COVID-19

More than 1,300 arts and cultural organisations will receive a share of £257 million as part of a vital financial boost from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, as announced by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden on 12 October 2020.

Organisations that applied for grants under £1 million in the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund were informed of their awards on 12 October 2020 by Arts Council England which is distributing funding on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Wigmore Hall is inviting composers to apply for a "lockdown commission". Wigmore Hall will select 12 composers, who will each be awarded a paid commission to write a new work which reflects their lockdown experience.

For some, lockdown has been a time of anxiety and despair, of isolation and crisis, of discrimination and inequality. For others it has been a time of renewal and reflection, resolve and occasionally joy. By commissioning 12 new works, we want to reflect all of these and many other situations.

With 65 clocks (and several watches) in its collection, the end of BST is usually a frantic time for Waddesdon, A Rothschild House & Gardens in Buckinghamshire. However this year, as much of the House remains ‘put to bed’, only 9 need to be changed...

A small performing arts charity is having a big impact during the pandemic, reaching thousands of isolated people through song. Shapeshifter Productions' free online Smiling Sessions are helping to support peoples' wellbeing and mental health during this difficult time.

The Garfield Weston Foundation has launched a one-off Weston Culture Fund with applications accepted from 5 October until 9 November.

The £25 million Weston Culture Fund is designed to support mid- to large-scale cultural organisations in the UK to help them restart work, re-engage with audiences, adapt to changed circumstances and generate revenue. The fund is specifically for charitable organisations with a pre-COVID regular annual income of £500,000 or greater; smaller organisations will be able to apply for the Foundation's regular grants programme.

In October and November, a large collective of UK theatre companies will present a series of theatrical events called 'Signal Fires' at locations across the UK in celebration of the need to tell stories.

The companies will be working with hundreds of UK freelancers with each 'fire' will span different disciplines reflecting the breadth and diversity of the theatrical touring circuit. Each will be presented outdoors in front of socially distanced live audiences, or digitally for those who are shielding or currently unable to travel.

The Royal Court Theatre is reopening with a 'Living Newspaper' based on a historical US theatre project, with three weekly performances across six weeks in November live at the Royal Court and accessible online at home. These performances will be led by writers, and working with freelance artists – actors, designers, stage managers, technicians and choreographers.

BBC Arts is extending Culture In Quarantine once again during the autumn to work with parts of the UK arts scene that have been particularly hard hit by the global pandemic.

Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore says: "The BBC is the biggest creator of arts content in Britain and our contribution to the cultural economy in the UK is something that I’m passionate about.

British Council is seeking a British or UK-based curator to create and co-produce the next edition of its online-only platform for supporting creativity in digital art, PlayUK. With a focus on new work, proposals should come from individuals or collectives for a programme to showcase, exchange knowledge and share new practices in the process of game-making that connects UK and Western Balkan creatives.

Southbank Centre is running a three-month series of multi-arts events entitled Inside Out, all broadcast from Royal Festival Hall and other venues from 17 September to 30 December.

The autumn season of over 40 multi-arts events bringing music, literature, and comedy back to the Royal Festival Hall for the first time since closure on 17 March, including: