English National Youth Arts Network is offering free membership to all, in an attempt to better achieve its aims of raising the profile of youth arts and uniting the whole of the sector. The decision to end paid membership followed feedback from a members survey, and full members to date will have joining fees reimbursed.
w: http://www.enyan.co.uk
The Fourth Plinth Primary School Award has been presented to a pupil at from Hitherfield Primary School by sculptor Marc Quinn. Schoolchildren were encouraged to design a sculpture for a public space, inspired by the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square where Quinns sculpture, Alison Lapper Pregnant, is currently installed. A selection of the childrens entries is currently on show at City Hall, London with all entries featured in an online exhibition.
w: http://www.fourthplinth.co.uk/schoolsaward
A study by Richard Polacek examining the barriers to mobility across the EU in the performing arts sector has identified four areas of difficulty for touring live performance organisations and venues hosting touring companies. Problems relating to visas and work permits, social security regulations, double taxation and VAT, and intellectual property rights are highlighted, and possible solutions are proposed.
w: http://www.ietm.org/upload/files/2_20070313142649.pdf
Galleries across England, Scotland and Wales are currently being sought to take part in a pilot scheme to improve access to the visual arts for disabled and deaf visitors. Disability arts organisation Shape, and engage, the national association for gallery education, will be working together on the Explore initiative, through which visual arts workshops will be run for up to 150 disabled people in eight different galleries. The scheme includes a programme of training and support to gallery staff, teaching them how to cater to the needs of their disabled visitors and increase accessibility to venues and exhibits. To participate in the project, contact Alex Hitchins.
e: alex.hitchins@engage.org; t: 020 7490 4690
Proposals for making womens career progression integral to the wider challenge of developing cultural leadership in Britain have been raised in a provocation paper, Women at the Top, commissioned from think-tank Demos by The City University, London and the Treasury-funded Cultural Leadership Programme. Authors John Holden and Helen McCarthy identify new ways of addressing inequalities of opportunity for women leaders in the arts, including giving greater visibility to women leaders and creating female role models for younger women, as well as creating more womens networks and mentoring schemes.
w: http://www.culturalleadership.org.uk /dialoguesonleadership/womenatthetop/default.aspa
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Thanks to everyone who took part in our latest online poll. For this weeks poll, go to http://www.artsprofessional.co.uk