The sixth edition of the Shubbak Festival: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture runs from 20^th June – 17^th July, 2021. Born out of the rupture across Arab countries ten years ago, Shubbak 2021 returns with an ambitious programme that connects audiences and communities with the best of contemporary Arab visual arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature and debate.

After five years of promoting UK arts and culture, encouraging international cultural export and exchange, and providing an information hub for the entire UK culture sector, the Culture Diary will close on 31 March 2021.

All Government programmes are kept under review. Following a recent evaluation of the Culture Diary, it has been agreed that the website will continue to support the planning and delivery of the Coventry 2021 City of Culture programme until 31 March 2022, but will otherwise cease to be updated after 31 March 2021.

A new artist film by visual artist Clara Casian about one of the most powerful earthquake and tsunami ever recorded, with music by composer Robin Richards, will be released on March 11 to mark the 10^th anniversary of the Great East Japan disaster.

With Valentine's day just gone, we're taking a look at some of the many love stories that feature in our art collections.

Six museums and heritage sites have been selected to work in partnership with artists to commission a new work of art inspired by each venue.

Didcot Railway Centre; the National Paralympic Heritage Centre in Aylesbury; Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology in Reading; Furzey Gardens in the New Forest National Park; and ‘a space’ arts and The Brickworks Museum in Southampton will all take part in the Meeting Point programme.

Coventry City of Culture Trust has announced the first events that will form part of the 365-day programme for UK City of Culture 2021, beginning in May 2021. 

Rooted in the rich history of the city and celebrating the stories of the people who have made it their home, the programme also addresses the issues that communities are faced with today while imagining what the future holds.

Peer to Peer: UK/HK is a digital programme and platform encouraging meaningful cultural exchange and forging enduring partnerships between the UK and Hong Kong’s visual arts sectors. The programme is supported by funding from the GREAT Britain Campaign via the Culture Diary and Arts Council England.

The programme launches with an online festival of international exchange and collaboration taking place 11-14 November 2020. Register to join the online sessions here.

Around 30 arts organisations in the West Midlands have signed the 'More Than a Moment' pledge, vowing to make "radical and permanent change" for and with Black creatives and employees.

The More Than a Moment pledge, published on 29 October 2020 and crafted by a working group of young Black artists and creatives, features a set of calls to action intended to "designed to dismantle the systems that keep Black artists and creatives from achieving their potential in the arts and cultural industries".

An additional £151 million has been given to arts and culture organisations across England, adding to the £257 million earlier in October, coming from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund. Read a full list of recipients here.

Communities of shielding care home residents across the UK will unite in isolation on Remembrance Sunday (8th November), to pay tribute to Dame Vera Lynn by taking part in a mass sing-a-long hosted by registered charity Shapeshifter Productions.

The event will be hosted virtually and has been organised in partnership with Decca Records.