Category Archives: Arts funding

Protests held on stage at Edinburgh festival over Scottish arts funding cuts

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Anger grows over proposed cuts of up to £10m for Creative Scotland affecting freelance artists and performers

Actors and directors have protested on stage during the Edinburgh festival after anger about proposed cuts to Scottish arts funding escalated into open revolt.

Protest messages were read out after performances, including at the Traverse, Lyceum, George Square, Summerhall and Church Hill theatres, to loud applause from audiences, as thousands of artists and performers signed an open letter calling for the cuts to be reversed.

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Dreams and jobs slowly fade away as Bristol bears brunt of arts cuts

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In the shadow culture minister’s seat, there is a degree of hope a Labour government might bring change

“I felt like Bristol was one of the best places in the country to make theatre,” says writer and performer Amy Mason, who’s lived in Bristol for most of her life. “It was quite punk. It was this very well organised, inclusive and active system of getting work on stage. People could make a living out of theatre.”

Mason left school at 16 and worked in retail, but a community theatre project not far from the colourful house we’re sitting in on the edge of the city offered her the chance to attend a playwright workshop and put on a small show. “They liked it, they gave me a commission, I was like: Oh my God, I could be a writer!” From there, she started writing short stories, went on to stage three shows with Bristol Old Vic, and has grown a career as a TV writer and standup comedian.

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Ron DeSantis strips more than $32m in Florida arts funding

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Political allies are also surprised at move, which cancels nearly entirety of state’s funding and will affect economy

Ron DeSantis stripped more than $32m in arts and culture funding from Florida’s state budget over his hatred of a popular fringe festival that he accused of being “a sexual event”, critics of the rightwing governor say.

DeSantis justified his unprecedented, wide-ranging veto of grants to almost 700 groups and organizations by saying it was “inappropriate” for $7,369 of state money to be allocated to Tampa fringe, a 10-day festival that took place earlier this month with a strong message of inclusivity, and its sister event in Orlando.

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ACE’s ‘political statements’ warning to artists came after government talks

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Exclusive: FoI request reveals Arts Council updated guidance after discussing Gaza conflict with DCMS

Arts Council England (ACE) issued a warning that “political statements” could break funding agreements after discussions with the government about artists speaking out over the Israel-Gaza war, newly released documents suggest.

A freedom of information request made by the actors’ union Equity has revealed that the conflict was discussed in a meeting between ACE and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in December.

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Arts Council England mired in row over ‘political statements’ warning

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Robert Macfarlane, Feargal Sharkey and Matt Haig are among artists to react with fury to message about funding risks

Artists, writers and musicians have reacted with fury to an Arts Council England (ACE) warning that “political statements” could break funding agreements.

In a series of updates recently made to its policies, ACE advised the organisations it funds to be wary of “overtly political or activist” statements made in a personal capacity by people linked to them.

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‘A national emergency’: UK theatres fear closure after more local funding cuts

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Windsor and Maidenhead scraps cultural budget in wake of similar moves in Suffolk, Bristol, Nottingham and Birmingham

The chill blast of damaging cuts to provincial arts venues has returned to Berkshire this weekend as the cash-strapped local authority becomes the latest to scrap its cultural budget.

Local MP and former prime minister Theresa May was among those to salute a reprieve back in February. But theatre lovers in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead now fear their venues are in jeopardy again, since no cultural funds appear in the next budget.

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Self-insemination artist ‘vindicated’ after settling legal case over withdrawn Australian government funding

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Peak arts body Creative Australia agrees to extraordinary acknowledgment and six-figure payment in settlement with Casey Jenkins

A performance artist who had federal government funding cancelled after a backlash against a work involving their self-insemination says the national arts advisory body is still being run by the people who led the “ridiculous charge” against them.

Casey Jenkins has settled a federal court case against the Australia Council, now known as Creative Australia, for withdrawing $25,000 in funding for the exhibition Immaculate, in which they intended to livestream their monthly attempts to become pregnant.

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Vogue World to donate £2m to London-based arts organisations

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National Theatre and Royal Ballet among 21 groups to receive grants from new fund

Vogue World will donate £2m to London-based arts organisations through a newly established fund, Condé Nast has announced.

The star-studded event at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Thursday night was masterminded by the Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, and the Bafta- and Olivier-winning director Stephen Daldry. Its aim was to celebrate London’s heritage as a cultural powerhouse and to raise money for the UK’s cash-strapped performing arts scene.

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‘It’s like a hostile environment’: London’s creative core at risk as artists in poverty quit

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UK capital as ‘huge generator of wealth’ under threat as a third of visual artists struggle to pay for studios

What makes Britain’s capital city so magnetic? Familiar landmarks? The nightlife? Or its financial, fashion and art trades? Maybe. But behind the glamour and money a network of artists is giving London the crucial appeal of a place where new things happen, while working on the edge of poverty.

A survey released on 13 July is to reveal just how close many of London’s visual artists are to giving up on a career that has pushed them to the bottom of the pile. Close to a third of those asked said lack of funds might force them out within five years. And just under half said they cannot afford to build savings or pay into a pension plan.

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UK government to invest in film and TV AI special-effects research

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Almost £150m to be spent on research labs to help future-proof industry and lift creative economy

Ministers are seeking to future-proof the UK’s multibillion-pound film and TV production industry by investing almost £150m in a network of research labs across the country tasked with developing the next generation of special effects using tech such as artificial intelligence.

The scheme aims to build on Britain’s reputation for producing hi-tech hits from Star Wars to Harry Potter, and is part of wide-ranging plans to drive the UK creative economy. The government has earmarked millions to support grassroots music venues hammered by the Covid pandemic, and is tripling a fund designed to find and support the next generation of homegrown superstars like Adele and Ed Sheeran.

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ENO chief says Liverpool and Manchester ‘strong contenders’ for new home

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Stuart Murphy says other cities in running but stresses chances of either northern city hosting opera company

Liverpool and Manchester are “really strong contenders” to be the new home of the English National Opera (ENO), its chief executive has said, after the cultural body was forced to leave London.

Stuart Murphy, who steps down later this year, said three potential bases would be selected by the end of May and a winner chosen by the end of this year.

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Newcastle’s Side Gallery to close after funding cuts and energy bills rise

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Photography space that inspired Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall launches fundraising campaign with aim of reopening in 2024

A small and much-loved photography gallery that has punched well above its size for more than 45 years will close this weekend because of funding cuts and cost-of-living pressures.

The Side Gallery, near the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, was opened in 1977 by a collective championing positive images of working-class life.

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Christopher Eccleston: it would be impossible for me to become an actor today

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Theatres such as now-closed Oldham Coliseum vital for northern working-class people, says actor

Christopher Eccleston has said it would be impossible for him to become an actor in today’s world, in an impassioned interview after the closure of Oldham’s Coliseum theatre.

The British actor spoke about how the closure of the historic theatre would affect the acting community and people from working-class backgrounds.

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Artists in UK public sector making far below minimum wage, survey finds

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Exclusive: report describes culture of low fees and exploitation as research finds median hourly rate of £2.60 an hour

Artists working in the public sector are struggling to stay afloat amid a culture of low fees, unpaid labour and systemic exploitation, research shows.

A survey of people engaged by everything from flagship galleries to smaller projects found an overall median hourly rate of £2.60 an hour, dramatically below the UK minimum wage of £9.50.

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Wallace and Gromit maker warns UK animators may have to move abroad

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Exclusive: head of Aardman studio blames Brexit as UK falls behind on skills and tax relief

The head of Aardman, the Oscar-winning British studio behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, has warned that the nation’s animation productions for children’s television will have to be made overseas because acute challenges are taking their toll on the UK sector.

Sean Clarke, Aardman’s managing director, said the company is struggling with everything from serious competition from other countries on tax relief to a dire skills shortage.

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‘The government has listened’: Australia’s peak bodies praise $300m federal arts policy

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Launched by Anthony Albanese at Melbourne live music pub the Espy, the policy offers welcome support for the beleaguered industry

Australia’s arts industry has welcomed the federal government’s $300m national cultural policy Revive, which was launched on Monday by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.

Albanese described it as a comprehensive and inclusive way to enhance the lives of all Australians, “from the gallery, to the mosh pit, to your favourite reading chair”. While most of the major policies were released over the weekend, the official launch, held at Melbourne live music venue the Esplanade, revealed a few more details, such as the establishment of a national poet laureate – a position Australia has not had since the convict era – and the commitment to deliver a state of culture report every three years, similar to the government-issued state of the environment report.

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English National Opera to receive £11.46m from Arts Council England

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Investment will sustain its work in London for another year after ENO was removed from ACE’s national portfolio

The English National Opera (ENO) has announced it will receive an £11.46m investment from Arts Council England (ACE) to sustain its work in London for another year.

The ENO is one of a number of organisations that have been removed from ACE’s national portfolio, losing its £12.8m annual grant and told it must move outside London if it wants to qualify for future grants. ENO chiefs have said the 100% funding cut would decimate the 100-year old company, while many big names across the arts world called the decision a “simplistic move”.

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A fight at the opera: could forcing ENO up north work out?

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The ultimatum to English National Opera was attacked as ‘cultural vandalism’, but raised some hopes nearer Manchester

When the Arts Council halved English National Opera’s funding earlier this month and made its new £17m grant contingent on the company leaving London – possibly for Manchester – the diktat was greeted as “madness” by the London Evening Standard, “cultural vandalism” by Melvyn Bragg and an order which would kill off the institution by April by the company’s chair, Harry Brünjes.

The battle over ENO’s future soon became the latest frontline in the culture wars as debate raged over what it meant to “level up” culture.

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John Constable’s favourite Hampstead pond to be restored after two centuries

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Branch Hill pond dried up in the 1880s. Now it will teem with wildlife again, as it did in the artist’s heyday

It was a view that John Constable sketched and painted dozens of times. From the top of Hampstead Heath, London’s highest point at 134 metres (440ft), the artist would look west and north towards today’s suburbs of Willesden, Edgware and Harrow. About 100 metres away, down below, was a beautiful natural pond.

But in the 1880s, Branch Hill pond dried up. Now, nearly two centuries after Constable immortalised on canvas his favourite landscape in the capital, the pond has been recreated.

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Self-insemination performance artist could be forced to pay security on Australia Council’s legal costs

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Lawyers for Casey Jenkins, who alleges council’s withdrawal of funding was discriminatory, says ‘security for costs’ order is ‘cynical’

The Australia Council is attempting to get a court order that may force an artist to stump up a down payment on its sizeable legal costs, in a two-year court battle over the national arts funding body dropping its support for a performance documenting self-insemination.

Lawyers for the performance artist Casey Jenkins told the federal court the council’s application for a “security for costs” order appeared to be based on a cynical and misguided premise, and the body was covered by commonwealth government insurance to fight the case.

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