Originally estimated to cost £35m and due to open in 2012, the Pontio Arts & Innovation Centre in Bangor has finally opened to the public having cost £49m to build.
The Kirkgate Centre says the rising costs of services and materials have pushed its project over budget by about £800k, bringing the total to over £3m.
A ten-year strategy for the arts in Northern Ireland is being considered under a new consultation launched by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.
The Assembly Rooms are to be run as a ‘digital centre for the arts’ during the Edinburgh Fringe by the Riverside Trust, which runs the Riverside Studios, on a two-year contract.
Local authorities envisage a shift away from direct provision of cultural services, but are preparing to lead by articulating a vision, brokering partnerships, and sourcing new funding.
The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers’s #lookfortheSTAR campaign, aiming to encourage customers to check for authentication when buying tickets, has been backed by the Society of London Theatres.
Drama UK, the industry body which accredits UK drama training, has seen almost a third of its member schools leave since September, including RADA and LAMDA, threatening its position within the industry.
After ten years of work, and £250m of investment, Singapore’s National Gallery – home to 8,000 pieces of art from the 19th and 20th Centuries – has opened to the public.
The new policy will establish a ‘Culture Task Group’ to meet quarterly and interrogate council policy, an online advice hub, and an ‘Open Fund’ offering grants of between £200 and £5k.
ScotRail has created a new £80k ‘Cultural and Arts Fund’ for community arts and culture projects, from which applicants can receive grants of up to £5k.
A €4m ‘solidarity fund’ is being made available to French cinemas and cultural venues to help them “cope with cancellations, expected declines in business and other financial hardships” in the wake of the Paris attacks. This follows a decision taken on Saturday by authorities in Brussels to close 28 museums and galleries, including the Margritte and Cinquentenaire museums.
Advice and resources to help arts and health professionals conduct more robust and credible evaluations of their work are being made more widely available through a new website.
The Gaelic Arts Agency has announced it will cease operating just weeks after it won the arts and culture prize at the annual Scottish Gaelic Awards. The news comes shortly after Creative Scotland, which withdrew its £75k annual grant to the agency this year, came under fire for “failing” the Gaelic community.
