Thursday, 29 July 2021
A landmark report makes the case for investment ahead of the next Spending Review, saying innovation is being stifled just as it is needed most.
Too few research and development (R&D) projects in the creative sector are progressing due to a lack of funding, a new report argues.
A six-month research project by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and DCMS into the sector's response to the pandemic found it faced challenges accessing targeted support for its R&D work because current definitions exclude the arts and... read more
Wednesday, 28 July 2021
Adding a seventh city to the longlist of bidders who will receive funding would allow more places to "complete their journey," an expert on the competition says.
Photo:
Tim Smith
Fifteen places have confirmed their bids to become UK City of Culture 2025, creating a surprisingly crowded field.
The number of competitors expanded rapidly ahead of last week's deadline to submit an expression of interest. Alongside cities like Bradford, Southampton and Medway which have been... read more
Tuesday, 27 July 2021
The DCMS Committee is concerned Camelot, the current Lottery operator, has not increased returns to the arts at the same rate as its rising profits.
Photo:
K J Payne
MPs have once again initiated an inquiry into the future of the National Lottery to ensure it benefits good causes like the arts.
A similar inquiry launched in July 2019 to boost returns to the community ended before it began because the Government changed before any hearings took place.
Now, the... read more
Thursday, 22 July 2021
Venues are pleading for leniency on isolation rules that threaten to derail their reopening, but audiences remain hesitant.
Photo:
Matt Crockett
Arts organisations and their funders are urging caution and care as legal restrictions to protect against Covid-19 are lifted.
In a sudden change of policy, Boris Johnson announced Monday that large venues must ask attendees for proof of vaccination from the end of September, although anti-lockdown... read more
Thursday, 22 July 2021
New modelling from Oxford Economics says the country's creative sectors can more than recover from the loss of 100,000 jobs with the right investment.
Photo:
Tom Reading
The creative sector has lost more than 100,000 jobs and £12bn in economic value due to the pandemic - but there is opportunity to recover quickly.
New modelling from Oxford Economics says the right investment could deliver 300,000 new jobs to the creative industries and £132.1bn for the UK economy ... read more
Thursday, 22 July 2021
Confirmation of the higher arts education cuts comes as applications to study these subjects reach their highest level in a decade, placing the sector's talent pipeline at risk.
Photo:
UAL
A 50% cut to per-student funding for creative and performing arts degrees is “one of the biggest attacks on arts and entertainment in English universities’ living memory”.
University and College Union General Secretary Jo Grady was among those to decry the “drastic cut” confirmed by the Office for... read more
Wednesday, 21 July 2021
Art galleries hosting pop-up sites hope to capitalise on increased footfall and reconnect with young locals.
Arts institutions are signing up to host Covid-19 vaccination centres under an initiative to attract new visitors to London’s cultural attractions.
Tate Modern offered 1,000 Pfizer vaccines and free entry to its exhibitions on Friday (July 16) and Battersea Arts Centre, a vaccination hub since... read more
Tuesday, 20 July 2021
An artist, her commissioners and the council say the pressure to remove a nuclear-themed artwork was misguided. So why hasn't it been reinstalled?
Photo:
Anna Lukala
An artwork removed after local councillors alleged it was a "far left wing attack" has not been returned, despite widespread condemnation of the pressure campaign.
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council says it "does not in any way condone censorship or support the approach taken by the ward councillors... read more
Thursday, 15 July 2021
After a nine-month-long inquiry, MPs have recommended "a complete reset" of music streaming to better compensate creators. What could a new model look like?
The Government should introduce "robust and legally enforceable" measures to enshrine music artists' rights to a fairer share of streaming revenues.
Following a nine-month-long inquiry, MPs recommended on Thursday (July 15) "a broad yet comprehensive range of legislative reforms and regulatory... read more
Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Glasgow Life says it's unrealistic to expect it can reopen 80 of its venues, including several libraries and the UK's only museum of religious art.
Photo:
Katherine Sangster
Glasgow is set to lose 500 cultural and leisure jobs over the next five years.
Glasgow Life, which operates Glasgow City Council-owned venues including Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Royal Glasgow Concert Hall, People's Palace, Tramway, and Mitchell Library Theatre, lost £38m income last year... read more
Tuesday, 13 July 2021
The Government "expect and recommend" masks in enclosed public spaces - and cultural venues are taking the lead.
Photo:
Mohammad Jangda
Sixteen months after they first closed, full reopening of England's arts venues has been confirmed for July 19.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Sajid Javid gave the green light on Monday (July 12) to progress to Stage 4 of the reopening roadmap next week.
Theatres, concert halls,... read more
Monday, 12 July 2021
Medway Council promises a "resilient" bid as local politicians and students oppose the University of Creative Arts’ decision to close its Rochester campus.
Photo:
Chris Whippet
Medway Council does not expect the closure of University of Creative Arts’ (UCA) Rochester campus to affect its City of Culture 2025 bid.
UCA has been involved in the city’s candidacy “since day one”, the council says, but is not crucial to the programme should Medway’s bid succeed.
“We will be... read more