‘Make it SO’

17 May 2022

In the last in our series profiling the shortlisted candidates for City of Culture 2025, Claire Whitaker says Southampton has been connecting the UK with people across the globe for thousands of years.

‘We rise together’

Children celebrate Wrexham's City of Culture 2025 bid
04 May 2022

In the third of our series profiling the shortlisted candidates for City of Culture 2025, Ian Bancroft reveals Wrexham as “one of the last punk places in the UK”.

‘The past we inherit, the future we build’

Durham miners' gala
06 Apr 2022

In the first in a series profiling the shortlisted candidates for UK City of Culture 2025, Alison Clark introduces the county whose bid is inspired by the Durham Miners Association.

Residents to decide West Cumbria's cultural spend

A Made in Millom event
11 Mar 2024

A citizens' jury of 30 West Cumbrian residents will advise and create a new cultural project with a budget of £100,000.

Under half of England’s local authorities have a cultural strategy

Suffolk County Council building
14 Feb 2024

Analysis from the start of last year found less than half of England’s local authorities have a publicly available cultural strategy.

Cornwall museum awarded £2.1m Levelling Up support

Exterior of Royal Cornwall Museum, River Street, Truro, Cornwall - June 2022
15 Jan 2024

Successful grant bid for the Royal Cornwall Museum comes less than two years after it faced closure following a loss of council support.

Cultural project for North Yorkshire gets ACE funding

18 Dec 2023

Three towns in North Yorkshire have been awarded £350,000 in funding from Arts Council England (ACE) to stage cultural events over two years.

The BBC reports that the Now Then! project will see arts events and activities staged in Selby, Tadcaster and Sherburn-in-Elmet between April 2024 and March 2026.

North Yorkshire Council's Executive Member for Culture and Leisure Simon Myers said it was an "exciting and ambitious" project that would focus on people's pride in where they live.

"Visitors will see our towns as places of singular cultural experiences, and local people will see where they live through fresh eyes," he said.

In Selby, new commissions will be based in the town's abbey and its surroundings, including music, dance, writing and performance.

In Tadcaster, members of the community arts company ARCADE will work with children and young people to create a programme of new work, while in Sherburn-in-Elmet, the community will select creative practitioners they would like to work with to co-devise and deliver activities there.

The programme has been given a Place Partnership award from ACE through the National Lottery.

Pete Massey, ACE's Director for Northern Economy and Partnerships, said they were delighted to fund the project.

"It's great to see so many partners working collaboratively on a project that will tell the stories of places and people as well as offer children and young people in Selby, Tadcaster and Sherburn the opportunity to get involved and develop their artistic skills," he said.

Creative corridors 'a growth engine’ for creative industries

View of Cardiff Bay
06 Dec 2023

Following plans for a Northern creative corridor, research identifies six more areas of the UK that could adopt the model to stimulate growth of the creative industries.

Young people as changemakers

The Agency national gathering at Contact, Manchester
20 Nov 2023

For ten years, The Agency has supported young people to create social change projects for their communities. Andrew Westle shares its journey over the decade.

Study reveals added economic value of cinemas

14 Nov 2023

A new study has quantified the additional social value provided by cinemas to its local communities for the first time.

Commissioned by the BFI and Creative Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC), the study used valuation techniques derived from DCMS’s Culture and Heritage Capital Framework to calculate additional social value and found previously unmeasured benefits equivalent to £600,000 a year for each of the six cinemas analysed.

This social value, amounting to £5.18m per cinema over 10 years, is in addition to the value generated by cinemas through ticket and other sales and memberships, which equates to £1.18m annually for the average UK cinema.

Analysis found the six chosen cinema venues – Broadway in Nottingham, Cameo in Edinburgh, Everyman in Cardiff, Light in New Brighton, Ritzy Cinema and Café in Brixton and Vue Cinema in Glasgow Fort – each provide a focal point around which people engage within an area, driving footfall and spending in other areas.

Less than 2% of cinema-goers surveyed said they do not engage in other activities as part of their cinema trip

“Our new research shows that the public derives significant value from cinemas over and above what is reflected in the prices they pay for tickets, such as in the contribution that cinema venues make to pride in place,” Creative PEC Director Hasan Bakhshi said.

“There are obvious challenges in placing monetary value on complex assets like cinemas and theatres, however when done with due care, it strengthens the economic case for investing in culture.”

The survey also found almost two-thirds (63%) of survey respondents agreed their cinema contributed to “their sense of pride in the area where they live”.

When faced with a hypothetical scenario of their cinema in question being forced to close permanently, cinema-goes said they would be willing to each pay £18 on average per year to a voluntary fund to keep the cinema operating – over twice the cost of an average cinema ticket.

Coalition forms to deliver ‘Northern Creative Corridor’

An evening view of Media City in Salford
14 Nov 2023

BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are among those to sign a charter committing them to support at least one cross-regional initiative in the North of England next year.

£2.3m arts centre opens in Northern Ireland

07 Nov 2023

A £2.3m arts and culture centre has opened in Derry/Londonderry as part of an initiative funding projects in five urban areas of Northern Ireland (NI).

Funding for the New Gate Arts & Culture Centre comes from the Urban Villages Initiative, which is overseen by NI’s Executive Office.

The scheme offers funding for projects that develop thriving places where there has been a history of deprivation and community tension.

The new arts centre, located in the Fountain area of Derry/Londonderry, features a performance space, art and tuition rooms and a dance studio.

A spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council, which managed the development, said the centre will “assist in fostering positive community identities, building community capacity and improving the local physical environment”.

Joan O’Hara, Director of the Executive Office’s Urban Villages programme, added: “This is a fantastic regeneration project for the Fountain area of the city and across the region to provide a shared cultural space right in the heart of the local community”.

“The centre will invigorate the area and encourage the community to come together to celebrate their culture and backgrounds in a space that will use the arts to create new experiences and friendships.”

Plans for £25m heritage railway project revealed

CGI image of Barnsley Council's plans for a new heritage railway destination
06 Nov 2023

Plans to transform a former Yorkshire ironworks have been unveiled by Barnsley Council as it explores funding for the £25m project.

Bradford to benefit from Royal Opera House collaboration

02 Nov 2023

The Royal Opera House has announced a three-year programme of work in Bradford ahead of its tenure as City of Culture in 2025.

Beginning with a Christmas concert at Bradford Cathedral in December, the Covent Garden-based company will partner with organisations in West Yorkshire to provide a range of events, performances and activities for young people and local communities.

Working with schools across the region, the Royal Opera House will bring some of its existing educational initiatives to the city, including Create & Sing, Create & Dance, and Create & Design programmes, offering students and teachers free resources, workshops and shows.
 
It will also roll out its talent development program for aspiring ballet dancers, Chance to Dance, to local primary and dance schools. 

The Royal Opera House is the second Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation to announce a cultural collaboration this week after the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra unveiled a three-year programme of concerts, community events and educational activities in the Cumbrian port of Barrow-in-Furness.

Alex Beard, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, said: “We believe the arts have the capacity to change lives, and I hope that this partnership and the many events, performances and activities that come out of it, alongside the work we will be doing with teachers and schools across the region, will inspire imaginations across this great city over the many years ahead.”

Consultation on culture strategy for Manchester launches

31 Oct 2023

Manchester City Council is calling on residents and cultural organisations to have their say on a new decade-long plan for culture.  

The local authority has said it is keen to understand what types of creativity residents are interested in. It is seeking "ideas big and small" across everything from art, performance, galleries and museums to more hands-on art and craft opportunities.

The current 10-year strategy runs until 2026. The consultation on the new strategy will be open until 30 November 2023.

Luthfur Rahman, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Manchester has a global reputation for arts and culture, bolstered in no small part by the opening of Aviva Studios recently. 

"We are renowned for our nightlife, music and museums and we want to make sure that culture is an integral part of our communities over the next 10 years.  

“This conversation involves everyone – your ideas could be big, they might be small. But they will all help guide culture in our city."

Outdoor arts festival gets £1m ACE funding boost

Global Streets project Discover Ukraine
23 Oct 2023

Global Streets brings free outdoor arts events to communities across England. 

Landmark arts centre opens in Manchester 

19 Oct 2023

After years of delays and spiralling costs, a landmark arts venue has opened in Manchester.

Located on an industrial heritage site, the £241m Aviva Studio has been developed by Allied London and Manchester City Council with backing from the government and Arts Council England.

Formerly called Factory International, it marks the UK’s most significant investment in a national cultural project since Tate Modern. It opens four years late at a cost of more than double its original budget.

The 13,400sqm building, designed by Dutch firm OMA, is based around large, open, flexible spaces and uses exposed steel and raw concrete to reflect the area's history. 

Its main Warehouse space has a standing capacity of 5,000, while the smaller Hall can accommodate 1,603 seated or 2,000 standing. The spaces can be configured to work together and host various events, including "immersive exhibitions, theatre productions, intimate concerts and raves".

Earlier this year, Aviva Studio was granted a 24-hour licence, which allows it to serve alcohol until 4 am in the morning. The move caused apprehension amongst some of the venue's neighbours, who described its opening hours as "excessive" and expressed concerns about noise disturbances in such a central location.

Ellen van Loon, the architect of the building, said: "I've worked on numerous theatres and performance spaces, but none compare to this one in terms of what it offers to performers. 

“This venue serves as a platform, unlocking the full potential of the performing arts. All too often, abandoned post-industrial buildings and neighbourhoods are erased from the map, and with them, the creative scenes that once thrived within them. This building reinstates what was lost."
 

Warrington arts festival receives £840k in grants

16 Oct 2023

An arts charity in the North West of England will receive a funding boost of more than £800k after successfully applying to Arts Council England’s (ACE) Place Partnership Fund.

ACE has awarded Culture Warrington a £600,000 grant to create a two-year programme focused on developing the Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival (WCAF).

Culture Warrington, which oversees Warrington Museum & Art Gallery, Pyramid Arts Centre and Parr Hall, will also get match funding from Warrington Borough Council and Warrington Business Improvement District of £240,000. 

Describing the grants as “game-changing”, Culture Warrington said it plans to use the money to renew its focus on “accessible large-scale, outdoor and family-friendly events” across three new project areas – community engagement, artist development and children and young people.

The programme will see the creation of four new jobs before the end of the year ahead of the festival in the spring. The enhanced WCAF will also incorporate a Fringe Festival, artist training opportunities and a young producers’ project.

Leah Biddle, Director of WCAF, said: “Our established festival has continued to grow and evolve each year, and this investment will ensure we can create a transformational change within Warrington’s cultural sector.

“We have responded to feedback to create a new children and young people’s programme, enhancing existing activity and developing unique opportunities to explore pathways into the creative industries.”

Russ Bowden, Leader of Warrington Borough Council, added: “High-quality cultural events are an essential part of Warrington’s offer, as they play a crucial role in making our area an attractive and vibrant destination to visit, as well as bringing social and health and wellbeing benefits."

Debbonaire unveils National Culture Infrastructure Plan

Thangam Debbonaire speaking at the Labour Party conference
12 Oct 2023

Shadow Culture Secretary also reiterates importance of creative curriculum and commits to action on visa waiver system for artists.

ACE extends Creative People and Places programme

12 Oct 2023

Arts Council England (ACE) has extended its 2022-25 Creative People and Places (CPP) for one year in response to "challenges facing organisations following the Covid-19 pandemic and the rising cost of living". 

The current programme's end date is now 31 March 2026, with a knock-on for the subsequent investment round, which will run across 2026-29 rather than 2025-28.

ACE said it wanted to remain “flexible and responsive” to the sector's needs and hoped that the extension would provide "security and stability" to existing CPP projects and "further time for developing plans" for those interested in applying to the next round.

Current CPPs must apply for the extension year in early 2024 when applications open. They can apply for their current level of funding level, pro-rata.

The CPP programme is funded by the National Lottery and distributes £38m to selected locations across England. Funded projects are part of ACE’s National Portfolio.

Applications for the next round of funding in 2026-29 will open in Autumn 2024, with organisations in 142 previously announced locations eligible to apply. 

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