Netflix to adapt stage play for on-demand streaming

31 Jan 2019

The streaming giant will produce a version of Broadway play American Son, which has just finished a run in New York’s Booth Theatre. It is expected to be a “movie/play hybrid”.

Glasgow School of Art defends fire safety approach in parliamentary hearing

31 Jan 2019

The school has responded to the Scottish Parliament's Culture Committee, addressing comments by a fire safety expert who questioned the removal of a mist-suppression system in the wake of the 2014 Mackintosh building fire. It states that replacing the system during the construction period would have been impossible, and that new security cameras and fire detection systems had been installed ahead of the 2018 fire

New studio to open in former Birmingham factory

31 Jan 2019

Odox, a project created by Coventry University fine art lecturers Rob Hamp and Jay Taylor, will open as an exhibition and studio space in Great Hampton Works, a grade II-listed former brass factory. 

Threatened Cardiff music venue announces expansion plans

31 Jan 2019

After plans to build flats next to Clwb Ifor Bach were dropped following a campaign, Cardiff City Council has decided to buy the site. The venue has since announced a public consultation on expansion plans.

Team behind King’s Cross Theatre plans new London venue

31 Jan 2019

The flexible venue, called Troubadour White City Theatre, will open in West London’s BBC Media Village this summer with both a 1,200-seat and an 800-seat space.

Edinburgh Mela future unclear as council plans to fund new event

29 Jan 2019

A report to the City of Edinburgh Council’s culture committee says the £34k previously awarded to the Mela will be used for a new multicultural festival, following difficulties maintaining a “continued funding relationship” with the Mela. Organisational problems with the Mela’s parent company meant no festival took place in 2016. 

Backstage union creates new anti-harassment campaign

29 Jan 2019

BECTU’s ‘Dignity at Work’ policy comes in response to a survey the organisation conducted last year, which found more than 50% of women in the creative industries had seen or experienced bullying or sexual harassment at work. The campaign will challenge a culture of long working hours, and aims to send a clear message that its members should be “treated with dignity wherever they work”.

British Museum Director provokes anger by claiming it was ‘creative’ to take Parthenon marbles

29 Jan 2019

In an interview with Greek newspaper Ta Nea, British Museum chief Hartwig Fischer said the sculptures – which were removed from Athens by British colonialists in the 19th century – would not be returned, and that the act of placing them in a museum could be seen as a “creative act”.

ENO initiative to recruit more BAME singers

28 Jan 2019

As part of a push to increase diversity, the company will take on four new choristers from BAME backgrounds for its 2019/20 season. ENO is also offering three placements providing an opportunity for BAME directors to work alongside “world-renowned” opera directors.

Edinburgh mulls charging tourists for museum entry

28 Jan 2019

The city’s council leader Adam McVey said introducing entry fees for visitors, while maintaining free access for city residents, was one possible outcome from a review of cultural services. The authority is aiming to save £150m by 2023.

Boost for social prescribing

28 Jan 2019

NHS England has said it will recruit more than 1,000 ‘link workers’ to connect patients with suitable community activities such as arts groups. The health service’s long-term ambition is to see link workers handling 900,000 appointments every year.

Hedge fund ends sponsorship of Man Booker prize

28 Jan 2019

Amid reports of “strained” relations, the Man Group hedge fund says this year will be the last that it sponsors the prize. The fund’s £1.6m annual support for the award has proved controversial, with novelist Sebastian Faulks describing Man Group as “the enemy” last year.

Experts criticise model music curriculum

25 Jan 2019

Thirty education academics have signed an open letter to the Department for Education expressing doubts about its recently-announced model music curriculum. The signatories question the democratic legitimacy of the new curriculum and the level of expertise on the panel tasked with overseeing it, as well as highlighting potential conflicts of interest. The DfE has been asked to supply further details on how it recruited the panel.

Major study to track impact of creative activity on children aged 0-25

Photo of baby
25 Jan 2019

The joint Arts Council England and De Montfort University initiative will follow 100 children born in Leicester for the first 25 years of their lives.

South West towns join forces in ‘creative coastline’ vision

Photo of Inside Out Festival, Poole
25 Jan 2019

Arts organisations in the new Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch city region have backed a new long-term enquiry into placing culture at the heart of local life.

Plans progress for a North West bid to become UK City of Culture 2025

25 Jan 2019

Following consultations with local stakeholders, Marketing Lancashire and the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership have pledged to bid for the coveted title when the call for applications is announced at the end of this year. A team is being established to support the bid, which is seen as a  “catalyst for a step change in the county’s cultural and economic development”.

Pay crisis builds as arts workers struggle to make ends meet

A DJ outside on London's South Bank
25 Jan 2019

Across the UK, but especially in London, arts workers are considering their futures in the sector as salaries have fallen out of step with the cost of living.

Arts Council of Wales to ‘renew and strengthen’ relationship with Europe post-Brexit

Photo of Wales Millennium Centre
25 Jan 2019

The national funder’s latest international strategy sets out ambitions to showcase Wales’ artists on a global stage and use culture to bring communities together.

MPs and arts organisations pledge to support disabled access

Photo of Graeae performer
25 Jan 2019

More than 100 people and organisations have signed The Cultural Inclusion Manifesto, making an urgent plea for strategic partnerships between Special Educational Needs organisations and cultural institutions.

Record box office takings at West End

24 Jan 2019

Data released by the Society of London Theatres reveals West End theatres took £766m at the box office in 2018 – an 8.6% increase on the previous year, with a 3% growth in audiences. Revenue increased by a similar proportion at regional box offices (up 8.4% to £510m), but audiences grew by just 0.3%.

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