News

The four arts councils of the UK, alongside the British Council, Fonds Soziokultur and Goethe-Institut London, have announced they will continue to fund Cultural Bridge, an artist exchange programme between the UK and Germany, through to 2027.

Cultural Bridge invests in partnerships between cultural organisations across the UK and Germany. Since 2021, the programme has supported 73 cultural organisations to work together through 35 partnerships, which have worked with nearly 600 artists across the two countries.

Previously supported partnerships have explored themes and artforms including prison theatre, youth-led and disability work, climate change, migrant activism, feminism, rural arts and environment-based art.

Mechthild Eickhoff, Managing Director at Fonds Soziokultur, called the funding programme a “role model for how funding can be delivered in a collaborative way both on the level of funding bodies and together with cultural practitioners”.

“The enthusiasm and knowledge of everyone involved is outstanding,” Eickhoff said. “[Cultural Bridge] is now on the next level of development thanks to every partner´s contribution, a growing network of smart practitioners and the new funding from the Arts Council England. More opportunities to learn, share and improve are ahead.”

Applications for the 2025-2026 edition of the programme will open in October.

The History of Science Museum in Oxford has unveiled proposals to refurbish its building.

The Grade I listed structure was completed in 1682 and opened to the public the following year, making it one of the oldest public museum buildings in the world.

The museum opened in its current form in 1924, meaning the proposals coincide with its centenary year.

Oxford University has launched a public consultation into the refurbishment. A spokesperson for the university told the BBC the key aim of the work will be to make the building fully accessible and inclusive.

The plans will be on display until 21 July, with visitors invited to share ideas and suggestions.

National Galleries of Scotland (NSG) has put out a statement online saying will continue its relationship with sponsor Baillie Gifford.

Acknowledging it was "a complex issue," the NSG statement said “we are confident that the funding we receive from Baillie Gifford meets our strong ethical standards”.

The statement continued: “As a cultural organisation the National Galleries of Scotland offers a space for artists to share experiences and perspectives with others, encouraging discussion and understanding of the world we live in.

“This is one of the main ways we can positively impact society, but it needs to be funded. We deliver a world-class programme of exhibitions, events, engagement and outreach which just wouldn’t be possible without support from partners like Baillie Gifford.”

Baillie Gifford, a Scottish investment management company, has been criticised for its links to the fossil fuel industry and to Israel's war in Gaza.

Recents protests againt Baillie Gifford by climate activists - Fossil Free Books - led to the abrupt cancellation of partnerships with multiple book festivals including Hay, Cheltenham Literature Festival and Edinburget International Book Festival. 

Last month Scotland's John Swinney accused climate activists of damaging Scotland’s cultural events by demanding organisations to reject sponsorship deals.

The Edinburgh Fringe has also said it would keep Baillie Gifford as a sponsor. 

Musician Ed Sheeran has been funding a local state school's music, art and drama education programmes for the last seven years after government cuts to the subjects left teachers with a meagre budget.

In an interview for Theo Von’s podcast This Past Weekend, the singer-songwriter explained how he came to finance creative subjects. “Basically, in 2017/ 2018, my old music teacher came to me, and he was like, ‘Look, the government that is currently in charge does not value art at all—arts, drama, music—and they cut all the funding for comprehensive high schools.

“I think they had to share between art, music and drama, like £700 per year for all three subjects. So, I started funding that at my local high school. And then you see a massive uptick in kids doing production, kids doing songwriting, kids doing this.”

Sheeran has used his own money to build a recording studio and to provide “loads of proper instruments that aren’t broken”. Seeing the impact encouraged him to expand his efforts: “I started doing that in the county that I’m from. And we’ve just now changed it to do it nationwide.

“Because I’m not an academic person and in the real world, I would be viewed as stupid, but I excelled at music, and therefore, people think that I’m good at something."

Speaking about the general election, he added: “I’m doing what I can to get funding for [the arts in state schools]. But I think getting the new government will be better at it. 

“We’re famous for music with The Beatles. We’re famous for painting. Damien Hurst. We’re famous for movies. You’ve got Danny Boyle coming out of here [and] Christopher Nolan. And the government is just putting importance on maths and banking, and we make arms, but no one is proud that we make arms, and no one is proud that our banking’s really good, but they are proud of our art.

“And so for a government to be like. ‘The art doesn’t matter,’ where do you think the art [is] going to come from? So the next part of my career is getting proper, proper funding and art, music, drama back into schools – and actually Ireland do a very good job of it.

"It worked so well for me, and I know it can work so well for other kids. I’m kind of proof that normal kids can just pick up guitars, work hard and do it.”

The transformation of a former IKEA in Coventry city centre into a “new cultural landmark” will start this August after construction firm ISG was named as the project’s developer.

The leasehold of the superstore, which closed in 2000, was bought by the council, which announced plans to remodel it into a cultural hub and arts venue in 2021. Construction is due to be completed by autumn 2025.

The project - The Cultural Gateway - will create artists’ studios, post-production filming facilities, galleries and a cafe, while the site’s former warehouse will become a temperature-controlled storage facility for artwork collections.

Councillor David Welsh said: "The start of the construction process is a milestone to be celebrated, and there will be even more to come as we see changes to the building that will soon become a cultural destination in our city."

Louise Daville, Director at ISG, added: “This is a bold and innovative vision to reimagine former retail space as a cultural hub for the city of Coventry.

"The Cultural Gateway brings together complementary, yet distinct, partners within a key central location, providing a richly diverse experience for visitors, students and academics."