New competition for UK Town of Culture announced by government. The new scheme will highlight ‘creativity, history and identity’ and see towns across the country competing for the 2029 title. It will run alongside the UK City of Culture initiative. https://lnkd.in/e889jHvA

The most powerful cultural partnerships do more than celebrate achievement. They create impact. Frieze Week is always an energising moment in London, but this year, what stood out to me was how effectively organisations paired the prestige of the art market with meaningful social impact through partnership. At the Royal Academy of Arts, Kerryn Greenberg’s and Mark Godfrey’s New Curators initiative (now in its second year) hosted a private tour of “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories”, which Mark curated with New Curators alumnus Nikita Sena Quarshie. In the context of an institution renowned for its prestigious heritage and select audience, this event demonstrated how access can be redefined in meaningful ways. The programme’s mission of opening doors for aspiring curators from lower socio-economic backgrounds felt both authentic and transformative in that setting. Similarly, I was delighted to attend a special lunch hosted by White Cube Gallery and Omenaa Foundation, in collaboration with the Obama Foundation, celebrating the upcoming opening of the Obama Presidential Center. We heard from Jay Jopling, Amma Omenaa Mensah, and the brilliant Dr Louise Bernard, on leadership, culture and community. In a gallery synonymous with established and widely-collected artists, I was inspired by their shared vision for how grassroots cultural engagement can be deeply meaningful. It takes real craft to build partnerships that bridge these worlds and successfully combine influence with grassroots change. Those models can resonate far beyond the arts. As I head to Paris for Art Basel, I am curious to see how this balance plays out in a city marked by its fast-accelerating innovation and creative economies. #FriezeLondon #Art #Culture #ObamaFoundation #NewCurators #Partnerships #Acccess

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has welcomed new research by Screen Scotland. The research shows that Scotland’s screen sector is on track to reach £1 billion Gross Value Added to the Scottish economy by 2030. More ▶️ https://lnkd.in/eXvqN5Ah

Why does London continue to lead as the world’s top city brand? What makes a city brand inspirational and influential? For London, it’s the ability to balance centuries of history with constant reinvention. 🎙️ In the latest episode of Brand & New, Konrad Jagodzinski of Brand Finance and Tracy Halliwell MBE of London & Partners unpack the business, cultural, and innovation drivers that keep London #1. As INTA prepares for the 2026 Annual Meeting in London, discover what makes the city more than a backdrop. 🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://loom.ly/5RcuzWk #INTA2026 #RoadtoLondon

‘Landmark’ partnership aims to grow the arts. A new collaboration in Bishop Auckland is set to create opportunities for learning and the arts. Read more > https://bit.ly/4nUNDEj #NorthEast #CountyDurham

Towards the end of 2024, RFC Executive Director Maddy Morgan was engaged by Harlow Council to consult on their new cultural strategy. RFC carried out extensive public engagement, focus groups and research with the aim of representing the public voice in the new strategy. The result of this consultation is Harlow Councils manifesto: – “Rebuild: Reimagine – establishing Harlow as a cultural capital”. Harlow Council aims to make the cultural quarter a Cultural Capital in the East of England by 2028 and RFC are working with the Council ensure that when the new Cultural Quarter opens, everyone in Harlow feels that it is a place where they belong and have ownership over, and the community are empowered to make decisions about their cultural lives. For more information on the Cultural Strategy, read here 👉 https://shorturl.at/fufu4

We are proud to announce another strategic partnership with the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts (وِرث | wrth). This collaboration will build capabilities in arts and culture, create employment opportunities, and advance our shared commitment to social responsibility. Today's renewing and signing of the MoU at the Cultural Investment Conference marks an important step forward in preserving and promoting traditional arts while fostering innovation in the cultural sector. #CulturalInvestmentConference2025 #Wrth #Arts #CulturalInnovation

‘A curator is trying to expand on what “truth” means,’ says Ben Swaby Selig, Frieze x Deutsche Bank Curatorial Fellow at V&M East. ‘Also, the acknowledgement that the truth isn’t one truth: it’s many people’s voices.’ In the video, Frieze x Deutsche Bank Emerging Curators Fellows past and present talk about what being a curator means to them, and how that role might change in the future thanks to the programme. Launched in 2020, the fellowship supports Black and global majority heritage curators through 12-month, full-time, paid placements in leading UK arts organizations. In its five years, it has partnered with Chisenhale Gallery, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery, The Whitworth in Manchester and V&A East in London. They also got the chance to meet each other and attend Frieze London. ‘It was insane in a really fun way,’ says Amrit Sanghera, who was a Fellow at IKON in Birmingham. ‘I felt like a magpie: there were so many different works that I wanted to see.’ Hear the Fellows’ experiences and hit the link in bio to watch the full video. Taking part: Sophia Harari Amrit Sanghera Kinnari Saraiya Ben Swaby Selig #deutschebankart

🎭 What Was That About? A new kind of theatre-going experience for people who don’t really do theatre. As part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded "Emergent Value" research project, led by Bath Spa University's Dr Astrid Breel, Bristol Old Vic is piloting a bold new initiative: a theatre-going group designed specifically for those who feel theatre isn’t “for them.” The group is led by Sarah Warden, a Bristol-based producer and writer. The project is about exploring how cultural value emerges in unexpected ways - through conversation, curiosity, and shared experience. No prior knowledge, no pressure, just a chance to engage with performance in a way that feels open, inclusive, and genuinely experimental. If you’re interested in how arts organisations can rethink engagement, or how research can shape real-world practice, this is one to watch. 🔗 Read more about the project: https://lnkd.in/d4erJ5cb #EmergentValue #AHRC #TheatreResearch #CulturalValue #AudienceEngagement #BristolOldVic #AstridBreel #ArtsAndHumanities #CreativeResearch

"Yet focussing solely on arts and culture in terms of their economic multipliers risks obscuring their strategic and societal value. Reducing culture to a sector with GDP contribution reflects a market-value framing which, as O’Connor (2024) has argued, has depoliticised and commodified culture. This narrow frame has not only failed to secure sufficient investment or legitimacy for cultural policy but also sidelines the contributions of arts and culture as essential infrastructure – a space to create meaning, participation, and longterm vision" - Mariana Mazzucato, Public Value of Arts and Culture https://lnkd.in/ew-xdNNf