Plymouth College of Art gains university status

25 May 2022

Plymouth College of Art has been approved for university status and changed its name to Arts University Plymouth.

The institution, founded in 1856, has been granted full university status following approval by the Privy Council. It becomes the third university in the city in addition to University of Plymouth and Plymouth Marjon University.

"This exciting news recognises the quality of the work already taking place," said Professor Paul Fieldsend-Danks, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Arts University Plymouth.

"Achieving full university status is just our latest evolution in over 160 years of leading specialist arts education in the South West and internationally.

"Their tireless work has enabled us to demonstrate the value of arts education to students, to the UK economy and to a world that needs creatives now more than ever."

"Our vision for Arts University Plymouth is a new kind of art school for the 21st century, preparing graduates who are uniquely placed to provide creative solutions to the complex problems faced by modern society."

 

 

Royal College of Art opens new £135m campus

23 May 2022

A major new campus for the Royal College of Art (RCA), featuring a space for public exhibitions, has opened.

The £135m development accommodates four storeys of studios and workshops for sculpture, contemporary art, video and film, and design.

Meanwhile, a double-height 350sq m space space known as The Hanger has large doors at either end to enable the installation of heavy, large or complex works of art, and will be used for public exhibitions. 

A similar but smaller room provides research, testing and assembly space for sculpture and robotics projects.

To coincide with the launch, the RCA has announced a new five-year strategy for 2022–27 which includes plans to double the percentage of Black British and People of Colour students and researchers from underrepresented backgrounds.

Performance studies threatened by proposed university cuts

19 May 2022

Announcements of course closures and job losses at universities prompt concerns of 'existential threat' to theatre and performance studies.

Government to end funding for Creative Careers

Discover! Creative Careers Week 2019 image © Tyneside Cinema Newcastle[62]
18 May 2022

DCMS is to provide £947,000 for Creative Careers Programme to continue until March 2025, but does not intend to fund it beyond then.

Generation post-pandemic 

17 May 2022

The first post-pandemic generation is about to enter the creative industries. Anoushka Dossa has been examining their expectations and aspirations.

Wales’ national music plan gets green light

group of schoolchildren play musical instruments
17 May 2022

Wales’ first National Plan for Music Education sees funding for music provision trebled, to ensure all children get the opportunity to learn.

Aston Hall hosts campus for neurodivergent students

17 May 2022

A campus offering creative education for neurodivergent students is opening at Birmingham’s Aston Hall.

The new facility will see students of Pinc College undertake classes in art, digital art and complementary studies at the Grade I listed 17th century mansion, which is operated by Birmingham Museums Trust.

As part of the new partnership, Birmingham Museums will offer the students access to arts opportunities across the trust’s nine museum and heritage sites.

The Aston Hall campus marks Pinc College’s first in the West Midlands and will open officially in September. Prospective students are being invited to attend open days at the facility on 19 and 20 May.

Birmingham Museums’ Historic Properties Museum Manager Kimberley Biddle said the trust is looking forward to students exploring the richness of the building as part of their creative learning.

“I’ve been lucky enough to see first-hand the work of team Pinc and the way that focussed art engagement can unleash unbounded creativity in their students.”

Audit highlights UK's 'world-leading' art and music research

13 May 2022

Results from the assessment will determine the allocation of around £2bn in annual government funding.

Creative apprenticeships drop to lowest level in a decade

05 May 2022

Sharp fall in creative apprenticeships prompts call for a "radical rethink" of career routes into the sector.

ALRA students join Rose Bruford College

04 May 2022

A total of 142 former ALRA students are to continue their studies with Rose Bruford College following the academy’s closure last month.

All students across undergraduate, postgraduate and foundation courses were offered a place to continue their course after the fallout.

The transferring students will work across Rose Bruford’s campuses in South West London and Wigan. The college said it has been working with a number of institutions to ensure students make a smooth transition.

Principal Claire Middleton says the transfers offer students a “secure way to complete their training after such an unsettling time”.

“We were encouraged to see the outpouring of support for them from across the industry,” she added.

Norwich University of the Arts expands campus

03 May 2022

Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) has acquired central Norwich venue 20 Bank Plain.

Work will now begin to transform the former banking hall into exhibition and performance spaces, student facilities and a café, after NUA confirmed it struck a deal with current owners The Lind Trust.

It will become the university’s 12th building in the creative quarter of the city.

NUA Vice Chancellor Professor Simon Ofield-Kerr expects the university to begin using the Grade-II listed building next year.

“It provides the opportunity to create spaces that combine teaching, research, exhibition and collection and public access way beyond our existing estate and will become an important centre for both the university and the city.”

Unions blame DfE for ALRA closure

14 Apr 2022

The Department for Education (DfE) bears "significant responsibility" for ALRA's sudden closure, unions say.

In a joint statement, the University and College Union (UCU) and performing arts workers' union Equity say ALRA’s financial difficulties were the "predictable consequence of the poor regulation of private providers and an ideological reliance on fees".

"The Government’s vindictive attacks on funding for creative and performing arts and its refusal to support these subjects in higher education form the background to ALRA’s collapse."

Claiming ALRA’s senior management handled the situation "disgracefully", the unions said they are offering advice to their members and encouraging other institutions to make offers of alternative employment.

They warn ALRA will not be the last higher education institution to suffer unless the Government abandons its fee-based funding model in favour of secure public funding. 

"This cultural vandalism must be brought to an end," their statement concludes.

£8.9m for youth music making

13 Apr 2022

£8.9m is being invested in two funds to support young people's music making, learning and earning potential.

Youth Music has launched the Trailblazer Fund, offering grants of up to £30,000 to organisations who want to trial new music projects, and the Catalyser Fund, which will give up to £300,000 to those want to scale up existing projects or "create change in sector practice".

The charity says the funds, made possible with National Lottery support via Arts Council England, respond to a 33% increase in demand for funds over the past 12 months.

"The post-pandemic demand for funding of transformative music-making opportunities is far outpacing demand," it said.

Applicants to Youth Music helped design the funds and will inform the funding decisions.

"This shift will make life easier for applicants and ensure music making opportunities are open for the children and young people who need them the most."
 
 

UK arts universities perform well in rankings

07 Apr 2022

The UK's arts universities have held on to top spots in the QS World University Rankings.

The Royal College of Music was named the best insititution for performing arts study.

For the sixth year since 2016, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has been rated in the top 10 for performing arts, placing fifth.  

Conservatoire Chair Nick Kuenssberg said: “Despite the pandemic, yet again the conservatoire has been able to maintain its value set and continues to develop its pedagogy and unique combination of disciplines at the highest level.”

In art and design, the Royal College of Art is first, followed by University of the Arts London.

 

Shock as ALRA closes without warning

06 Apr 2022

Trustees missed the warning signs in 2020, reporting a "very low risk" of closure just six months ago.

UAL plans 30 online degree courses

05 Apr 2022

University of the Arts London (UAL) will offer 30 online and "low residency" degree courses in the 2022/23 academic year.

The plan, part of the university's new 10-year strategy, could double student numbers, providing another 5,000 full-time equivalent places per year, or up to 15,000 part-time students.

It will invest in its online infrastructure to achieve this.

"By growing student numbers here in London and expanding online, we can provide more students, whoever, or wherever they may be, with a high-quality creative education," the strategy reads.

"Our strategy will deliver quality at scale, so that we are defined not by how many students we exclude, but by how many we include."

 

 

Children’s theatre ticket scheme doubles offering

04 Apr 2022

Children’s theatre Polka is making 4,000 free school tickets available before the end of the school year through Curtain Up! 

The commitment doubles the scheme’s previous allocation, which offers free theatre tickets to primary school children from disadvantaged locations in Merton and surrounding boroughs.

Since reopening last autumn, Polka has hosted 1,700 pupils from 22 schools at Curtain Up! performances.

The scheme's growth responds to the lasting impact of Covid, with schools struggling financially and organisationally to bring children to performances, the theatre says. 

"Theatre gives children a creative outlet, an escapist ride into the world of stories, a way to reflect on their own world, and a chance to experience emotional journeys together. We want to make sure they don’t miss out," said Polka's Executive Director Lynette Shanbury.

Music education survey paints bleak picture

a group of students play the cello
30 Mar 2022

Almost all music teachers agree the government should consult them on the much-anticipated refreshed National Plan for Music Education.

'Highbrow' culture doesn't influence GCSE grades

23 Mar 2022

"Highbrow" cultural experiences like museum visits don't affect GCSE grades, but reading can be influential, research suggests.

The study by researchers Dr Sarah Stopforth of the University of Sussex and Vernon Gayle, University of Edinburgh, said there is no evidence to suggest that cultural engagement can reduce social class inequalities in pupils' exam results.

While it was "tempting to theorise that visits to museums or historic venues might be helpful in igniting interests in history, and that visits to the theatre might similarly cultivate learning in drama" the pair found it hard to justify this approach, especially when compared to other subjects.

"Educational commentators seldom (if ever) suggest that going to football matches or attending church has any positive effects on outcomes in GCSE Physical Education or GCSE Religious Studies."

Reading was more influential in addressing class divides in educational achievement: "Our empirical findings send a clear and actionable message for policy and practice... schools would be better placed to concentrate on increasing reading activities," the study said.

Neither researcher returned requests for comment.

New Chinese art fellowship to launch

14 Mar 2022

A postdoctoral fellowship in Chinese and Sinophone contemporary art will provide a "unique opportunity", its funders say.

Asymmetry Art Foundation and The Courtauld have partnered on the two-year grant for early career academics, their first collaboration.

Two fellows will be mentored by The Courtauld's Senior Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Art, Dr Wenny Teo and be involved in a lecture series and international symposium.

Courtauld Director Marit Rausing said the initiative is part of "our continuing efforts to decentre and decolonise the curriculum".

A call for applicants will open soon with the first fellow selected by the summer.

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