Art | LocalGov


Bradford signs 25-year contract for new venue 11/04/2025 Bradford Council has signed a 25-year contract for the delivery of the city's newest entertainment venue, the 3,800-seat Bradford Live.
Council celebrates Tolkien with new sculpture trail 25/03/2025 East Riding of Yorkshire Council has commissioned a new sculpture trail in honour of JRR Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Council approves £2.5m Rose sculptures 06/03/2025 Barnsley Council has approved £2.5m of funding for three Yorkshire Rose sculptures in the town centre.
Council chiefs back call for funding creatives 04/03/2025 Local government leaders have backed a call to provide more financial support to smaller creative industries which can ‘drive local growth.’
£270m boost for museums and galleries branded ‘sticking plaster’ 21/02/2025 The announcement of £270m for museums and galleries is welcome but still just a ‘sticking plaster’ to cover a lack of funding, council chiefs say.
Hull bids for UNESCO status 03/02/2025 Hull has set its sights on earning recognition as a UNESCO Creative City of Music.
Council to honour ‘Birmingham legends’ Black Sabbath and Benjamin Zephaniah 22/01/2025 Birmingham City Council is set to honour the members of heavy metal band Black Sabbath and posthumously award a medal to poet and campaigner Benjamin Zephaniah.
Bradford kicks off year as UK City of Culture 13/01/2025 Bradford saw thousands of visitors descend on the city for the launch of its year as UK City of Culture.
Art stolen from £1m sculpture trail 02/12/2024 Artwork from a public sculpture installation outside Wakefield Council’s headquarters has been stolen.
Call for new cultural powers for mayors 05/11/2024 Mayors in England should be handed significant new powers and responsibilities over the creative, cultural and heritage life of their regions, according to a new report.
Northern leaders form new partnership 05/09/2024 A partnership has been launched between mayors and council leaders representing non-mayoral areas in the North of England.
Councils awarded £399,000 culture funding 09/08/2024 A place-based partnership involving Surrey County Council and Spelthorne Borough Council has secured £399,000 for a new culture hub.
Missing Henry VIII portrait spotted in county hall 26/07/2024 Art historians believe a missing portrait of Henry VIII is owned by Warwickshire County Council after it was spotted in a photo on social media.
Corrie star helps save local theatre 10/07/2024 A national campaign led by Coronation star Julie Hesmondhalgh and her husband Ian Kershaw has saved the Oldham Coliseum theatre.
Council has no plan to display £6.7m art 03/07/2024 North Yorkshire Council has no current plan to display the majority of its £6.7m art collection after talks about using the former council chamber fell through.
Wakefield seeks acclaim as UK sculpture capital 18/06/2024 Wakefield Council has devised a plan to boost tourism and gain recognition as the UK capital of sculpture.
Tower Hamlets mayor criticises removal of pro-Palestine murals 29/04/2024 The decision by council officials in Tower Hamlets to remove murals depicting Palestinian journalists has been criticised by the borough’s mayor.
Council contractor apologises after painting over Zephaniah mural 08/04/2024 A council contractor has apologized after painting over a mural of the late poet and Peaky Blinders star Benjamin Zephaniah in central Birmingham.
Culture spend down by £500m 01/02/2024 Analysis has uncovered an almost £500m reduction in councils’ spending on libraries, culture, heritage and tourism since the onset of austerity.
Dorset awards half a million to local culture 12/01/2024 Cultural services across Dorset are set to benefit from £486,000 over the next three years.
Culture year to launch with raft of events 02/01/2024 A year-long programme of cultural activities in Wakefield is set to kick off with a day of 24 free events.
£450k to kick-start library transformation 30/11/2023 A Manchester library has been awarded £453,964 to transform its Grade II Listed building and preserve its historic collections.
Northern councils join creative coalition 15/11/2023 Local leaders across the north of England have joined leading creative industry figures to commit to developing a ‘northern creative corridor’ (NCC).
£240m venue launches with Danny Boyle extravaganza 19/10/2023 Four years late and significantly over budget, a new cultural arena opened in Manchester yesterday with an immersive performance directed by Danny Boyle.
New festival to light up Scarborough 05/10/2023 The Scarborough Lights festival will be launched next month as part of a three-year plan to boost arts, attract tourists and improve job opportunities on the North Yorkshire coast.
Where’s Wally? Stolen statue spotted and returned to council 29/09/2023 A piece of art stolen in a heist 16 years ago has been returned to Ealing Council.
New ‘Brit School for the north’ gets go-ahead 21/08/2023 The Government has approved plans for a new Brit School in Bradford, based on the renowned creative college in south London.
Hull’s city-wide mission to document public art 17/08/2023 Hull City Council is calling on residents and visitors to photograph ‘hidden or neglected masterpieces’ as part of an audit of the city’s public art.
Dartfort BC unveils Rolling Stones statues 10/08/2023 Visitors to Dartford will now be greeted by a bronze statues celebrating the borough’s most famous rock legends, Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
Bradford displays painting ‘undoubtedly’ by Raphael in world first 26/07/2023 A painting has gone on display in Bradford after more than 40 years of debate culminated in the AI-assisted discovery that it was the work of Raphael.
Over 70 cultural venues set for £60m investment 20/03/2023 More than 70 libraries, museums and arts centres are to be given a £60m boost, culture secretary Lucy Frazer has announced.
Thanet Council dismantles Banksy’s ‘Valentine’s Day’ mural 15/02/2023 An artwork by Banksy in Margate has been dismantled by the local council just hours after the artist claimed it as his.
Local arts funding faces £2.4bn gap 08/12/2022 A multi-year funding settlement is essential for helping local authorities support the arts, council chiefs say as report reveals a £2.4bn culture funding gap.
How art can rejuvenate the High Street by guiding footfall 07/07/2022 Chloe Brown outlines how East Staffordshire Borough Council is using art and cultural activities to bring more visitors to its town centres.
Over 100 places to receive targeted arts funding 24/02/2022 Over 100 places that have been previously overlooked or neglected will be prioritised for arts funding.
Council spending on the arts has halved since 2010 04/02/2022 Local authority expenditure on cultural services has fallen by 50% across England since 2009-2010, according to new research.
Council chiefs welcome plan to support creative arts 17/09/2021 Local authorities are in a ‘unique position’ to support the creative arts and culture sector in their local areas, council chiefs say.
Council installs security to protect suspected Banksy 20/08/2021 A district council has installed extra security around some graffiti that is thought to be a Banksy.
Government should provide £500m arts resilience fund, says study 08/09/2020 The Government should devolve power over arts funding to councils and make a resilience fund available to support art and culture in local areas, report says.
Protecting art in a crisis 27/07/2020 Tiffany Cloynes and Clare Hardy outline how local authorities can play an important part in enabling arts and culture to flourish in their areas.
Art charity announces £2m to support museums and galleries 17/06/2020 Museums and art galleries are to receive a much needed funding boost to help them weather the impact of Covid-19.
Arts council announces £160m of ‘emergency funding’ 25/03/2020 Council chiefs have welcomed the announcement of a multi-million-pound injection of funding to support the arts sector during the coronavirus pandemic.
Winners announced for Hearts For The Arts Awards 2020 14/02/2020 A Windrush festival and a theatre company helping those affected by addiction are among the winners of this year's Hearts for the Arts awards.
TPA hits out at council art collections 04/12/2019 The Tax Payers’ Alliance has also hit out at councils across the UK for owning art collections worth nearly £1.9bn and only displaying less than a third of the pieces.
Whitehall announces £250m of culture spending 14/10/2019 The Government has announced £250m of funding for cultural projects, libraries, museums and the creative industries after a decade of cuts.
Ed Sheeran calls for public funding of 'aspiring artists' 29/05/2019 Chart-topping singer songwriter Ed Sheeran has joined industry leaders to warn that home-grown artistic talent could disappear without public funding.
Five areas to share £20m cultural development fund 18/01/2019 The five areas to receive £20m of funding to invest in culture have been unveiled by the Government.
Manchester to double its contribution to arts venue 06/11/2018 Manchester City Council is set to more than double its contribution to delivering a new arts venue after the cost of project rose by nearly £20m.
£5m scheme to help young people access the arts launched 02/10/2018 The Government has announced the establishment of five Youth Performance Partnerships to give young people greater access to the performing arts.
New guide encourages cooperation between arts and health sector 04/10/2017 A new guide aims to encourage people in the arts and health services to work together to prevent illness and improve wellbeing.
Online hub created for councils to share innovative ways to invest in culture 17/08/2017 Financially-squeezed councils can now access a specialised online hub designed to help them share innovative ways to invest in culture.
Arts and culture funding to be shifted away from the capital 05/10/2016 Funding for arts and culture outside of London will be increased by 4% by 2022, Arts Council England has announced.
Councils cutting arts and culture budgets by nearly a fifth, finds report 13/04/2016 Investment in arts and culture by local authorities has fallen by £236m since 2010, a new report has revealed today.