Visual arts

The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) is set to distribute a share of £4.6m in royalties to 96,000 photographers, illustrators, and artists through its annual Payback scheme. 

The scheme pays visual artists and creators annual royalties when their artworks have been published in UK books, magazines, journals or on TV.

Since the scheme's inception in 1999, DACS has distributed more than £70m in payback royalties.

The organisation says to apply for payback, visual artists need to complete their annual claim form between January and April each year.

Those interested in claiming for the first time can register online to be notified when the scheme re-opens in January.

The Edinburgh International Film Festival has been shut down with immediate effect after the charity that runs it, the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), announced it had ceased trading and called in administrators.

In a statement CMI said the decision was taken as a result of the "perfect storm" of sharply rising costs, in particular energy costs, alongside reduced trade due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. 

CMI said that even with the recently announced energy price cap for businesses, its energy costs were likely to rise by approximately £200,000 over the next 12 months, and with the price cap only in place for six months, planning beyond March 2023 was "highly uncertain".

"The combination, and scale, of these challenges is unprecedented and means that there was no option but to take immediate action," the statement said.

As a result, Filmhouse Cinema and Café Bar in Edinburgh, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Belmont Filmhouse have all ceased trading immediately with administrators appointed for all entities.

A new permanent venue for the Museum of Homelessness will open in London next year, it has been announced.

The museum said Manor House Lodge, in Finsbury Park, will be its base of operations as well as a centre for creativity, healing and community cohesion. 

Plans for the site are being developed by people with experience of homelessness alongside Stephen Greenberg, a museum planner who has worked on more than 100 museum projects. 

The museum said it hopes for the venue to be "a world class creative hub" that hosts performances, talks and workshops developed by people with experience of homelessness. It will provide 250 support sessions per year designed in partnership with those in need, which are likely to include regular surgeries focused on housing and legal rights as well as the provision of essentials during the cost-of-living crisis.

The plans for the site also include an open access professional standard arts studio for people experiencing homelessness and a home for the national archive and collection for homelessness, poverty and social action. 

The museum has been granted a 10-year community lease from Haringey Council which is currently undertaking initial works on the site. The Museum of Homelessness team is due to be onsite later this year and will undertake a six-month community development period prior to opening to the public in spring or summer next year.

Museum of Homelessness Co-founder Matt Turtle said: “After working in borrowed venues for seven years and relying on the generosity of partners especially the Outside Project, we are delighted to be putting down roots in Harringey. 

"We are excited about transforming this precious site into a museum space like no other, a place where people can hear stories they won't hear anyone else and receive practical support when they need it.

"Our community will work with partners including the council and people experiencing homelessness locally to make a space for everyone.”

Visual artists and craft makers in Scotland can now apply for bursaries to put towards their creative development.

The Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) offers fixed bursaries of £500 and £750 to artists at all stages of their career to develop their creative practice.

Funded by Creative Scotland, the scheme is managed locally by VACMA partners, and is available in 25 of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas, with £130,000 available in total.

Head of Visual Arts at Creative Scotland Amanda Catto said the funding will enable artists and makers to test new ideas, develop their skills and generate work.

“We are delighted that we have so many partners working with us to deliver the programme which generates such important, long-lasting benefits to the creative people working in their local area.” 

Applications for a first wave of funding will close 25 October, with the deadline for a second round scheduled for 7 February 2023.

British Art Fair has announced the launch of a new platform, SOLO CONTEMPORARY, to show “the very best contemporary British art”. 

A dedicated space at the Saatchi Gallery for British Art Fair will exhibit ten artists, each selected by one of Britain’s leading contemporary art dealers.

The new platform was conceived by the fair’s owner Will Ramsay, in collaboration with artist-curator Zavier Ellis. 

“The dialogue between contemporary and ModBrit artists is a profound one and we will seek to illustrate that relationship,” Ellis said. 

“I am also keen to emphasise the shifting parameters of what a gallery is, particularly in the post-Covid era. SOLO CONTEMPORARY includes curatorial projects and galleries that have alternative models as well as the standard."

Gay Hutson, the fair’s Founding Director, said it was founded in 1988 “specifically to promote the most talented British artists of its time”.

“SOLO CONTEMPORARY gives us the opportunity to continue with this vital part of the fair.”