The theme for Museums and Galleries Month 2007 will be People: Who Are We. The month runs from 1 to 31 May, and museums and galleries around the UK are being encouraged to join in by planning themed activities involving arts and artists during this period.
w: http://www.mgm.org.uk
Spike Island, the UKs largest artist studio complex, has re-opened following a £2.25m redevelopment that provides 8,000 sq ft of new gallery spaces, extended facilities for artists and designers, and a café. Formerly a tea-packing factory in Bristols harbourside, Spike Island will also host an international residency and exhibition programme, and an Associates Scheme offering access to creative networks for those working in the contemporary visual arts.
w: http://www.spikeisland.org.uk
Arts organisations that have run successful fundraising campaigns are being invited to enter the Professional Fundraising Awards. Nominations can be made for the award of Fundraising Charity of the Year, Fundraising Campaign of the Year, Rising Star and Outstanding Achievement. The deadline for entries is 28 February.
w: http://www.professionalfundraisingawards.co.uk
The 2007 Lever Prize, a £10,000 annual cash award for world-class cultural organisations in the North West region, has been made to Manchester International Festival, the worlds first international festival of original, new work. The award winner was selected by the leaders of 27 of the regions largest businesses, in partnership with Culture Northwest and Arts & Business North West, and aims to revive the philanthropic traditions practised by successful industrialists of the past.
Puppetry and Performance, a day of exploration on the use of puppetry across artforms, will take place on 17 February in Islington, London. The event, presented by Action for Childrens Arts and the Little Angel Theatre, aims to offer childrens artists an insight into the work of experienced puppet masters, and enable non-puppeteers to learn about the newest developments and expand the scope of their work with new audiences.
t: 020 8763 8066; e: admin@childrensarts.org.uk; w: http://www.childrensarts.org.uk.
Northern Edge, a consortium of 15 northern universities, has been formed to work closely with the creative and cultural industries, and take advantage of the BBCs move to Salford and the Media City development at Salford Quays. Led by the University of Salford, it aims to harness expertise in teaching, learning and research in areas such as journalism, visual arts and music, and provide a focal point for the development of professional training, research and knowledge transfer in the creative and cultural industries.
A three-year programme aimed at enabling cultural organisations to conduct market analysis, develop new ways of communicating their work to existing audiences, and test different approaches to finding new audiences, is being launched by Audiences Central, supported by a £570,000 award from Arts Council England. The programme of training and support will involve up to 40 West Midlands cultural bodies, covering arts organisations, museums and the creative industries. For more information contact Rachel Harrison.
e: rachel.harrison@audiencescentral.co.uk; w: http://www.audiencescentral.co.uk
Museums worldwide are being encouraged to upload their profiles, highlights of their collections, programme details, news and events on a section on the Saatchi Gallery website. The Gallery aims to make a full guide to the worlds art museums available on its site. On a separate section of the site, art colleges and institutions are being invited to give details of their prospectuses, and to upload their student degree shows to enable visitors to get early previews of young artists current thinking.
w: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/museums/; www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artcolleges/
Leaflet marketing specialist EAE Ltd is expanding its leaflet marketing operation in Scotland through the acquisition of the leaflet distribution division of Promotional Print Distributors Ltd (PPD), based in Perth. The move will create the largest leaflet marketing company in Scotland. PPDs Chief Executive, Roger Brown, will take up a new post as Development Director at EAE whilst continuing to work for PPD as a consultant.
A Music Start Pack aimed at the parents of children aged 2 to 5 years is being developed by Youth Music with a £50,000 award from the Department for Education and Skills. Each pack will contain a selection of hand-held musical instruments, a CD of songs and instrumental music, and suggestions to encourage parents to do some simple musical activities with their children. Research published by Youth Music in 2006 indicated that participation in music making helps the development of communication and numeracy skills in pre-school children.
Londons ICA (Institute for Contemporary Arts) is planning a new cash prize for emerging artists. The prize, sponsored by brewer Becks, will be launched in 2008 to commemorate the Institutes 60th anniversary. Becks Futures, a £65,000 annual prize fund ran every year from 2000-2006 but will not be awarded this year..
Will hosting the 2012 Olympics bring benefits for the arts that will outweigh the potential loss of Lottery funding?
Thanks to all our readers who took part in our first online poll.
To give your opinion on Arts Council Englands new digital distribution policy, go to http://www.artsprofessional.co.uk