Councillors chastised for coercing company into censorship
An artist, her commissioners and the council say the pressure to remove a nuclear-themed artwork was misguided. So why h…
Posts
Bringing art to the people of Liverpool
Public art plays a vital role in engaging people. And giving cultural venues a voice in cities is crucial to creating a more equit…
The public art of placemaking
Public art can connect us to the places, landscapes and buildings where we live. Lindsey Hebden explains what that means in practi…
Artists and researchers join forces for public art planning
Sam Wilkinson and Rosie Murdoch explain how a speed dating approach to partnerships led to artworks and outcomes beyond their expe…
‘Woke minority’ fights back against contested heritage policy
As Oliver Dowden establishes a working group on "retain and explain", arts workers afraid of exclusion, censorship and f…
Ethnic representation in children’s literature reaches new, low high
Ambitions to increase the number of creators of colour have been raised amid improvements in the incidence and portrayal of Black,…
Arm’s-length policy at risk in ‘contested heritage’ debate
The Government's edicts over controversial statues and other heritage assets are complicating the job of cultural or…
Commission to improve diversity of London’s statues and streets
The newly-launched inquiry into diversity in the capital's public realm will be guided by Black cultural groups and Arts Counc…
Beyond sport, monarchy and wars
First World War centenary commemorations proved that large-scale cultural projects can effectively mark nationally significant eve…
The feelgood factor: making flagship programmes work
Artistic excellence and effective governance are key to the success of major public cultural programmes, writes Nigel Hinds.
Shining a light on local culture
The LightNight festival initially aimed to showcase Liverpool's artists to outsiders – but it is now more concerned with…
Southbank Creative Director warns of ‘cultural apartheid’ risk
Madani Younis said "institutions that have historically not given a shit are saying 'we’re going to start caring…
ACE denies statistics are misleading as regulator demands more clarity
The UK Statistics Authority has endorsed AP’s challenge to Arts Council England over the reporting of audience numbers in it…
A seat at the table
Challenging the notion of a ‘hard-to-reach community’ in Luton, Imrana Mahmood explores the need to create pathways th…
Lessons in leadership from an interim Chief Executive
What is it like to lead a large and complex organisation? Having just spent some time as an interim chief executive, Matthew Brown…
‘Town of culture’ competition to engage Greater Manchester
The pledge to set up the programme is part of the region’s first ever cultural strategy, which will run for five years until…
Art is ‘the elixir’ to teach humane lessons, MPs hear
The DCMS committee heard there had been no press coverage challenging the expenditure of £50m on arts activities to commemor…
Artists must ‘tell the truth’ about the climate emergency
Royal Court Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe and National Theatre Wales are among the organisations calling for a creative respo…
Making community arts work
What makes socially engaged and participatory arts projects successful? Elizabeth Lynch and Miriam Nelken talked to artists, commi…
Public art by popular demand
A recent survey found that four in five Londoners would contribute at least £2 towards public art in their local area. Marin…
A breath of fresh air
The port town of Felixstowe proved an ideal setting for exploring less cerebral ways of engaging with contemporary art, writes Nat…
35 million people reached by WW1 centenary arts programme
14-18 NOW’s five-year programme included projects in 220 locations across the UK, and was mostly accessible to the public fo…
Waltham Forest embraces urban nature for culture year
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the borough’s diversity was ‘an asset to be unlocked’.
Arts Council sparks controversy with ‘practical guide’ to cultural democracy
Calls for unity have been made following comments accusing Arts Council England of appropriating a radical movement and likening t…
