Ellen Bianchini, Director of The Spark Children’s Arts Festival (pictured), has been awarded the ‘Woman of the Year’ title at the Leicester Chamber of Commerce Women of Achievement Awards 2009. She established the festival in 2003 while working in the Haymarket theatre’s Education Department, from her garden shed, and it has now grown into a two-week arts festival that saw 13,000 people attend in 2008.
w: http://www.sparkfestival.co.uk
Following a public consultation, the financial thresholds in the Charities Acts changed on 1 April. The threshold for requiring accounts to be externally examined is raised from £10,000 to £25,000; the threshold for the preparation by non-company charities of accruals accounts is raised from £100,000 to £250,000; the assets element of the audit threshold is raised from £2.8m to £3.26m and the lower income trigger for this is raised from £100,000 to £250,000; and the threshold for registered charities to submit their annual accounts and Trustees Annual Reports to the Commission is raised from £10,000 to £25,000.
w: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si200905
The Charity Commission is to produce a checklist of issues that trustees of smaller charities ought to be considering to help ensure that their organisations survive the recession. The checklist was prompted by the Commission’s second Economic Survey of Charities, which demonstrated that smaller organisations were the most likely to need specialist advice and support during the downturn.
A new Literature Working Group has been set up to map out a strong future for Scottish literature, and is due to make recommendations by the end of the year. Delivering a statement to the Scottish Parliament on Creative Scotland, Culture Minister, Mike Russell, spoke of the need for a new approach to public sector support for literature, focusing particularly on writing and publishing.
The International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies, in co-operation with the European Institute for Comparative Cultural Research, is launching a major survey. ‘Achieving intercultural dialogue through the arts and culture’ will form a key part of the preparations for the fourth World Summit on Arts and Culture in September.
w: http://www.ifacca.org/topic/intercultural-dialogue-cultural-diversity
Five arts organisations will share £100,000 from the Scottish Arts Council to further develop their work within the field of arts and mental health. The projects cover a range of arts activity and work with groups including young offenders, people with long-term mental health problems and older people suffering from dementia. The projects develop work piloted by Artfull, a joint national initiative between the then Scottish Executive and the Scottish Arts Council, developed with the aim of articulating, developing and promoting the arts, and the role they play in improving mental health and well-being.
w: http://www.scottisharts.org.uk
Iambic Arts Theatre will open in May in Brighton to coincide with the Brighton Festival Fringe. Founded by Emma D’Arcy with a direct affiliation with Pentameters Theatre in Hampstead, North London, the new theatre aims to present London transfers of new professional plays and classic revivals, as well as performances of music and poetry.
w: http://www.iambicarts.co.uk
A new partnership between Live Music Now (LMN) and the Musicians Benevolent Fund will help young performers connect with musicians in residential care. The concert series will comprise over 50 performances across the UK. LMN specialises in working with young musicians at the outset of their careers, and wants to bring live music to fellow professionals who are now in retirement.
A group of ambassadors for the European Year of Creativity and Innovation has warned that it would be a fundamental mistake to reduce spending on research and development (R&D) because of the current economic downturn. Finland overcame a recession in the early 1990s by increasing investment in R&D and keeping education spending steady. Work is already under way to create a manifesto for creativity and innovation in Europe, which aims to inspire further activities beyond the end of the year.
w: http://www.create2009.europa.eu
Visiting Arts is looking at new ways of approaching international artist residencies, through a project called ‘Residency +’. It wants to link together international artists working in the UK and give them networking opportunities and the chance to extend their practice. The programme aims to improve the reach of these artists’ work across the UK and stimulate intercultural dialogue. Visiting Arts would like to hear from any organisations that are hosting or collaborating with an artist visiting the UK.
e: kathryn.standing@visitingarts.org.uk