Newsreel

Expressions of interest are being invited from individuals interested in supporting and influencing the development of the English National Youth Arts Network (ENYAN) through nine Regional Advisory Panels. The Panels will consist of representatives from the youth arts sector in each region, and young people with experience or involvement in youth arts are encouraged to join.
e: [email protected]

LONSAS (London Schools and Arts Service) is inviting arts organisations and artists wanting to team up with children and young people in schools around London to register to be featured in an artist directory on its new website, to be launched in March. For further information contact Steve Woodward.
t: 020 7387 8882; e: [email protected]; w: http://www.lonsas.org.uk

Oxford Contemporary Music, Turner Sims Concert Hall and South Hill Park are jointly launching a new initiative under the name of The New Producers Network. The RealiSE Live scheme, supported by Arts Council England, offers professional musicians the chance to have a new work commissioned, developed and performed in Oxford, Southampton and Bracknell.

The North West Business Leadership Team, comprising the leaders of 27 of the regions largest businesses, in partnership with Culture Northwest, has awarded the inaugural Lever Prize to Liverpool Biennial. The £10,000 cash award, to be made annually to a world-class arts organisation in the region, aims to bring business and the arts closer together, and to revive the philanthropic traditions practised by industrialists of the past.

Greenwich Dance Agency director, Brendan Keaney has been awarded the Dance UK Industry Award. The award honours an individual working in dance who has made an outstanding contribution to the art form beyond the scope of their usual role, and aims to highlight the often unacknowledged contributions that make a real difference to how dance is created, supported and seen.

Londons Barbican has reported 2005 figures showing an increase of turnover in 2005 of over 10% on the previous year, and ticket sales up by 9%. Box office takings for 2006 are already up by £1m on the same period last year. Following the launch of a new-look website, online bookings have jumped to an average of 55%, compared with 33% at the same time last year. The Centres conference facilities, exhibition halls, catering, retail and sponsorship activity is forecast to be £3.9m for 2005/06, an increase of 17% on the previous year.

Wales Millennium Centre has celebrated its first birthday with a new sponsorship deal with retailer Tesco, who will sponsor the WMCs Foyer Stage. This will be re-named the Tesco Stage for at least the next year, and Tesco has the option to extend this to three years. The sponsorship will allow visitors to the centre to enjoy free performances on every day of the week for the next year.

A new centrally-managed ticketing service has been launched by Galathea STS, promising savings of up to 35% on average ticketing software solutions. Aimed at small-to medium-size arts and cultural venues, the new service is delivered centrally by the ENTA Managed Ticketing Service, with clients having online access to the service.
w: http://www.galatheasts.com

Creative & Cultural Skills, the Sector Skills Council representing the arts, has published key findings of a research project providing information about skills needs and challenges, business planning, human resources planning, employee consultation, and workforce development and training in the sector.
w: http://www.cciskills.org.uk