their profile among the arts and local communities, as well as identifying what support they need in the long term.

The independently-managed studios are home to over 500 artists, freelancers and self-employed creatives living and working in the region, spread across the six boroughs, and many have not received financial support during the coronavirus crisis.

The new network, run by a steering group and managed by Art in Liverpool, will conduct research to identify what the studios need to survive and thrive, and evaluate the threats and opportunities they face.

The process of digitising museum collections is often hampered by financial difficulties, severe legal uncertainties and an inadequate skills base, according to a new report by NEMO, the Network of European Museum Organisations.

While the Covid crisis has drawn attention to the importance of digital collections, the legal and technological framework that allows museums to fully realise their digital opportunities is inadequate, and the resources available to them are too limited.

NEMO, which represents the museum community of the member states of the Council of Europe, is calling for new policy goals to guide European decision-making on investment in the museums sector, especially regarding Intellectual Property Rights that “must allow for museums to be fully visible on the internet, and provide the best possible access to their collections online.”

Museums should be recognised in law as “learning institutions in service of society”, they say, and therefore be entitled to the same limitations to copyright that benefit “traditional” educational institutions.

The Musicians' Union (MU)  and Association of British Orchestras (ABO) are calling for extra funding for freelance musicians as analysis suggests orchestras are losing millions of pounds of income each month.

ABO Director Mark Pemberton said the association's members reported earned income of £70m in 2019: "therefore over £6m a month is being lost in cancelled performances for a sector that was already struggling from the years of austerity."

"The many thousands of freelance musicians who have helped to make UK orchestras world-renowned are on their knees hoping that the government will finally recognise their plight and step in with much-needed funds to tide them over until the concert halls can reopen."

Horace Trubridge, MU General Secretary, said that orchestras are sinking - "and there isn't a lifeboat in sight"

"This government either doesn’t understand the damage that is being done to the orchestral sector, or it doesn’t care. We have repeatedly called upon the government to offer a lifeline to freelance orchestral musicians, but they simply choose not to listen.”

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council in Northern Ireland has voted to delay reopening all arts and museum services until 2021.

Councillor Yvonne Boyle made her concerns about the move known: “After considerable discussion on the timing of opening leisure facilities, the debate on the DUP motion to delay these services only took a few minutes."

"Creativity has been a very important part of getting through the lockdown and will be crucial in assisting in the psychological recovery for many different individuals and families as restrictions are eased.

"We have been and are going through a collective trauma including loss of contact, confidence, jobs and, for some, family members. The support the arts can give for the promotion of mental health and well-being has never been more important."

Plans for a new Harbourside arts venue for Bristol's Black community have been announced early.

Dr Mena Fombo and Michael Jenkins decided to fast track the project following recent Black Lives Matter protests in Bristol.

The pair said there is a lot of negativity around the history of the harbour and that they wanted to create something positive from conversations about race - a Black-owned arts space.

The venue will be suitable for exhibitions, live performances and as a space for creative development.