With the help of the UK Government, creators of Wallace & Gromit, Aardman, are joining with creative leaders in virtual reality and video game fields to craft "next generation entertainment experiences" as part of the Audience of the Future Challenge programme.
Ed Vaizey, former Arts Minister, is chairing a new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) which looks to tackle the lack of diversity in the arts and creative sectors.
The Creative Diversity APPG has been formed in the wake of recent reports showing a severe lack of diversity in creative workforces across the UK. This includes just 5% identifying as disabled compared to 20% of the UK workforce and 12% of core workers identified as BME compared with 16% of the working age population.
RISE is the name for the platform, organisation and year of activity celebrating inspirational women in Liverpool and abroad.
British Council has revealed its lineup of 30 artists for the Edinburgh Showcase, a programme of performing arts that takes place every two years at the Edinburgh International and Fringe Festivals,
Opening 19–24 August 2019, British Council's Edinburgh Showcase gives theatre and dance companies their biggest chance to show work to international promoters, potentially opening up export opportunities.
This year's showcases is filled with women writers and performers, and promises a range of issues including gender, disability, identity and race. The full lineup is:
Department for International Trade has led on the launch of the UK Garden and Pavilion at Beijing Expo 2019, the largest horticultural exhibition in the world. It includes five months of cultural, creative and other activities developed with partners British Council, VisitBritain and more.
Olympia London has announced its collaboration with Chickenshed and Stagecoach Performing Arts, with the ambition of transforming Olympia into a "world-leading cultural district" that "genuinely engages and embraces the creative community in Hammersmith and London as a whole".
There will be a £1bn regeneration of Olympia London which will see new arts and music venues and creative office space constructed on the 14-acre site. Chickenshed and Stagecoach work with thousands of young people every year all of whom will have access to Olympia's future spaces.
British Council is offering a two-week residency in Japan to five chosen UK-based artists as part of the UK in Japan 2019-20 season. The residency will take place over two weeks from 5-18 October 2019.
Download application details here. Deadline for applications is 7 May at 4pm. Follow all instructions to be considered for the residency. Summary of the residency is included below.
Applicants should:
Department for International Trade has launched the year-long Great British Design campaign, with an event in Hong Kong ahead of December's Business of Design Week (BODW). The UK is the partner country for 2019's edition of Business of Design Week taking place 2–7 December 2019.
The UK will bring the biggest ever delegation of internationally-renowned British designers to Hong Kong, including Thomas Heatherwick, Sir John Sorrell (co-founder of London Design Week) and Anya Hindmarsh.
A partnership between British Council Scotland and Creative Scotland has led to £138,000 of funding going to 16 organisations after an open call for projects linked to European partners.
Successful bids for the funding receive between £6–10,000, and each project includes at least one European organisation, while helping to promote Scottish work around the world.
Winning organisations are:
Arts Council England and the Centre for Towns are collaborating on a project to find out more about cultural infrastructure and engagement in towns across England.
Aiming to publish findings in autumn 2019, the organisations looks to fill the gaps of other studies which have traditionally skipped over cultural engagement in towns.
