The Crescent Arts Centre has completed the multi-million pound restoration of its Belfast building. It reopened last month with a seven-day festival offering more than 100 free ‘taster’ classes and workshops including flamenco, puppetry, photography, belly dancing, ballet , storytelling and creative writing.
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is inviting comment on its draft Arts and Older People Strategy. The strategy aims to increase access and participation in arts-related projects that address older people’s creative and social needs. It sets out measures to help tackle broad issues, and encourages partnership working to increase the number of avenues for older people to become involved in the arts. It acknowledges that there are barriers to participation, including health-related problems and a lack of transport in rural areas, and says that while there are no specific policy developments in this area, arts for older people is generally covered under well-being and/or disability arts policies. The document recognises that while Northern Ireland has a relatively young population compared to the rest of the UK, older people make up an increasing proportion of the population and their needs must be addressed. The deadline for comment is 25 June.
The BBC’s Performing Arts Fund, which receives revenue from the voting phonelines of BBC One entertainment programmes that seek to find new performing talent, has now received more than £3m. It has supported 739 individuals and around 6,000 members of 98 choirs since 2003 through a number of different schemes: The Education Bursary, Training in Musical Theatre, Instruments and Equipment Awards, Junior Instruments and Equipment Awards, and Urban Music and Choral Ambition.
Twenty-seven part-time and casual staff have been made redundant at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre. It has been in administration since the end of February when Ian Walker of the Exeter office of insolvency and corporate recovery firm Begbies Traynor was appointed Administrator (AP216). The spring season of performances at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre has now been completed and no more shows will take place until the Exeter Summer Festival in June.
Fewer people in the UK are donating their time or money to charity than five years ago, according to new figures from the Department of Communities and Local Government. The annual citizenship survey for 2008/09 saw little change in participation in volunteering, but was still lower than in 2005. Twenty-six per cent of adults reported volunteering regularly in 2008/09, compared to 29% in 2005.
Welsh Minister for Heritage, Alun Ffred Jones, has rejected the suggestion that artistic freedom should be enshrined in Welsh law, describing it as “superfluous in the context of an existing comprehensive legal framework”. He did, however, restate the Welsh Assembly Government’s commitment to the principle. Updating Assembly Members on the Government’s progress towards the cultural commitments outlined in One Wales (the 2007–11 agenda for improving the quality of life among communities across Wales), he also drew attention to the recent “root and branch review” of the Arts Council of Wales’s (ACW) revenue funding model. Decisions are currently being made by ACW as to the core membership of revenue-funded clients from 2011/12 onwards. ‘In principle’ decisions are expected to be made by ACW next month, though 2011/12 funding for this ‘new’ portfolio will only be finalised once ACW’s own funding from the Welsh Assembly Government is confirmed.