£820,000 has been awarded to 13 new commissions for ‘Unlimited’, the Cultural Olympiad programme that celebrates arts and culture by Deaf and disabled artists. There are eight projects from England, three from Scotland, one from Wales and one from Northern Ireland. With support from the British Council many of the commissions will see collaboration with artists in other countries. The projects include a physical performance by Claire Cunningham in partnership with the National Theatre of Scotland; a flower garden made up of 10,000 ceramic flowers; and a large-scale touring project based on performance artist Bobby Baker’s experience of recovery from serious mental and physical illness.
www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/unlimited
A new website designed to raise the profile of the health benefits of taking part in arts activities has been launched by Voluntary Arts. The website aims to help health practitioners in the UK to find out how creative activities can benefit people affected by long-term conditions and to locate local voluntary arts and creative groups. It also contains summaries of research, case studies, contacts and links, and downloadable leaflets and posters.
www.healthysocialcreative.org.uk
Investing in research and development is even more important when money is tight, says the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) as hands out its latest Creative Wales awards. The awards, to 18 professional artists, aim to offer space for artists to create, and are essential to “build cultural capital”. ACW is now looking to review the scheme’s value over the past seven years.
www.artswales.org.uk
A scheme to encourage more people to try opera or ballet has drawn to a close. The ‘Hamlyn Club’, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, offered cheap tickets to the Royal Opera House for children, young people and other new attenders. More than 200,000 people saw performances at the ROH over the three years of the scheme, more than a quarter of whom went on to buy tickets for other events. A report on the scheme named the option to book only two weeks in advance, rather than the more normal six months, as key to its success.
www.phf.org.uk
People could be put off helping to keep nationally important art in the country by the current export system, says the director of the Art Fund. Stephen Deuchar has called for a legally binding agreement to be imposed (rather than the current voluntary arrangement), as there are an increasing number of cases where owners refuse to sell art to museums despite a successful fundraising campaign.
www.artfund.org
An art show in Edinburgh that will include runners and walkers wearing eco-friendly lights is one of four winners in the Legacy Trust UK’s Community Celebrations awards, part of its Cultural Olympiad programme. The awards allow communities across the UK to stage large-scale outdoor celebrations. The independent charity has a £40m fund to create a cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
www.legacytrustuk.org