'Cultural contract' to be condition of Welsh emergency funding

13 Aug 2020

The Welsh Government will require organisations to commit to fair pay rates, but has not responded to calls for a universal basic income for creatives.

Visitor numbers at a standstill as museums reopen

12 Aug 2020

Major museums are attracting less than 10% of the visitors they normally would - and paying through the nose to do so.

Ventilation – How to breathe life into theatre

Leeds Playhouse
07 Aug 2020

Venue operators should be rightly angry that the Government continues to insist that social distancing is the main route to making their auditoriums safe, says Liz Hill.

EXCLUSIVE: Many venues could be made safe for capacity audiences, SAGE report suggests

empty theatre auditorium
07 Aug 2020

New scientific research reveals that ventilation is key to reducing airborne transmission of Covid-19. Some performance venues already have adequate systems in place.

'Heritage is more than Downton Abbey': RSA and British Council call for 'radical' shake-up of sector

07 Aug 2020

Heritage can grow the UK's post-Covid economy - but only if it starts "telling the stories of more diverse parts of Britain".

'Super active' customers key to keeping up donations, survey suggests

06 Aug 2020

Some UK arts organisations have used the Covid crisis to "dramatically increase" income from donations, but the overall picture remains grim.

Indoor performance pilots 'have proved successful', LSO says

31 Jul 2020

With indoor performances allowed to resume this weekend, how safe and successful have trial events been?

Freelancers despair as emergency funding goes elsewhere

31 Jul 2020

Artists and creatives stand on the brink of financial disaster following announcements that the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund will be ringfenced for organisations at imminent risk of failure.

Arts get one-third of £1.57bn fund

29 Jul 2020

Arts organisations can apply for up to £3m - but those that need more must pay it back.

Silence on support for ‘crown jewels’

24 Jul 2020

Tate Gallery will be one of the beneficiaries of the Government’s £1.57bn bailout. But as major organisations consult on redundancies, rumours are flying as to who else will – or won’t – receive funding.

Mayflower in talks to run Nuffield venue 

23 Jul 2020

Nuffield Southampton Theatres was cited as an early victim of the Covid-19 crisis when it went into administration in May. But a new report reveals the venue was in trouble before the lockdown began. 

Lottery money to be spread further and thinner

23 Jul 2020

After a four-month closure, Arts Council England has reopened its project grants programme to more people and organisations than ever before.

Arts sector worst hit as other industries emerge from lockdown 

23 Jul 2020

Ongoing closures mean the impact of Covid-19 is more severe for arts and entertainment than any other industrial sector – and the drought may not be over yet.

Arts and health: think big and embrace the opportunities

Drummers on stage following behind a woman in a huge twirling skirt
22 Jul 2020

A substantial new income stream for the arts sector can go hand in hand with significant savings to the health budget, says Tim Joss. But first we need to move beyond some widespread assumptions that are holding back progress.

Public engagement: a renewed civic role for theatre

Front of the Playground Theatre
22 Jul 2020

Small theatres and companies are ideally placed to give their local communities a voice. But there will have to be new models of working, and funders will have to resist the strong pull to conserve the past, says Anthony Biggs.

Meaningful employment for young people: a priority for recovery

A group of people around a table at the Roundhouse Co-working Hub pilot
22 Jul 2020

A generation of unrealised talent will be the cultural legacy of Covid-19 unless we use the financial lifelines the sector has been offered to diversify the industry and extend access to careers, says Tina Ramdeen.

Time for a reset

22 Jul 2020

The CULTURE RESET programme is up and running. Richard Watts shares the vision – and the inspiration.

Too little, too late: MPs slam 'consistent failures’ to save the sector

22 Jul 2020

A scathing new report says the Government’s inadequate response to the threat posed by Covid-19 risks undermining its own ‘levelling up’ goals and reversing decades of progress.

Non-profit venues lose out under emergency VAT rules

St Martin's Theatre on London's West End
17 Jul 2020

Cultural venues exempt from VAT will gain nothing from new rules meant to benefit the sector, while commercial operators will be significantly better off. 

Fears for ‘forgotten’ freelancers

dark silhouette of a sound operator (taken from behind) in a theatre or music show with lights onto the stage
16 Jul 2020

Government support for the self-employed runs out in two months’ time – but up to a third of creative freelancers aren’t receiving it anyway.

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