Thursday, 14 March 2024
A charity providing affordable artist workshop space in Bath has been saved from closure thanks to a local council rent subsidy.
44AD, which is based in premises on the city’s Abbey Street, has agreed a three-year lease extension for £10,000 per year, well below what Bath & North East Somerset Council believes is the market value of £40,000 per annum.
The decision is part of the council’s... read more
Wednesday, 13 March 2024
A yoga centre in Shropshire has been awarded a £22,000 Arts Council England grant for a community project that will combine creativity and wellbeing.
Jenna Blair Yoga in Shrewsbury will deliver a series of workshops aimed at community engagement that will target those who wouldn’t usually have access to the yoga studio’s facilities.
The Creative Awakening project hopes to engage with refugees,... read more
Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Tate Britain has unveiled a new video work made in response to a 1927 mural that has been closed to the public since 2020 due to its offensive imagery.
‘Vive Voce’, a two-screen 20-minute video by Keith Piper, is installed next to the Rex Whistler painting, ‘The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats’, in what was formerly the London gallery’s restaurant.
The film depicts an academic challenging... read more
Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Police are investigating an incident of vandalism at Cambridge University which saw two pro-Palestine protesters spray paint on then slash a portrait of former Conservative Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour.
On 8 March the group Palestine Action posted a video online of an unidentified person defacing the 1914 painting, which was on display at Trinity College.
Sally Davies,... read more
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
The Fitzwilliam Museum’s five main painting galleries will reopen entirely on Friday (15 March).
The galleries at the Cambridge-based museum have been closed for a major refurbishment and redisplay project.
Built between 1837 and 1843, the galleries, located in the Fitzwilliam’s original Founder’s Building, have been equipped with better lighting, new silk wall coverings and new glass in the... read more
Monday, 11 March 2024
A tour operator company has ranked London the best city in the world for museums and galleries.
Audley Travel’s analysis revealed which cities have the highest number of five-star rated museums and galleries on Trip Advisor.
There are over 170 museums and galleries in London, enough to visit a new one every week for over three years, and 97 have a five-star rating on Trip Advisor.
London... read more
Monday, 11 March 2024
Working class children are being denied the same opportunities to become actors or musicians that private school pupils are afforded, Labour Leader Keir Starmer has said.
The Independent reports that analysis conducted by the Labour Party found that although 94% of children go to state schools, just 60% of British actors, directors and musicians nominated in the last decade for major film, TV and... read more
Starmer says arts subjects must not be ‘domain of privileged pupils’ (The Independent)
Monday, 11 March 2024
A theatre in Hartlepool has been temporarily closed after problems were discovered with its plaster ceiling.
The BBC reports that issues were found at Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre following an assessment of the ceilings last week.
Mike Young, leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: "Initial assessments undertaken by specialists took place over the last week or so and have assessed the current... read more
Monday, 11 March 2024
A theatre that will only allow vegan food to be consumed on site is to open in Canterbury.
Kent Online reports that the performing arts building of a former Steiner school in the city has been transformed into the Garlinge Theatre which will welcome the public to its first production next month.
The school closed suddenly last year after Ofsted inspectors highlighted a range of failings.
Anything... read more
Friday, 08 March 2024
Artists across the UK are being invited to take part in a survey intended to gain a better understanding of how they earn their money.
Commissioned by DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society), the independent study will be conducted by the Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy (CREATe), University of Glasgow.
The work follows a 2010 study that found artists' earnings averaged around £... read more
Friday, 08 March 2024
Practical solutions need to be found to ensure the visa process for international artists coming to contribute to cultural events in Scotland is as smooth and straightforward as possible, Scotland's Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has said.
In a letter to UK Home Secretary James Cleverly, Robertson highlighted the vitally important contribution these artists make to the success of events in... read more
Thursday, 07 March 2024
Two collectors have revoked loans of artworks on display at a Barbican exhibition after the institute backed out of hosting a talk in early February by the writer Pankaj Mishra entitled 'The Shoah after Gaza', accusing the institution of "censorship and repression".
In a statement to The Guardian, the Barbican said its decision to withdraw the talk, hosted in partnership with the London Review of... read more
Barbican backs away from hosting talk about Gaza war (The Guardian)
Censorship at the Barbican (Censorship at the Barbican)
Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Five trade unions have written to the Chair of the government’s Cultural Education Plan Expert Advisory Panel, saying the panel has failed to engage with them in the development of the forthcoming Cultural Education Plan.
The letter to Baroness Deborah Bull, signed by the general secretaries of the National Education Union, Equity, Musicians’ Union, Bectu and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain,... read more
Tuesday, 05 March 2024
King George's Hall in Blackburn will undergo an £8m renovation, it has been announced.
The Lancashire Telegraph reports that the money will come from a Levelling-Up grant of £20m to Blackburn with Darwen Council from the government, with the work concentrating on the interior of the building.
The remainder of the new money will go on refurbishment of nearby Tony’s Ballroom, the redevelopment of... read more
King George's Hall in Blackburn to get £8 million revamp (Lancashire Telegraph)
Tuesday, 05 March 2024
A garden in front of Tate Britain to integrate art with nature will open in 2026, it has been announced.
Museums and Heritage Advisor reports that the gallery is working on the garden project in collaboration with landscape design practice Tom Stuart-Smith Studio and architects Feilden Fowles.
The project, dubbed the Clore Garden, after its backing by the Clore Duffield Foundation, has also... read more
Tate Britain reveals plans for new garden (Museums + Heritage Advisor)