ARTS


Irish arts minister launches Culture Night programme


Irish arts minister Jimmy Deenihan has launched this year’s programme for Culture Night – a nationwide project designed to increase access to the arts. First held in 2006, Culture Night is based


on similar events across Europe called White Nights - where buildings are lit up for the evening of the event. Culture Night 2012 will see cultural


organisations across Ireland extend open- ing hours and remove entry charges, with 34 locations participating this year. Details: http://lei.sr?a=Q7X3p


Overhaul for Plymouth theatre


Detailed plans drawn up by Andrzej Blonski Architects for the £7m redevelopment of the Teatre Royal in Plymouth have been revealed. Te redevelopment will see


the re-cladding of the build- ing which will improve energy efficiency by up to 40 per cent; an extension to the front of the building allowing level access; and a new box office, shop and café area. Tere will also be an out-


door terrace area and an extended restaurant, and a new studio space within the theatre basement which will provide a city cen- tre location for work with young people and community groups. According to chief executive Adrian Vinken,


the project is now resting on the theatre’s abil- ity to find the funding for the works. He said: “Our aim is to modernise and make major


Te scheme looks to transform the South Bank


Councils to extend South Bank’s ‘cultural spine’


Plans to extend the “cultural spine” of London’s South Bank through to Battersea Power Station have been announced by Wandsworth and Lambeth Councils. Te authorities are working to appoint a


cultural placemaking consultancy to ensure the Nine Elms area capitalises on its poten- tial as a centre for arts and culture. It forms part of the multi-billion pound


plans to transform the former industrial Nine Elms area, which is one of the largest regeneration sites in central London. Details: http://lei.sr?a=O6Y7n


Turner Contemporary/ Aspex in Dickens venture


Margate’s Turner Contemporary and Aspex Gallery in Portsmouth have joined forces on Our Mutual Friends – an online project based on Charles Dickens’s novel. Te project presents four newly commis-


sioned online artworks and aims to connect the contemporary phenomenon of social media with the legacy of Dickens. Our Mutual Friends mobilises Facebook,


Twitter and other social networking sites to consider Dickens’s satire on society, celeb- rity and the superficiality of friendships. Details: http://lei.sr?a=s9m2Q


10 Te theatre is set to undergo a £12m redevelopment of its facilities


improvements to the Teatre Royal to ensure it remains Plymouth’s cultural centre of excel- lence for the next 50 years. “Our ability to realise this vision will depend


on whether we are able to raise the necessary scale of funding.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=I2z2H


Milestone for Newbridge Memorial Hall restoration


A topping out ceremony has been held to mark the latest milestone in the £5.6m restoration of Newbridge Memorial Hall. Seddon Construction commenced work


on the overhaul in January, with Alwyn Jones Architects behind the design the restoration


of the Grade II*-listed ‘Memo’ and the adjoin- ing Grade II-listed Institute. Both buildings were built with contributions


from local miners, with the Institute opening in 1908 and the Memo opening in 1924. Details: http://lei.sr?a=i8R8w


ACE announces £1.2m of touring funding


Arts Council England (ACE) has awarded more than £1.2m of grants to 11 organisations in the third round of its Strategic touring programme. The initiative aims to


increase arts access across the country, particularly in areas where engagement levels are currently low and where there is a reliance on touring. ACE is currently halfway


through the inaugural year of the Strategic touring fund, which has seen more than £5.7m distributed to arts organisations out of the total £15m allocated for the year. Among the successful applicants in the third


round is a nationwide tour of artistic work by dead and disabled artists led by DaDa, as well as a workshop fronted by Home Live Art.


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital ACE is currently halfway through the inaugural year of the touring fund An ACE spokesperson said: “It aims to


facilitate stronger relationships between arts organisations with local promoters, who are on the ‘supply’ and ‘demand’ side of touring.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=I3v3B


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2012


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