The University of the West of England is developing a postgraduate-level course aimed at helping freelance artists/facilitators working with communities and within education settings to extend their skills. Course leaders hope to create a new quality mark for community arts to allow people to establish themselves as recognised professionals. The University is seeking freelance artists willing to be involved in testing the modules in spring 2009, and for arts organisations in the South West to host short-term internships for students not already working in the sector.
e: samantha7.williams@uwe.ac.uk
The first of 100 brand new artworks commissioned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the iconic Tube logo, the Roundel, is being revealed to London Underground customers. One hundred artists have been invited by Art on the Underground to produce an artwork inspired by the Roundel for a public exhibition, which will run from 9 to 30 October at Rochelle School in Shoreditch. A monochrome artwork by Liam Gillick (pictured) will be the first of a selection of the new works that will be displayed as posters across the Tube network in the run-up to the exhibition launch.
Based on the experiences of its Theatre Pathways programme, Immediate Theatre has produced a booklet about working with young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). The programme has been tackling social and economic exclusion by helping young people in East London boroughs to gain employment in the theatre and creative industries. The company is currently seeking new funding opportunities to continue the project into 2012, and in November will be hosting an event for potential partners and other interested parties. For further information or to request a booklet, contact Rhian Hughes.
t: 020 7012 1677; e: rhian@immediate-theatre.com
Money seized from criminals is being used to fund a matching grant scheme to stimulate business sponsorship of arts activities for young people at risk of becoming involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. At two ‘Dragons Den’ style events called ‘Art of the Pitch’, six short-listed arts organisations will make a sponsorship pitch to ‘dragons’ from Elphinstone, ScottishPower and Standard Life, who have a sponsorship budget to spend on an arts project which meets the aims and eligibility criteria of the Scottish Government’s ‘CashBack for Communities’ scheme. The arts project chosen by the dragon for their £7,500 business investment will be matched by a £7,500 grant.
w: http://www.aandb.org.uk/scotland
More than 80% of Britons have seen dance performed in the past 12 months, according to a new report to mark the launch of ‘The Place Prize for Dance 2008’, Europe’s largest choreography competition. While only 21% had seen live dance in theatres, 59% of respondents had watched dance on television. More than a third of Britons surveyed (36%) thought that dance was the most enjoyable way to keep fit, and 46% thought it was the most sociable.
w: http://www.theplaceprize.com
‘Page to Stage’, the pilot scheme designed to enable children’s theatre companies, venues and schools to create online projects together, is due to be rolled out to more companies. Organisations involved with theatre for young people are now being invited to participate in research to determine the best way forward. The deadline for completing the online survey is 1 October.
w: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=4ytjhmrzmxdgonehl_2f4xsg_3d_3d;
e: sydney@webplay.org
A Young Professionals Business Scheme will give 18–30 year-olds in Northern Ireland the chance to join the boards of arts organisations. Following on from its Board Bank initiative, which allows business people to use their expertise on the boards of theatres, galleries and museums, Arts & Business’s new programme will provide an experienced business mentor for the first year and offer training in the legal and moral responsibilities of board membership.
w: http://www.aandb.org.uk/northernireland/
Northern Sinfonia, the orchestra of The Sage Gateshead, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a photo shoot on the roof of The Sage. The orchestra has been known to appear in unusual locations before, having also performed with the Pet Shops Boys in Swan Hunter’s shipyard. The images will now be used to promote the orchestra, The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead and ultimately the North East.
w: http://www.thesagegateshead.org
New laws requiring companies to display their registered name anywhere they do business come into force on 1 October. The amendments to the Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 state that a company’s name must be displayed continuously in a way that is visible to the naked eye and “may be easily seen by any visitor to that office, place or location”, but will no longer have to be seen on the outside of buildings. The full legal requirements can be found on the Office of Public Sector Information website.
w: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080495_en_1
Arts-Planet.net, a new international networking resource, will allow arts professionals from across the globe to make contacts, collaborate and talk to each other. Essentially a ‘Facebook’ for arts professionals, it arises out of Visiting Arts’ work to strengthen intercultural understanding.
w: http://www.arts-planet.net/
Clarification: ‘The Great Outdoors’ was created by the South Bank Centre in 1991 (‘A life outdoors’, AP177).