Bridging the divide for children in the North

Childwall Academy
17 Nov 2022

At the heart of the cost-of-living and Covid storm, children and young people have fewer opportunities to engage in arts and culture and barriers to access are growing. Hannah Baldwin thinks this is a crisis in the making.

Tate Britain seeks to contextualise 'offensive' mural

13 Mar 2024

Tate Britain has unveiled a new video work made in response to a 1927 mural that has been closed to the public since 2020 due to its offensive imagery.

‘Vive Voce’, a two-screen 20-minute video by Keith Piper, is installed next to the Rex Whistler painting, ‘The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats’, in what was formerly the London gallery’s restaurant.

The film depicts an academic challenging Whistler about the mural, which includes offensive depictions of black slaves on a leash and caricatures of Chinese people.

Tate said the film explores "the social and political context of 1920s Britain”. It includes archive footage of black soldiers in World War One and the ‘Races in Residence’ pavilion at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition.

Piper said he wanted "to give a sense of how and why the mural exists” and defended Tate Britain’s decision to keep the work rather than remove it.

He said: "I know there is an argument among young people now that these images re-traumatise, but I think we either look or forget.

"We are very good at forgetting nowadays and things that are out of sight go out of mind. To keep a clear sense of history we need to see these things.”

Another theatre to stage 'Black Out' nights

Exterior of Seven Dials Playhouse
11 Mar 2024

News that another theatre will stage performances  exclusively for Black, Indigenous and People of Color-identifying audience members follows criticism of the concept by Downing Street last month.

Starmer: Working class children 'denied arts opportunities'

11 Mar 2024

Working class children are being denied the same opportunities to become actors or musicians that private school pupils are afforded, Labour Leader Keir Starmer has said.

The Independent reports that analysis conducted by the Labour Party found that although 94% of children go to state schools, just 60% of British actors, directors and musicians nominated in the last decade for major film, TV and music awards were state-educated.

“It is short-sighted and frankly immoral, to allow arts and culture to become the domain of a few privileged pupils," Starmer said.

“Britain is a world leader in music and film, but we are holding back masses of potential because the Conservatives’ creativity crisis is shutting kids out.”

Starmer's comments follow on from a speech made by Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire last week in which she said creative education would be at the heart of the school curriculum under a Labour government.

Soho Theatre apologises for anti-Israel ‘incident’ 

15 Feb 2024

Soho Theatre, London, has issued a statement apologising for an “incident” on 10 February that is understood to have involved a comedian directing chants of "free Palestine" toward an Israeli man.

The National Portfolio Organisation said it was “sorry and saddened” by the incident that took place at a performance of Paul Currie: Shtoom on Saturday, 10 February, which “caused upset and hurt to members of the audience attending and others".

“We take this very seriously and are looking into the details of what happened as thoroughly, as sensitively, and as quickly as we can. It is important to us that Soho Theatre is a welcoming and inclusive place for all,” the theatre said.

According to a witness who shared their experience with the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), Currie became involved in a verbal altercation with an Israeli audience member who did not join in with a standing ovation, citing the comedian’s use of the Palestinian flag as a prop.

The witness claims Currie led the audience in chants of “free Palestine” and “get out”.

Soho Theatre later confirmed on social media that: "Jewish members of the audience were subjected to verbal abuse and the performer aggressively demanding they leave the theatre."

The venue said it had launched an investigation discussing the incident with that evening's audience and consulting with the police.

Soho Theatre said: "Such appalling actions are unacceptable and have no place on our stages, now or ever. We will not be inviting Paul Currie back to perform at our venue.

"Whilst we robustly support the right of artists to express a wide range of views in their shows, intimidation of audience members, acts of antisemitism or any other forms of racism will not be tolerated at Soho Theatre."

Bristol council set to vote on de-listing Colston statue

13 Feb 2024

Plans to de-list a statue of the transatlantic slave trader Edward Colston so it can be permanently housed in a museum are set for approval by Bristol council.

The Grade II-listed statue was toppled by protesters in 2020 before being plunged into Bristol Harbour. It was included in a temporary exhibition at the city's M Shed Museum but has been out of public view since January 2022.

Bristol City Council's development control committee will vote on 21 February on a proposal to delist the statue.

If approved, the statue will be part of an exhibition on protest that due to open next month.

The move follows a public consultation by the We Are Bristol History Commission, which found 80% of Bristolians agreed it should be placed in a museum.

According to a council report, Bristol City Council Conservation said a statue of Colston returning to its plinth was "not a reasonable expectation" due to the possibility of "civil unrest".

Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees said: "I remain in support of the view that the best place for the statue is in a museum where its context, and that of what it represents to many communities, can be appropriately shared with diverse audiences."
 

Music licensing organisation to fund East London arts school

Year 12 students on ELAM's music course
13 Feb 2024

Phonographic Performance Limited will financially support programmes at East London Arts & Music that ensure equal access to the school's specialist education.

MPs urge action to tackle ’endemic’ misogyny in music industry

A woman in a green t-shirt working a a studio mixing desk
29 Jan 2024

Parliamentary inquiry finds women working in music have had their 'lives ruined' by men who have never been held to account, including 'household names'.

Power in partnerships

Image of a man using a video camera
06 Dec 2023

In their latest collaborative research project, Euella Jackson and Jess Bunyan of Rising Arts Agency have been exploring the unequal balance of power inherent in partnership working. 

Badenoch criticises 'unreliable' Museum of London research

27 Nov 2023

Business and Equalities Secretary Kemi Badenoch has dubbed research from the Museum of London “unreliable”, accusing the organisation of using statistics to “whip up tensions around history and racism”.

Posting on X, Badenoch said that by publishing a study that suggests black women were more likely to have died during an outbreak of plague in the 14th Century, the museum was “undermining social cohesion in our country”.

Badenoch criticised the sample size and methods used by researchers, as well as comparisons made between the Black Death and the Covid pandemic. 

In a letter to the museum seen by The Times, she said: “It is imperative that ethnic minorities feel able to trust our healthcare institutions and that they are given accurate information about health outcomes based on robust evidence.

It is also important that evidence, be it historical or current, is not presented in a way that is misleading or that implies that the information is reliable when it is not.”
 

ACE commits £1.2m to young people's initiative in Sunderland

A Creative You crafts workshop for young people at Arts Centre Washington
20 Nov 2023

A multi-year programme providing free arts and culture activities to young people in Sunderland has been backed by a £1.196m grant from Arts Council England.

Study of Black music and record stores awarded over £240k

06 Nov 2023

Research that aims to compile a history of record shops specialising in Black music from the 1950s onwards has received a £247,494 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Led by Leicester-based organisation 2Funky Arts, the project called 'The Record Store and Black Music, A UK History' will produce a film, publication, podcast series and educational resource using collected interviews with artists, DJs, store owners and customers as well as documentation.

Describing the work as “groundbreaking”, 2Funky Arts said: “For the Windrush generation and Black diaspora, the early independent UK record store was a music-fuelled vehicle for resistance against systemic racism. 

“Such sites became fertile ground for new music, and cultural eco-systems that shaped society’s relationship with Black music.”

New body seeks to tackle 'cancel culture' in the arts

Headshot of Denise Fahmy, October 2017
01 Nov 2023

Freedom in the Arts, co-founded by former Arts Council England employee Denise Fahmy, says it wants to 'tackle the culture of fear and intimidation facing artists'.

Women in theatre 'still impacted by the pandemic'

Female director giving feedback on a scene to two actors in a theatre by
01 Nov 2023

Survey finds pandemic continues to impact female workers, with numbers in the workforce falling and opportunities diminishing.

Theatre's Black Out performance 'led to threats and abuse'

The interior of Theatre Royal Stratford East showing the stage with the safety iron down
31 Oct 2023

Theatre Royal Stratford East's decision to designate a performance for a Black audience earlier this year divided opinion, drawing both criticism and praise.

What is an equity steering group?

Crafts Council's Equity Advisory Council
25 Oct 2023

Maher Anjum, Julia Bennett, Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas and Rose Sinclair reflect on how an inclusive steering group helped place equity, diversity and inclusion at the heart of their work. 

A journey from shame to activism

Journey to activism graphic
17 Oct 2023

Continuing our series on activism in the arts, Kevin Osborne reflects on how his early antipathy has been transformed into a greater sense of belonging.

Museum alters trans exhibit amid defamation concerns

The front entrance of Weston Museum
16 Oct 2023

Weston Museum said it removed the wording from an exhibition on trans issues after concerns were raised that it could be perceived as defamatory.

Agency for female and gender-minority composers launches

16 Oct 2023

A new agency representing gender minority composers has launched in London.

Operated by Register, a music agency specialising in licensing and music supervision, 515 is a new venture dedicated to representing female and gender minority composers, artists, producers and sound designers. 

Only 2.8% of music producers are female, according to a study conducted last year by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, dropping to just 0.7% for women of colour. The same analysis showed that between 2013 and 2022, only 7% of Hollywood films were scored by women. 

Register founders Hollie Hutton and Hannah Charman said they started 515 to “open more doors for the underrepresented sectors of the composition talent pool”.

“We discovered, over the course of our careers, that the same handful of people were winning most of the work and that not enough gender-minority composers were even being pitched on projects."

Despite this, the Register team reports an increasing demand for female and gender minority composers.

Emily Richardson, Head of 515, said: “We’ve frequently been asked to scout them for film and TV projects and would continue to support them throughout the process, acting as agents. So we ended up thinking, ‘Why don’t we make this official?’”

“515 has been built on integrity. There’s so much amazing untapped talent out there. We really believe in what we’re doing and the potential to open filmmakers’ ears to a new world of composers while also making a change in the industry.” 

“I really do think that in 10 years’ time, the industry will look very different, and I strongly believe that this starts at grassroots level,” added Richardson.

“We need to be creating pipeline opportunities and encouraging people to take them. Those who are already here should be actively making the industry more inclusive, unlearning systemic biases, having equal representation at senior and board levels, and always having diversity front of mind.”

ACE 'institutionally racist', former employee claims

Corynne Elliot performing on stage as Speech Debelle
12 Oct 2023

Award-winning musician Speech Debelle says there was a 'campaign' against her during her time as a Relationship Manager at Arts Council England, but organisation refutes her 'distorted' interpretation of events.

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