Hold on. Diversity and Managing in the Arts, a collaborative research report from Inc Arts and The Bridge Group, shows who gets ahead and how in UK arts management. It exposes inequalities in the arts and how they have been exacerbated during Covid-19. Recommendations include the need to embed ethnic and socio-economic diversity as a condition of funding and government support and for organisations to lead by example by using language that is progressive, specific yet accessible, appropriate, and inclusive.
Common Ground - Rewilding the Garden is a new report from Voluntary Arts based on an ambitious programme of work investigating how creative activity is supported in areas of socio-economic deprivation across the UK and Republic of Ireland. The report shows this activity to be thriving in many areas that are regularly overlooked by the cultural sector, but this grassroots activity is in need of significant support and recognition.
The UK jewellery industry needs to improve visibility and representation of black people according to the first national survey of black jewellers, which found that 51% experience racism. These experiences were most likely to take place at selling events or exhibitions, in education and training, or in interactions with suppliers. Lack of funds, business experience, and role models were the most common barriers to developing a practice or business for black jewellers.
The Creative Industries Federation (CC is a member) has written to the Chancellor calling for the introduction of a Freelance Commissioner and Future Workforce Commission to eradicate red tape. Many self-employed and freelance workers have been unable to claim from either the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, with some ineligible even for benefits.
A Museum Freelance survey has found that only 47% of self-employed museum workers feel they are valued and recognised for their work.
GPs and other health and social care professionals in Merton and Southwark are to refer people to six arts organisations across the boroughs as part of a new social prescribing pilot, which aims to help improve people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Arts Council England and the National Academy for Social Prescribing have launched the Thriving Communities Fund, a £1.4m fund to support community activities that promote wellbeing.
A new National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange is to facilitate Knowledge Exchange between higher education and the arts and cultural sector across the country, with a focus on evidencing and showcasing the impacts of such activities.
University for the Creative Arts (UCA) Craft Study Centre has published a report revealing the positive impact of crafts on Farnham and the Surrey Hills, and how it could be a post-Covid model for other small communities in the UK. The report recommends that more support is given to local makers and craft centres, estimating that the value of craft to Farnham and the surrounding area is already £50+ million. Calls to local agencies and stakeholders, such as Farnham Town Council and Surrey Council, to recognise craft’s latent economic potential and invest in it to deliver much-needed growth and employment throughout the 2020s.
Two new pieces of research look beyond growth to alternative ways to measure the value of the creative industries and cultural policy ‘Growth of What? New Narratives for the CCIs, beyond GDP' and ‘Did we do it? New approaches for evaluating cultural policies and actions’ . Both were presented at seminars hosted by King’s College, London.