A public consultation to inform the national funder’s upcoming ten-year strategy calls for action on the environment and reform to ensure arts careers remain sustainable.
Kirklees Labour has promised to invest up to £45m in arts and culture in Huddersfield town centre, including the art gallery, the library and new art installations.
The Society of London Theatre is reviewing its process for including names in the ‘In Memoriam’ section of its Olivier Awards ceremony after unintentionally omitting the theatre director, who died last year aged 86.
The new name, which reflects its home in the London suburb of Kilburn, will mark the reopening of the theatre following a two-year, £5.5m redevelopment programme.
Unions have warned that new government funding for the most talented young musicians, dancers and actors will do nothing to address the needs of the majority of pupils, as arts subjects are squeezed to the margins of the school curriculum.
Composer and sound artist Richy Carey will work with community groups and choirs in the city, supported by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities.
The National Federation of Artists’ Studio Providers, set up in 2007 and funded by Arts Council England until 2012, has closed. Its website, which shares guidance on running studios and outreach programmes, will remain live.
Shadow Culture Secretary Tom Watson has written to leading drama schools, which charge up to £80 per audition, stressing the fees are a “barrier to access” for students from poorer backgrounds.
Plans to open Hebridean arts centre An Lanntair seven days a week have been criticised by more than 250 residents on the Isle of Lewis, who state the change would lead to “further erosion of our heritage and unique culture as regards a peaceful Sunday”.
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) accused Daily Mail writer Quentin Letts of a “blatantly racist attitude” after he suggested an actor in an RSC production was only cast because he is black.
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee has said Camelot’s licence is not sufficiently protecting National Lottery Good Causes and criticised the lack of a break clause, after the Lottery operator’s profits rose by 122% while returns to good causes stagnated at 2%.
Correspondence revealed through Freedom of Information shows a British Council official warned the theatre that going ahead with ‘Pah-La’ – a play scheduled for a West End run last year but ‘censored’ and eventually rescheduled – would “jeopardise the Royal Court’s ability to do further work in China”.
The gender pay gap is smaller in the arts than other sectors, although some organisations are still trailing behind including ‘Times Top 50 Employer for Women’ the Southbank Centre.
A free support line for performing arts workers concerned about workplace harassment or bullying will be set up for a year, funded by UK Theatre, SOLT and the Theatre Development Trust.
Arts Council England plans to boost Bristol and the South West’s international reputation for the visual arts with a new collaborative commissioning programme.
Two people who complained about inappropriate behaviour by the company’s Artistic Director, Ramin Gray, have criticised the apparent lack of progress in the investigation, which was launched in November 2017.
The £4.5m Ty Pawb, which opened on the site of the former People’s Market in Wrexham this week, has performance areas, two galleries and market stalls.
Management firm Band Management Universal has come under fire for apparent fraud after charging up to £4k for services yet failing to deliver on marketing and production promises. The Musicians Union described it as the worst example of music fraud in the past two decades.
