DanceEast is to name part of Ipswich’s new Jerwood DanceHouse in honour of Programme Manager Richard Whistler (pictured), who died from meningitis earlier this year, aged 38. The Whistler Gallery will link the new dance studios and studio theatre above the entrance foyer of the £8.6m development, which will provide the East of England with its own state-of-the-art dance facilities.
A new online community and distance learning scheme called Sync100 has been launched by the Cultural Leadership Programme, aimed at people with disabilities who are working in museums, galleries and other cultural organisations but may be daunted by the idea of being a leader. It will run until June 2009 and will act as a platform for at least 100 disabled cultural leaders to share experiences of how their disability affects them in the workplace. In October this year, 20 members of the Sync100 online community will be picked to take part in Sync20, a bespoke personal coaching programme.
w: http://www.syncleadership.com
A platform to inform and encourage interaction and exchange of ideas between arts and cultural communities across Asia and Europe is being created with the launch of Culture360, a multidisciplinary arts and cultural online portal with a focus on Asia and Europe. Created by Asia-Europe Meeting and hosted and facilitated by Asia-Europe Foundation, it aims to act as a reference tool and a place for dialogue for artists, cultural practitioners and policy makers.
w: http://www.culture360.org
Four £5,000 commissions for disabled or deaf artists to create work inspired by the London 2012 Olympics have been awarded by disability agency Shape to Kazzum Theatre Company (for street arts), StopGAP Dance Company (for dance), Liz Bentley (for spoken word / poetry) and Aaron Williamson (for visual arts / media). The artists will develop new work in ways that help disabled and deaf people to identify with the Games, and the commissions and artists will be profiled as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad launch celebrations.
Among the arts professionals recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, Peter Hewitt, former Chief Executive of Arts Council England, Michael Lynch, Chief Executive of Southbank Centre and Marion Thorpe, co-founder of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, receive CBEs; an MBE goes to Molly Burkett, author and founder of Grantham-based independent Barny Books; and Mark Elder, Music Director of the Hallé, is knighted.
The European Forum for Arts and Heritage has changed its name better to reflect its aim to be a proactive advocate for the cultural sector at a European level. The new name, Culture Action Europe, is supported by a new website providing an up-to-date platform on EU cultural policy debates.
w: http://www.cultureactioneurope.org
More than two million free books will be given to every reception-aged pupil and Year 7 pupil in England by Christmas 2008. The Booktime programme for 4–5 year olds, and Booked Up programme, for pupils aged 11–12, are supported by a £4m grant from the Department for Children, Schools and Families and run by the independent charity Booktrust, with the aim of encouraging reading for pleasure.
w: http://www.booktime.org.uk; http://www.bookedup.org.uk
Arts Council England’s Artsmark award has been given to 1,438 new schools in recognition of their commitment to and excellence in arts education. Since Artsmark began eight years ago, more than 15% of schools in England – a total of 4,128 – have achieved the Artsmark standard, including one in three secondary schools in England.
w: http://www.artsmark.org.uk
Information about funding from the DCMS has been added to the Government’s funding portal, which now includes funding opportunities from all 14 relevant Whitehall departments and their grant administrators. The portal now highlights funding sources worth £850m from 57 grant schemes, and subscriptions to it are free to voluntary organisations with a turnover less than £500k.
w: http://www.governmentfunding.org.uk