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The Latest Breaking News from Arts Council

In the name of anti-elitism, Arts Council England has declared war on opera and excellence

‘Good’ singers performing great music by dead people. Who’d listen to that?

The Guardian - UK

Mary Archer to lead review of Arts Council England use of funds

Review will assess ‘ambition and quality’ of ACE-funded projects after sustained political scrutiny of council

The Guardian - UK

Arts Council England seeks £40,000 from Speech Debelle and legal team after tribunal loss

Council pursues legal costs after judges ruled musician Debelle did not face racial discrimination while working for it

The Guardian - UK

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OPINION - Arts Council England have created a dangerous confusion: art cannot be separated from politics

Earlier this month, during the climax of Chicago rapper Noname’s headline gig in London, she paused, cut the accompaniment, and addressed her sold-out audience. “Can I hear you say free Palestine?” It was, of course, not the first time I’d been at a concert where the artist had made some…

Evening Standard

Monday briefing: Why is Arts Council England clamping down on political statements?

In today’s newsletter: Artists reacted with fury to the warning that ‘overtly political or activist’ statements could lead to a withdrawal of funding. But it is just the latest example of the paucity of support for the arts

The Guardian - UK

Arts Council England to update ‘activist statements’ guidance after backlash

Funding body says it believes in freedom of expression, after policy changes sparked fears of censorship of artists

The Guardian - UK

Arts Council England mired in row over ‘political statements’ warning

Robert Macfarlane, Feargal Sharkey and Matt Haig are among artists to react with fury to message about funding risks

The Guardian - UK

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ENO strike: staff say they are political ‘pawns’ and fear being forced out

Musicians say many feel they have no choice but to act over cuts and may have to leave industry altogether

The Guardian - UK

The arts are heading into a doom loop

Letters: Alan Davey thinks less money, less certainty in funding, and hostility to ideas leads to less risk taking and new work. Susan Jones sets out how Labour should take action

The Guardian - UK

It’s not just opera – all performing arts need better support for touring productions

Letters: Jodi Myers on the gaps left by the demise of the Arts Council Touring department. Plus Nicholas Reckert and Jane Harvey on modern opera

The Guardian - UK

Classical musicians are ‘clone-like’ these days, says Nigel Kennedy

Renowned violinist applauds the technical proficiency of young players although he finds new teaching methods a ‘brain and heart turn-off’

The Guardian - UK

ENO to receive extra £24m to allow more time to leave London, says Arts Council

Opera company will leave capital by March 2029 and develop artistic programme for new base

The Guardian - UK

Arts Council adjusts funding plans for English National Opera move out of London

The public body has extended the deadline for a new ENO main base outside London by three years.

The Independent UK

It’s time for theatres to stop ghosting the playwrights they have commissioned

Dramatists are increasingly being strung along and ignored. We must act now to save the UK’s great playwriting culture

The Guardian - UK

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Dublin Live

Dublin author calls for personal apology after Arts Council's €25,000 grant mistake

"I just had so much relief and joy and gratitude and I started telling people, I was celebrating - and then a half an hour later I got the email saying sorry, that was an error"

Dublin Live

Arts Council apologises after mistakenly awarding grants to 140 people

The Council has said they have now put in place "additional checks for the issue of decision letters to prevent a repeat of this error"

Bristol Post

City council spent more on Bristol Beacon than building homes or schools last year, accounts show

Bristol City Council has written off £93million so far on the concert hall refurbishment

Evening Standard

OPINION - It is so wrong to describe the organisation I chair as a bastion of Philistines

London is a global cultural powerhouse and it must stay that way. It is home to some of the world’s most renowned theatres, galleries, museums and music venues and it has been a crucible for art and culture throughout the ages. When I was director of Tate, I sought to…

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Evening Standard

OPINION - Arts Council philistines are driving the ENO off the cliff

Lord Sumption — former Supreme Court judge plus medieval historian — has the reputation of being the cleverest man in England. To this can be added that he’s an ornament to the London arts scene. I’m talking about his resignation from the board of the English National Opera. By quitting…

The Guardian - UK

National Trust working on policy on return of colonial loot, chair says

René Olivieri tells Hay festival the charity is in process of deciding what to do about stolen objects in its properties

The Guardian - UK

The Guardian view on excellence in the arts: it’s not about elites

Editorial: It is refreshing to hear new ideas, but dividing culture into the best and the rest won’t do anyone any good

The Guardian - UK

Changes to arts funding are always divisive – we were right to focus on access for all

We’ve faced criticism for investing in areas outside London, but people around England told us they wanted to experience culture close to home, says Arts Council England chair Nicholas Serota

Evening Standard

OPINION - Opera is back but the ENO is clearly on its knees

So this is what “a re-imagined artistic and business model” looks like at London’s second opera house, the ENO: a programme featuring the company’s best-loved hits and no Wagner.

The Guardian - UK

The arts in Britain are teetering on the brink. Here is my plan to save them

The Arts Council should focus on high-quality performances while a new body deals with community-based initiatives, says Nicholas Hytner, former artistic director at the National Theatre

The Guardian - UK

Simon Rattle: UK classical music is fighting for life after ‘swingeing’ funding cuts

The outgoing director of the London Symphony Orchestra says that cuts by Arts Council England and the BBC risk destroying the entire sector

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