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 An estimated £14.6m worth of contemporary art has been bought through 88,000 ‘Own Art’ loans since 2004. More than 250 galleries currently participate in the Arts Council England scheme, which offers customers an interest-free loan of up to £2,000 (to be paid back over 10 months) to buy a work of art by a living artist. The average value of a loan taken through the scheme last year was £800.21, with a quarter of customers identifying themselves as first time buyers.

 Rome’s futuristic MAXXI Museum, designed by Zaha Hadid, has pipped the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford to win the fifteenth Stirling Prize, despite the latter earning 43% of the popular vote – three places ahead of the experimental Italian building. Hadid, who scooped the prize on her fourth attempt, was praised for her “structural pyrotechnics” by judges who considered the art museum to be “her best work yet”.

The Design Museum has secured £300,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop plans for its relocation in 2013. The museum has two years to develop detailed proposals and apply for a further £4.9m of HLF funding to enable the move from London’s riverside to the former Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington.

Over 30 theatre venues across the country are offering a backstage pass to 13 to 15 year olds interested in careers in lighting and sound design, production, stage management, marketing and costume design. Offstage Choices, organised by the National Skills Academy, is set deliver a series of one-day programmes until 8 December for young people hunting advice, tips and experience of working behind the scenes.
http://www.nsa-ccskills.co.uk

Arts & Minds, England’s first mental health and arts festival, is launched in Cambridge this month with film, stand-up comedy and performance poetry events programmed at The Junction over 16 and 17 October. The festival aims to “shake up attitudes to mental health” and stir debate.
http://www.artsandminds.org.uk/festival

Delivery partnerships are being sought by Art Works, a new five-year scheme to support professional development of artists working on participatory projects. Artists, art organisations and training providers are being invited to submit proposals by 12 November.

Application forms for Decibel 2011, the biannual performing arts showcase, are available to complete online for the first time. Artists and companies “engaging in diverse arts practice” are invited to apply with a pitch for an idea, a work-in-progress or a fully formed piece that is ready to tour. The Arts Council England sponsored event, held in Manchester from 13 to 16 September 2011, is expected to attract promoters, producers, programmers, venue managers and artistic directors. The deadline for submissions is 1 December.
http://www.decibelpas.com

London’s eco-conscious Arcola theatre is set to move this Christmas after an early eviction noticed was served to its Arcola Street premises. The East London theatre is appealing for £150,000 to help refit its new home in a former factory in Dalston, Hackney. Artist Antony Gormley and designer Katherine Hamnett have both lent a fashionable hand to the cause, donating an artwork and slogan tshirt design to auction.