A new fundraising initiative to support Welsh National Operas (WNO) future work will see visitors to the WNO website taking part in an online auction for items ranging from bundles of vintage posters, props and costumes from past productions, to a chance to conduct an aria or overture with the Orchestra of WNO following three training sessions with WNOs Music Director Carlo Rizzi.
w: http://www.wno.org.uk
A website exploring the relationship between religion and culture has been launched by Arts Council England. Faith and the Arts provides an overview of faith beliefs and practices for artists and producers, offering a guide to seven UK faith communities Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Rastafari and Sikhism. The website explores the impact of faith on programming, audience development and accessible venues, and will also contain case studies and give guidance around the differences between religious practice as determined by schools of faith, and cultural practices which are not determined by religious text.
w: {http:www.faithandthearts.com}
Venue Cymru will become the new identity of Llandudnos North Wales Theatre and Conference Centre, following a public re-naming competition. The new name coincides with a £10.7m refurbishment and enhancement programme at the theatre.
ArtFull, an initiative to celebrate the role of the arts in promoting mental health, has begun in Scotland, supported by £500,000 of funding from the Scottish Arts Council. The programme aims to increase mainstream and inter-agency partnership commitment for arts and mental health projects, develop quality artistic practice in the field of arts and mental health work, and collect data on the benefits of the arts in relation to mental health.
A further two years of funding from Grants for the Arts, worth over £500,000, has been awarded to Eastern Orchestral Board (EOB) for its Orchestras Live initiative, the national touring programme for chamber orchestras. The award will enable EOB to develop its network of concert promoters and to work with chamber orchestras to develop artistic product and programmes. There are plans to extend the range of touring venues to include East Yorkshire and Humberside.
The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia will re-open to the public on 21 May following a major refurbishment and building project, designed by Foster & Partners. The Centre has undergone changes to improve facilities and enhance the visitor experience, including new entrances, additional exhibition areas, new reception and shop spaces, an education studio, a refurbished café and improved disablilty access.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is inviting contributions to its Creative Economy Programme through a new website. Through the Programme, groups of experts are now investigating the key drivers of productivity in the creative industries, examining the coherence of Government supported projects, identifying gaps and overlaps and making suggestions for how the creative industries can be better supported. The areas under consideration are skills and education, competition and intellectual property, technology, business support and access to finance, diversity, infrastructure and evidence.
W: http://www.cep.culture.gov.uk
All 1,650 tickets for the Mariinsky Theatres only UK performances of Wagners Ring Cycle at Wales Millennium Centre sold out within four hours. Tickets ranged from £80 for standing spaces to £750 for super-seats, which will include champagne receptions with the cast. People from the UK and across the world have bought tickets, including France, the USA, Ireland, the Middle East and even from Russia itself. Around 19 hours of music will be conducted over four days from 30 November to 3 December by Valery Gergiev, Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre.
A five-day music event involving speakers, seminars, workshops and networking is being organised by Dartington Plus, the South West regions music development agency. South West Sound aims to inform, advocate and develop the music economy in the South West of England, across all aspects of professional practice. The event will take place next month at Colston Hall, Bristol, as well as at Dartington Hall in Devon, with live music and showcases being held on both sites.
w: http://www.southwestsound.org.uk
A new publication has been launched to help artists and arts organisations evaluate the quality of activities they provide for children and young people. Published by Arts Council England, Providing the best defines the characteristics of high quality activities for and with children and young people, and gives guidance to artists and arts organisations wanting to assess their work in this area.
w: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk
Fame, the fourth exhibition in the National Portrait Gallerys Reaching Out, Drawing In series will explore concepts of fame and celebrity from the perspective of the blind and partially sighted people who have created, curated, designed and interpreted it. The exhibition has been developed in partnership with the Royal National Institute of the Blind, involving participants from Dorton House School, and the Royal National College for the Blind, as well as members of the Haringey Phoenix Group. For the first time, trained staff and volunteers will be on hand as Personal Guides in the exhibition space, offering assistance to visitors.
w: http://www.npg.org.uk/fame
Wimbledon School of Art will become a College of the University of the Arts London (formerly the London Institute) from 1 August. The School will change its name to Wimbledon College of Art and join Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London College of Communication and London College of Fashion, in a single federated structure under the University umbrella.
Twenty museums and at least eight designer-makers in the East Midlands are to benefit from museumaker, a £300,000 programme to develop new relationships, new audiences and new work for contemporary craft and museum collections.