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A 3D virtual museum is set is to launch this week, showcasing objects from the National Paralympic Heritage Trust (NPHT).

The Digital Explorations Celebration & Virtual Museum, launching on Wednesday (19 April) at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement, will showcase objects including mascots, clothing and sports equipment.

The museum is part of the Digital Exploration Project, funded by the Rothschild Foundation and National Lottery Heritage Fund, with support from the Heart of Bucks.

The result of three years of work, the exhibition brings together more than 65 objects curated and scanned by participants from local disability organisations from across Buckinghamshire. 

The collection also includes artefacts from other museums, items from students at Pebble Brook School and artefacts from NPHT’s own collection.

Participants received professional training and work experience in historical research and cataloguing, digital 3D scanning, photogrammetry and editing.

“We are proud to support NPHT’s Digital Exploration project, preserving and sharing their inspirational Paralympic heritage of international significance, through the digital innovation of 3D models and exhibitions, promoting wider access for disabled people, young people and researchers,” said Leona Forsyth, Senior Grants Manager at the Rothschild Foundation.

“This work is also helping build a local cultural sector that is inclusive, vibrant and resilient. 

“The team’s personal approach and dedication to meeting individual needs through mentoring and training is developing the life skills and improving the quality of life and well-being of disabled participants, while helping build a more diverse, representative heritage workforce locally.”

An East London theatre company is helping writers from low-income backgrounds develop their craft with a new playwriting award.

The Squint Playwriting Award will provide professional development opportunities for 10 early-career playwrights from low-income backgrounds.

A six-month education programme will offer mentorship, workshops and masterclasses. 

To ensure that financial barriers are removed, participants will be paid London Living Wage for all contact hours during the programme, plus expenses. Bursaries for access costs are also available.

Following an industry showcase at Theatre Royal Stratford East on 3 November, one participant will be awarded a Writers' Guild of Great Britain one-act play commission, to realise their first full-length play.

This will include a fee of £6,110 and six months of additional mentorship and dramaturgical support.

Andrew Whyment, Artistic Director of Squint, and Lee Anderson, Literary Associate of Squint, said: "It’s the talented playwrights who struggle to pay bills and have to work second and third jobs just to scrape by, who are often the first to leave our industry.

"So we’re doing something about it. Our programme will discover, develop and champion 10 exceptional playwrights of the future.”

Applications are open now and close on 8 May.

An initiative developed by the Southbank Centre during the Covid-19 pandemic to reach those most isolated by the lockdowns is to be relaunched.

The Art by Post scheme scheme involves delivering free activity booklets to care homes, hospitals, charities, arts organisations, specialist dementia services, prison facilities and housing initiatives to give people an outlet for artistic expression. 

The initiative previously reached almost 4,500 people, 90% of whom said it had given them something to look forward to and 75% of whom said that it had improved their wellbeing. 

The scheme will return in partnership with the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP), with six new creativity booklets designed for people with long-term physical and mental health needs.

Participants can refer themselves or be referred by a friend, family member or professional service. Organisations can also sign up to receive the booklets in bulk.

The new booklets provide free poetry and art activities designed by artists and activists to nurture creativity and support wellbeing, with a focus on how to care for the health of the planet.

“At NASP we’ve witnessed the life changing effect social prescribing – connecting people to non-medical support to address problems like isolation or stress – can have on people’s mental and physical health,” said Sunita Pandya, Interim CEO at The National Academy for Social Prescribing.

“However, we are also keenly aware that some green social prescribing or arts for wellbeing projects aren’t accessible to those who cannot leave the house. 

“These booklets – which are being offered to link workers for distribution – make social prescribing activities available to all. We can't wait to see the work they inspire.”
 

Tate is taking its national art collection on the road in a new initiative with the French organisation Art Explora.

The new 'mobile museum' is in the trailer of an articulated lorry and is currently on a 10-week tour (until 29 April) of Liverpool and the surrounding area.

The pilot scheme is touring a slimmed-down version of the Radical Landscapes exhibition held at Tate Liverpool last summer.

As well as locations in Liverpool it will go to St Helens, Knowsley, the Wirral and Halton.

Helen Legg, the director of Tate Liverpool, said it was hoped the project will "arrest issues of attendance at our national museums”.

She added: “The mobile museum is unique. It goes directly into communities. It allows us, as a museum, to meet people on their own terms.” 

The non-profit project is supported by Art Explora with public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

A new theatre initiative in Sheffield hopes to provide opportunities for young people of African and Caribbean heritage in the city.

Utopia Theatre, an ACE National Portfolio Organisation formed in 2012, said its Youth Academy will run performing arts classes and workshops for children and young people aged nine–19, as well as providing mentoring and training in all aspects of theatre.

Using African oral storytelling and performance techniques, the academy will develop performing talent and offer career advice.

Utopia’s founder and director Mojisola Kareem-Elufowoju said this was “a pivotal moment” for the company.

She explained: “The launch of the academy responds to the inequalities and shortage of opportunities for black youths to pursue a career in the arts.

“Utopia Theatre provides a strong role model and has developed community partnerships over the last four years to address issues that affect the black community in Sheffield.

“This is an opportunity for our youth academy members to build their life and creative skills, starting a cycle of learners who are positively impacting each other’s lives.”

Utopia hopes to attract around 100 young people to the scheme. No acting or drama experience is needed to take part.