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ARTS & culTuRe


Andrew Dixon to leave Creative Scotland


Creative Scotland is seeking a new chief executive, following the decision of Andrew Dixon to step down at the end of January 2013. Te Scotland arts’ funding body has a budget of more than £75m of lottery and government money annually, and was established through a merger of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. Dixon has had a role in the formation of


Te Year of Creative Scotland, Te Guide to Scotland’s Festivals and a new capital pro- gramme, the Creative Place Awards. However, there has been controversy sur-


rounding him. In October 2012, 100 artists launched an attack on the management and running of the organisation and author, Ian Rankin, was among those to criticise the organisation’s decision making. In a statement Dixon said: “I am proud


of what has been achieved since the merger. We have delivered new resources for the arts and established strong partnerships with local authorities and a number of other agencies.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=k1R4b


Oldham secures cultural funding


A landmark project to unite Oldham town centre’s cul- tural “jewels”, including plans for a new Heritage Centre and Coliseum Teatre, have been granted development funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Te HLF grant of £615,000 will support a later second-stage bid for a full £3.9m grant. The council-led plans


involve a new Oldham Heritage Centre being housed in the former Oldham Library and an Art Gallery on Union Street. A separate application to the Arts Council England Fund is seeking a grant towards a new build Oldham Coliseum Teatre, including a state of the art auditorium. Oldham Council leader, Jim McMahon,


Plans include a new Oldham Heritage Centre and a separate art gallery


offer and provide yet another significant cata- lyst for regeneration of our town centre.” Head of NLF North West Sara Hilton said:


said that heritage will be the foundation stone to rebuild Oldham: “Te wider regen- eration scheme we’re planning here is inspiring, because it will bring all our cultural jewels together in one integrated facility. Tat will sig- nificantly enhance our leisure, arts and heritage


“Oldham has a fascinating industrial past and these innovative plans for a heritage resource centre will help bring that story to a whole new audience.” Separate to this, there are also plans for the


Old Town Hall to become a cinema, with res- taurants. Details: http://lei.sr?a=b6H1C


Lightbox gallery given Big Society Award Te scheme forms part of the City of Culture bid


£30m revamp for Aberdeen gallery as part CoC plans


Aberdeen City Council is making a bid to be the City of Culture (CoC) 2017, with the announcement of plans for a £30m rede- velopment of the Aberdeen Art Gallery, as well as the creation of a £3m Museums Collections Centre. A £10m grant is being sought from the


Heritage Lottery Fund, a further £10m will be sought from other grant funding, as well as corporate, philanthropic and personal support. Te rest will come from the coun- cil’s non-housing capital programme. Aberdeen City Council’s chief execu-


tive, Valerie Watts, said the redevelopment would be positive for the city. “Te investment will increase access to


the city’s Art and Museums Collections by a third, as well as making it possible to wel- come larger incoming exhibitions,” she said. Details: http://lei.sr?a=U1o0A


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Te Lightbox, a museum and gallery set up and run by a group of volunteers, has been given the Prime Minister’s Big Society Award. Located in Woking, Surrey,


the attraction is staffed by more than 150 volunteers and runs an education and outreach service focused on history and the arts which sees community groups and schools work with profes- sional artists in the centre’s purpose-built Education Studio.The local commu- nity raised more than £7m to develop Te Lightbox cultural centre through charitable events ranging from golf days and sponsored walks to auctions. Announcing the award, Prime Minister


Te Lightbox gallery opened in 2007 and is run by a team of volunteers


David Cameron said: “I recently met volun- teers from Te Lightbox and saw first-hand the dedication and passion they have shown to make their museum and gallery a reality. “Te Lightbox shows what the Big Society is


in so many ways; from volunteers giving their time and expertise, to winning the support of


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


the whole community for their plan, to gener- ating millions of pounds in donations to make it work. Even now more than 150 volunteers are putting in their time to provide this ser- vice to others in the community.” Designed by Marks Barfield Architects the


museum and art gallery is the end result of a 15-year campaign by a group of locals. In 2008, Te Lightbox was awarded the Art Fund Prize. Details: http://lei.sr?a=Z1h7A


Twitter: @leisureopps © Cybertrek 2013


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