The Week in Light & Sound
- Details
Creative Funding - A package worth more than £150m to help the creative industries thrive has been unveiled by the government.
The creative industries sector deal includes a new fund, worth £20m, that towns and cities will be able to bid for a share of. The money will be used to invest in creative and cultural activities and has been set aside following the success of Hull’s turn as City of Culture in 2017, which saw almost £220m invested in tourism and culture, and nearly 800 jobs created.
The government has also pledged £33m towards “immersive technologies”, such as interactive art shows and “augmented reality experiences in tourism”.
In addition, £2mwill be provided to support a “sustainable talent pipeline”, with a package to ensure “there is a larger and more diverse intake of talent and a broader range of routes into the creative industries”. As part of this, a careers programme will be launched that aims to reach at least 2,000 schools and 600,000 pupils over two years.
Culture secretary Matt Hancock described Britain’s creative industries as “an economic and cultural powerhouse”. He added: “Our creative industries will help develop the talent of the future, ensure people are rightly rewarded for their creative content and give our firms the support they need to compete on the global stage. Millions of people around the world enjoy our world-class artistic and cultural output and we want the UK to stay a frontrunner in these vibrant sectors.”
Cost-Cutting - Staff at Rose Bruford College are being threatened with redundancy as part of cost-cutting measures, according to The Stage. The college was told by the government in May last year that it would lose its specialist institution funding of £800,000 a year, with the cut coming into effect in September next year.
An email sent to students by principal Clarie Middleton said: “Last Friday the college board of governors approved proposals for some restructuring within the academic workforce and how the curriculum is delivered…Sadly, this restructure may involve some redundancies amongst academic staff.” Details of any proposed restructuring have not been revealed, with the proposals to now undergo a two to three-week consultation period before a final decision is made.
Fire Damage - The Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow is to remain closed for at least two months following a fire, with management hailing it the venue’s “saddest day” since flooding in 1992. Staff at the 114-year-old venue are being denied access by the city council for an estimated two months until “dangerous” neighbouring buildings damaged in the blaze have been demolished. The fire broke out on March 22, devastating a nearby nightclub. More than 120 firefighters battled to stop the flames spreading to the theatre.
Glasgow City Council has now cordoned off the area to allow demolition of buildings that cannot be saved, including the nightclub.
(Jim Evans)
3 April 2018
