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Nominations for Northern Ireland?s 2005 Arts & Business Creativity Awards are being made available online from October 18. The awards, in seven categories, aim to recognise excellence in the ways that businesses have worked with the arts to meet their corporate objectives. The awards ceremony will take place at Belfast?s Waterfront Hall on January 13. w: http://www.aandb.org.uk

A report released by Arts Council England demonstrates the positive impact the arts can have on healthcare. ?Arts in health: a review of the medical literature? summarises key medical research reports dating back to 1990. The report reveals that introducing music into waiting rooms reduces stress in patients, visitors and staff, and can diminish aggression against staff and increase visitor perceptions of the quality of service. w: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk

A new award worth £5,000, supported by Willy Russell and Tim Firth, aims to help promote the staging of quality new writing for theatre at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2005. For an application form, contact David Pugh Ltd.
e: dpl@davidpughltd.com; t: 020 7434 9757.

The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists has partnered with the Baring Foundation to launch a programme on Best Practice in IT Management for arts organisations. The programme includes seminars on managing IT, a web-based resource at http://www.it4arts.org.uk and a peer support group comprising participating arts organisations. Contact David Edwards e: david@wcit.org.uk

A new education project, artzsone.info, aims to bring together teachers and education officers from participating arts organisations to deliver information about Merseyside?s cultural sector to school children. Managed by TEAM, the region?s marketing and audience development agency, the project will also create a new forum for education officers and teachers.

The first annual London-wide e-survey of the arts marketing sector will be running from September 14 to October 8. Managed by London Calling in partnership with Audiences London, the survey aims to gather benchmarking data for the arts community in the capital. To participate in the survey,
e: email@londoncalling.com

Ten participants in a positive action programme, funded by Arts Council England (ACE) in an attempt to address the imbalance of non-white senior managers employed in the arts, have attended a two-day event exploring the arts funding system and the funding decision-making process. The event was addressed by Estelle Morris and attended by senior ACE staff, arts practitioners and representatives of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and local government.

A series of free professional development courses for creative businesses in the West Midlands is being launched by the University of Wolverhampton, including courses on web design, setting up a business and fundraising for arts projects. Contact Kerry Thomas e: creativeindustries@wlv.ac.uk; t: 01902 321075.

Scottish Opera will be launching its new season with a Gala Concert on September 19 to raise money for the company?s New Production Fund. The Fund will support plans to increase the number of main-scale opera productions, and all the money raised will go towards the costs of a new production.