Thursday, 14 September 2017
The robot, which can replicate the movements of conductors but not not respond to players or interpret the nuances of the music, conducted Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and the Lucca Philharmonic Orchestra after learning three pieces of music for the festival in Pisa.
Thursday, 14 September 2017
The Walsall gallery was pledged £3.5m over four years from Arts Council England in its 2018-22 national portfolio settlement but a long-term partner is needed to prepare it for future council funding cuts, share the costs and help it develop over the next ten years.
Walsall Council seeks partner for running New Art Gallery (Museums Journal)
Thursday, 14 September 2017
Leeds City Council has stepped in to guarantee the pension scheme at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, in the run-up to the organisation becoming a fully independent charitable trust. The move follows a fraud scandal that saw a finance manager jailed for five years.
Taxpayers to prop up fraud-hit Leeds theatre’s pension pot (Yorkshire Evening Post)
Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Plans to redevelop the Ceri Richards Gallery at Swansea University's Taliesin Arts Centre and turn it into a student activity and study space have been given the go-ahead. Campaigners against the closure are accusing the university of failing to consult with stakeholders.
Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Luton Borough Council has painted over some concrete bollards that a local arts group had painted to look like Minions from the Despicable Me films, urging people not to engage in "illegal graffiti".
Tuesday, 12 September 2017
More than 400 paintings by Durham miners will go on permanent display in a new museum dedicated to the work, which will open next month in a former bank building in Bishop Auckland.
Tuesday, 12 September 2017
“Godfather of British theatre” Sir Peter Hall CBE, has died aged 86. Founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, former Director of the National Theatre and Artistic Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and founding Director of the Rose Theatre Kingston, he was a champion of public funding of the arts throughout his career.
Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Jacksons Lane Arts Centre has backed out of proposals to provide a home for Highgate library service after a feasibility study showed the sale of the existing library site would not cover the costs of creating the new facility. The announcement follows a campaign by opponents of the move who want to keep the 110-year-old library in its current home.
Monday, 11 September 2017
Nick Gibb has justified excluding the arts from the English Baccalaureate, on the grounds that the EBacc should be "sufficiently small to enable pupils to specialise in different things". But "for a broad education pupils should be taking, and taking seriously, the arts".
Monday, 11 September 2017
Councillors are divided over whether the city should back its neighbour's bid, claiming that Leeds provided minimal support when Bradford made an unsuccessful bid for the 2008 title.
Council report calls for Bradford's arts groups to back Leeds' Capital of Culture bid (Telegraph and Argus)
Friday, 08 September 2017
The £57m Birmingham Conservatoire, the first purpose-built music college to be built in the UK since 1987, has been formally opened by musician Julian Lloyd Webber. With five public performance spaces, including a 500-seat concert hall, a 150-seat recital hall and a 100-seat organ studio, it replaces the old conservatoire in Adrian Boult Hall which is being demolished as part of a regeneration... read more
New Birmingham Conservatoire 'last of its kind' (Birmingham Post)
Thursday, 07 September 2017
PRS for Music has reached an agreement with major industry bodies representing live music for a new tariff for festivals and concerts. The move follows a long-running dispute over proposed changes to the tariff, which stands at 3% of gross box office receipts per event.
Thursday, 07 September 2017
Liberal Democrat councillors are demanding an extended consultation in their attempts to save the Surrey Performing Arts Library, which is at risk of closure by Surrey County Council.
Lib Dems launch petition to save Performing Arts Library (Caterham Today)
Thursday, 07 September 2017
The specification for the level 1/2 Technical Award in Performing Arts prepared by exam board AQA is the only new technical qualification to have been approved by the Government and recognised in 2019 school performance tables. Nine other subjects are required to make changes.
Wednesday, 06 September 2017
The venue will close for two years for work to be undertaken, including the creation of a new stage suited for mid-scale dance.