Arts Council

Here are the latest Arts Council England newsletters:

Is your town about to transform its art and culture offer? This month we’re welcoming 13 new places to our Creative People and Places programme and we’re celebrating the amazing work it’s achieved so far... Also: we’ve announced a performing arts showcase opportunity at Edinburgh Fringe; and time’s running out to have your say on our strategy for funding, supporting and developing arts and culture for the next ten years. CREATIVE PEOPLE AND PLACES More creativity, more people, more places What do Romford’s shopping centre, Middlesbrough FC and Bradford’s teaching hospital have in common? They’re all set to take their part in transforming the arts and culture in their communities. Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re investing £17.5 million in 13 places across England that have some of the least engagement in arts and culture. MEET THE PROJECTS “I didn’t realise arts brings things like that out in people; brings out different traits and personalities” -Billy, Dawdon   HOW BILLY GOT INVOLVED CREATIVE PEOPLE AND PLACES Recipe for success Creative People and Places is all about residents choosing, creating and taking part in brilliant cultural experiences in their local area.  From Batley to Barking, people have been shaping an arts and culture programme that’s truly relevant to where they live in 21 places around the country over the last six years. Rebecca Blackman, our Director for Engagement and Audiences, tells us more about the impact they’ve had and what the future holds for our 13 new places. READ THE BLOG  Art has no language. It brings smiles to everyone and we all must have art and culture as our creative outlet to realise the full potential of life.  -Deepa Srinath Barking and Dagenham DEEPA'S STORY VALUE OF ARTS AND CULTURE A better place to live Arts and culture make our villages, towns and cities even better places to live, helping build our community feeling, restore our high streets and improve our wellbeing. That’s what we found in our latest research, conducted in Birmingham, Halifax, Hastings, Redruth, Southampton and Stoke-on-Trent. SPREAD THE WORD Bang the drum for art and culture We’re shouting out loud and proud about how #CreativityMatters and we need YOU to join us! Keep a look out for our amazing new GIFs on our social channels, designed by Min Liu.  FUNDING OPPORTUNITY Performing arts showcase at Edinburgh To increase international touring opportunities, we’re asking for Expressions of Interest to establish a Performing Arts Showcase within the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, through our National Lottery Project Grants. FIND OUT MORE    Read our draft strategy for 2020-30 and tell us what you think... HAVE YOUR SAY... Images: 1. © Open house by NoFit state Circus, ©Appetite and Andrew Billington 2. ©Stephen King 3. Idle Women photo- Super Slow Way 4. © Stephen King 5. ©unsplash 6. GIF by Min Liu artscouncil.org.uk Arts Council England, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3HF. Arts Council England is the trading name of the Arts Council of England, Registered Charity No. 1036733. Arts Council England is not responsible for the content, nor does it warrant the accuracy or reliability of, any linked website. Arts Council England, to the extend permissable by law, excludes all liability which may arise from your use or reliance on the information or contents contained in the linked site.

June's an exciting time for the arts and culture sector, with Pride Month on the go, festival season underway and summer programmes getting started. With so much going on find out how you can see great work and help develop innovative organisations at the same time - by becoming a Peer Reviewer. Also in this issue: find out how libraries are fighting loneliness; share your #culturematters story and more.  BLOG Combating Loneliness Loneliness affects people across the whole of society. Government statistics published last year suggest up to 9 million people always or often feel lonely. We believe art and culture can play a major part in bringing people together, and creating happier, better connected communities. For Loneliness Awareness Week we're shining a spotlight on the wonderful work libraries are doing to combat loneliness.  TAKE A LOOK GUIDANCE Got a story to tell? Been moved by a trip to a ballet? Had your views changed by a day at the gallery? Met up with a mate at the museum?  Everyone has a story to tell about how art benefits them.  If you've seen or made something special, tell your story and let everyone know why #culturematters.  Our making the case for art and culture toolkit has loads of inspiration to help you get started, and when you're ready, we've got guidance for sharing it on social media.  GET STARTED OPPORTUNITY  Become a Peer Reviewer We’re looking for experts to help shape the arts and cultural sector by becoming Peer Reviewers and offering feedback on the work of exciting organisations. Using our Impact and Insight Toolkit, Peers play an important role by assessing quality of work and helping artists realise their creative ambitions.  We’d like to make sure that the reviewers cover the diversity of the sector and the full range of art forms, so if you’re interested don’t hesitate to apply. FIND OUT MORE Peer profile: Jeremy Akerman  In the first of a series of blogs we're asking some of our Peer Reviewers to share their experiences. This week, visual arts specialist Jeremy Akerman gives an insight into how he uses his skills and knowledge to support creative projects.  TAKE A LOOK Funding Update In May we invested over £13 million in amazing art and culture projects across the country through National Lottery Project Grants. Looking for funding? If you've got an idea for a project and are thinking of applying, our quiz can help you find out if you're project is ready, and offers guidance for every step of the application process. It's well worth a look, even if your idea isn't fully formed yet.  TAKE THE QUIZ Images: 1. © Stephen King. 2. © Helen Murray . 3. © Marcia Chandra. 4. ©  Sophie Mutevelian artscouncil.org.uk Arts Council England, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3HF. Arts Council England is the trading name of the Arts Council of England, Registered Charity No. 1036733. Arts Council England is not responsible for the content, nor does it warrant the accuracy or reliability of, any linked website. Arts Council England, to the extend permissable by law, excludes all liability which may arise from your use or reliance on the information or contents contained in the linked site.

Have you ever thought 'the Arts Council should...' or said 'why don't the Arts Council...'? Well, now's your chance to shape what we do. We've set out a proposed strategy for investing in and supporting arts, museums and libraries for the next ten years. We want to hear what you think of our ideas before 23 September. Plus voting is open for the National Lottery Awards – check out the nominees and get your vote in today. ASKING THE PUBLIC What we've heard so far In March, we asked people from across the country to tell us what they thought about our initial ideas for the next ten years. WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY CONSULTATION  How you can get involved Take part in the consultation   Now, it's over to you. We want to hear what you think about our proposals for investing in and supporting arts, museums and libraries for the next ten years.  Take part in our online consultation, open until 23 September, and let us know your thoughts and ideas.  HAVE YOUR SAY Read the draft strategy 2020-30 After 18 months of gathering evidence and listening to over 5000 views across the country, we've set out a proposed vision for culture and creativity in this country and three outcomes we think we need to achieve by 2030. TAKE A LOOK Spread the word   It's so important that we hear from as many people as possible, whatever their background and wherever they live. Help us reach people across the sector and beyond to make sure they have their say too. SHARE THE TWEET NEWS And the nominees are... Voting is now open for the 2019 National Lottery Awards, celebrating the amazing people and projects across the good causes funded through the National Lottery. There's some fantastic Arts Council supported organisations nominated in the Art, Culture and Film catagory. Take a look and cast your vote!  VOTE NOW Images: 1. © Graphic illustration by Zuhura Plummer for Arts Council England 2. © Kesi at Arts Council England public workshop 4. © Graphic illustration by Zuhura Plummer for Arts Council England artscouncil.org.uk Arts Council England, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3HF. Arts Council England is the trading name of the Arts Council of England, Registered Charity No. 1036733. Arts Council England is not responsible for the content, nor does it warrant the accuracy or reliability of, any linked website. Arts Council England, to the extend permissable by law, excludes all liability which may arise from your use or reliance on the information or contents contained in the linked site.