A new funding partnership between The Art Fund and the Crafts Council will enable curators to cherry pick works by artists and makers of international status during a special three-hour pre-VIP preview of Collect, Europes only international art fair dedicated to contemporary applied and decorative arts, being held at the Victoria and Albert Museum from 2529 January 2008. A £50,000 fund will be made available, with the aim of helping museum and art gallery curators jump the queue of private collectors and raise the quality of contemporary craft collections in the UK. To apply to be an eligible curator, contact Sarah Philp.
t: 020 7225 4803; e: sphilp@artfund.org
The first ever BAFA Award has been won by Judith Serota, outgoing director of Spitalfields Festival, for her outstanding contribution both to Spitalfields and to the UKs growing festival sector. The award, made by the British Arts Festivals Association, aims to draw attention to the excellent work being done by committed individuals and to celebrate the success and innovation of British arts festivals.
The number of national indicators for local authorities and local authority partnerships, used to measure their achievement of national priorities agreed by Government, has been reduced from 1,200 to 198. The new list includes reference to visits to museums and galleries, and engagement in the arts. A consultation period will now take place about the technical definitions of the indicators.
Details of the twelve projects that took place through the DCMS Cultural Pathfinders programme, exploring ways in which cultural services can impact on the priority needs of local communities, have been published in an evaluation report by De Montfort University. The report reveals how the projects succeeded in combining culture with services such as social work and education to deliver shared outcomes and service improvements. The evaluation concludes that placing culture at the centre of local policy-making and delivery can help local authorities to achieve their strategic objectives.
w: http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications