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The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham has been awarded a grant of £500,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the theatre auditorium. The theatre, which celebrates its 120th birthday next year, will close for 17 weeks in order for the work to be carried out. The plasterwork and historic fabric of the auditorium will be restored, improvements will be made to the front of house areas, seating and dress circle boxes. Alongside the restoration, a three-year education and community programme will run, based on the theatre’s heritage.
http://www.everymantheatre.org.uk
Arts Council England has published a framework to help arts organisations to self-evaluate. It covers the impact of external factors, how to monitor performance against the ambition and targets, and how to identify appropriate ways to improve and develop. The framework focuses on six key areas: vision, external environment, artistic aspirations and programme, participation and engagement, organisational capacity and capability, and business models.
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/selfevaluation/framework
A new study claims that the growing waistlines of American theatregoers have raised the costs of building a theatre in the US today by 30%. ‘Size Matters’, a report on how an audience affects the size and costs of performing spaces has been researched by Theatre Projects. Size, together with changing expectations about comfort, has apparently resulted in increased cost for both theatre operators and customers.
The BBC Proms has launched an online archive which lists details of every performance in the event’s 115-year history. The archive lists 7,168 concerts which have taken place since 1895, categorised by composer, work, soloist, conductor, ensemble or date.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/archive
Shape, a disability-led arts organisation, has been awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The award recognises outstanding contributions made to local communities by voluntary groups, and sets the national benchmark for excellence in volunteering. The award goes to Shape for its long-standing Shape Tickets scheme, which removes barriers to entertainment and the arts – be they physical, financial, attitudinal or transport related.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/thequeensawardforvoluntaryservice
The British Museum, the Wellcome Collection, the Foundling Museum, the October Gallery, the Slade, The Place and over 60 other organisations in Bloomsbury are coming together to create The Bloomsbury Festival. Bloomsbury is one of the most culturally rich corners of London, with 13 leading museums and galleries as well as Central St Martins and RADA. Full details of the programme will be announced at the beginning of August.
http://www.bloomsburyfestival.org.uk
Arts advocacy is a key challenge around the world, according to research published by the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA). The research was carried out in August 2009, and the findings explore a range of advocacy campaigns currently being undertaken or planned by national arts funding agencies. IFACCA is interested in expanding on the information, and is inviting case studies and information about other campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the arts. IFACCA is exploring the feasibility of developing, with others, an international campaign to promote the value of the arts.
The Groucho Club is to launch a £10,000 prize for the arts maverick of the year. The Groucho Maverick Award is open to artists of any nationality, working anywhere in the world in visual arts (art, design, fashion, sculpture), multimedia (digital, film, radio, TV), performing arts (dance, music, theatre) or publishing (journalism, literature). Groucho members will be invited to submit nominations from which a small panel of members will choose the eventual winner. The shortlist will be announced in September, and the winner will be announced on 24 October.
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