The 2011 UK Arts Index Report

In order to download a copy of the Arts Index report you need to become a member of the NCA. The report gives a full breakdown of the data collected across 20 indicators, including in-depth anaylsis of the regional, national and UK wide picture. If you are a member, simply log in and then follow this link.

Art colleges across the country are taking part in the National Art and Design Saturday Club Scheme, which aims to give artistically gifted children from disadvantaged backgrounds a chance to develop their skills.

A new study conducted on behalf of a-n The Artist’s Information Company has discovered that more artist membership and development agencies lost core funding in the recent ACE review than other types of cultural organisation.

From Monday 23rd May, craft professionals are invited to take part in a telephone survey, aimed at mapping the size and impact of the craft sector.

The first commissions have been announced for the London 2012 Festival; the 12 week festival that is the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad.

Yesterday, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced which projects were to be axed as part of a range of cuts totalling £73 million.

Arts Council England (ACE) today outlined how it would apportion the £19 million in-year budget cuts. In brief, it has been able to use £9 million of its historic reserves to mitigate the cuts to RFOs and cap these at £1.8 million, a 0.5% reduction across the board. This means that the average cut to arts organisations is £2,000, with the range varying from £142,000 to £105. 

On Thursday 10 June 2010, the NCA and Arts & Business launched a new forum to represent the UK’s cultural sector in the debate on how best to reanimate private sector cultural funding in this period of economic difficulty.

The NCA was in attendance at Toynbee Hall as Munira Mirza unveiled the Mayoral Cultural Strategy for 2012 and beyond. Topics addressed during the presentation included education, environmental sustainability and the improvement of arts provision for London’s outer boroughs.

Following the rather gloomy news from the Treasury we can, perhaps take some small comfort from two recently announced consultations which may pave the way for new avenues of funding for the sector.

Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, the organisation set to take over the reins of Scotland’s cultural stewardship from the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, has announced that he wants to see Scotland in the top 10 ‘cultural nations’ within five years.

The NCA attended the new Secretary of State’s inaugural speech to the arts community, themed ‘Arts and Philanthropy’, at the Roundhouse on Wednesday, 19 May. Accompanied by his Minister for Culture, Ed Vaizey and Jesse Norman, the new Conservative MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire (whose father, Torquil, was the driving force behind the Roundhouse’s restoration), Jeremy Hunt outlined his central tenets on the arts.

On Thursday 20 May, the Conservative/Lib Dem Coalition Government published the full text of the agreement that forms their programme for Government.

Two weeks ago, the NCA launched its Cultural Workforce Survey in order to gather data from everyone who works in the cultural sector, including CEOs, Chairs, Board Members/Trustees, Employers, Employees, Freelancers, Interns and Volunteers. With this data, we hope to create a snapshot of what the cultural workforce looks like today and find out how people really feel about the work that they do.

This week the deadline passed for nominations for candidates in the General Election and so too did the deadline for them to withdraw their candidature. The list of people standing for election is now fixed and the NCA took this opportunity to get in touch with all Parliamentary candidates asking them to pledge their support for the arts, the arts manifesto and, crucially for supporting funding for the arts at current levels.

In their paper ‘A Private Sector Policy for the Arts’ Arts & Business (A&B) outlines recommendations on how to best adapt the mixed economy funding model for the arts to the current situation. 

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) held a seminar for arts groups on lobbying in the wonderful surroundings of the newly refurbished Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast on 21 April. 

The UK has a thriving, world-class cultural sector which is nurtured and supported by its human capital, the cultural workforce. Without this workforce, the sector would not be where it is today.

As promised, we have been working hard making useful additions to our Vote Arts 2010 webpage to help you with all the advocacy and campaigning efforts during these final weeks of the General Election.

We would like to bring your attention to Vote Arts 2010, the NCA’s online home for arts advocacy and campaigning. With Polling Day only weeks away on 6 May, we have compiled some vital resources to help you raise the profile of the arts and culture during the election campaign.