Arts Council England

Sustainable Practice in Public Art

This post comes to you from Cultura21

Chrysalis Arts in collaboration with MIRIAD at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) present a seminar about how artists and commissioners can begin to address the ecological and sustainability issues associated with climate change through their professional practice. With: Inspirational speakers – PASA case studies – Group discussions

Seminar – April 15th 2011 – 10am to 4.30pm – Manchester Metropolitan University, Sandra Burslem Building SB 2.10

Information & programme: www.pasaguidelines.org

Bookings: chrysalis [at] artdepot [dot] org [dot] uk 01756 749222 – Directions:www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints

MMU staff and students – free ; Freelance practitioners £12 ; Organisations £30

Supported by MMU, MIRIAD, Chrysalis Arts Development, Arts Council England, Lottery Funded.

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)

– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)

– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)

– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

Owl project

Arts Council England and London 2012 announced that artists’ collective Owl Project, and north east based producer and musicianEd Carter have been selected as the north east winner of a £500,000 commission for Artists taking the lead, one of the major projects for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

FLOW is an environmentally sustainable floating water-wheel and interactive artspace on the River Tyne. A floating millhouse alongside the water-wheel will contain a range of sensors, combining traditional and new technologies to monitor key environmental details, including water temperature and speed, salinity, and pollution. FLOW is in effect a musical instrument, powered by the tidal river and manipulated by the audience.

Flow can be thought of as a ‘water organ’, in both the musical and biological sense: an instrument that processes water into useful energy, information and sound. The piece will generate its own power, and use sustainably-sourced materials throughout its construction. The project will highlight the importance of the waterways and their industry to the region.

Artists taking the lead, London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
Owl Project and Ed Carter’s ‘Flow’ was selected by an independent panel of artists and producers from the five projects shortlisted in August from a total of 83 regional entries.
Flow is an environmentally sustainable floating water-wheel and interactive artspace on the River Tyne.

Flow is one of 12 commissions that will be realised across the UK over the next three years, each inspired by their location and celebrating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. There is one commission for each of the nine English regions and the nations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Eco-bling: why the arts sector needs to lead on climate action

How should the artworld be responding to the issues of sustainability and the environment? Dialogue editor Lucy Gibson looks at why the arts should be leading the way on climate action, rather than looking to corporations and science for moral leadership. But in a sector made up of many individuals and small organisations, alongside enormous institutions, why and how can change really be affected?

Eco-bling: why the arts sector needs to lead on climate action is an interesting article from Lucy Gibson. Take a look at the source when you have a moment.

It should make the art world blush to hear a leading arts and environment activist stating that Walmart, followed by Coca-Cola, Unilever and Tescos, have done more than most in dealing with the impact of climate change. But that is exactly the message from Alison Tickell, Director of Julie’s Bicycle at the Arts Council England’s ‘A Low Carbon Future for the Arts?’ consultation meeting in February. ‘Why do we expect moral leadership to come from corporations and science?’ asks Tickell, ‘Surely the meaningful nature of the arts in society puts it in a position to take a lead on climate action?

Update on State of the Arts

A week ago the RSA and Arts Council England held the substantial State of the Artsconference, which we hope will become an annual event. The conference tweeters continue to sing with the compelling ideas and discussions that the event prompted. And now content from the London event is becoming available from the RSAs main website and there will be more online soon. Enjoy.

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RSA Arts & Ecology – Jan 14 | State of the Arts Conference

State of the Arts Conference
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Park Plaza Riverbank, SE1 7TL
Tickets: £115 (includes VAT)


The State of the Arts Conference, organised by the RSA and Arts Council England, brings together a wide range of creative voices to debate the value and purpose of the arts at a time of significant change.

We recognise that arts and cultural experiences are more diverse, disruptive and fast moving than ever before. The conference will explore with artists, entrepreneurs, cultural leaders and policy makers what kind of arts landscape we need and how we might get there.

Join us in examining the key role of the arts and arts policy in building a strong future for the nation.

Keynote presentations by:

Riz Ahmed, actor and performer
Ben Bradshaw MP, UK Arts Minister
Alan Davey, Arts Council 
Andy Field, Forest Fringe
Dame Liz Forgan, Arts Council
Jeremy Hunt MP, UK Shadow Arts Minister
Nicholas Hytner, National Theatre
Jude Kelly, Southbank Centre
John McGrath, National Theatre Wales
Lord David Puttnam
Matthew Taylor, RSA

For more information see the main State of the Arts Conference page at RSA Events.

Please visit our FAQ page if you have any queries on the conference.

via RSA Arts & Ecology – Jan 14 | State of the Arts Conference.

LIVE ART DEVELOPMENT AGENCY | Call for Proposals


platform00000009
is the seventh annual live art platform event organised by Platform North East to encourage the making, presentation and exchange of innovative live art and interdisciplinary practice within the north east region of England. The event aims to support emerging live art practice as well as to provide an opportunity for work that challenges contemporary categories of art and we are seeking to select 10–12 proposals that best represent these aims. Selected artists will receive support to develop and make their work and a small fee.


eligibility
Artists who live or work in the Arts Council England, North East region (County Durham, Northumberland, Tees Valley, Tyne and Wear) are invited to submit proposals of work for inclusion. These can be performance, time-based, sound, dance, intervention, durational, and interdisciplinary. Each work submitted must include a live element in its presentation. If you have any uncertainty about what type of work is eligible, please feel free to contact us.

this year’s event
This year the event will be taking place on Friday 11 December 2009 at the Star and Shadow Cinema, Stepney Bank, Newcastle upon Tyne (map location) and all publicly accessible spaces within the cinema’s premises are potentially available. If you would like to see the available spaces within the building, please contact us.

application procedure
The application form and further information are available at platformnortheast.org or you can email us with your details and we’ll send you a copy. Please contact us if you would like to discuss any particular requirements.

selection process
All proposals will be considered by members of the platform north east steering group which includes Lee Callaghan (amino), Paul Grimmer (artist), Michelle Hirschhorn (independent curator), Ilana Mitchell (artist) and Ben Ponton (amino).

for more information contact mail@platformnortheast.org

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: 18:00 FRIDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2009
NOTIFICATION TO ARTISTS OF SUCCESSFUL PROPOSALS: FRIDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2009
EVENT: FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2009

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What is Arts for COP15?

Here’s some information that is being sent out to explain the aims of Arts For COP15.

Please pass it around if you can.

You may not be involved in anything that’s directly relevant, but maybe someone on your networks is.

—————————————————————————-

Arts for COP15 is a web-based network of artists and arts professionals who are producing work in the run up to and during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 09.
It is a place to:

  • Publicise arts events that relate to COP15 both on the site, and through the networks of other artists and organisations
  • Avoid duplicating work where possible
  • Share knowledge and resources with other artists and arts professionals
  • Discuss how arts strategy around climate and social change can evolve
  • Discuss how effective we are in passing messages on to our audiences
  • Research into the range and success of these projects
  • Find COP15-related material to pass on to audiences
  • Use arts to increase the noise around COP15
  • Encourage artists and arts professionals who are producing work that is about the environment over the next few months to consider using the event as a way of discussing COP15 with their audiences

Please go to www.arts4cop15.org and create your own profile.

If you would like to find out more about Arts For COP15 please emailwilliam.shaw@rsa.org.uk. Arts For COP15 is an open network created by the RSA Arts & Ecology Centre. The RSA Arts & Ecology Centre is an RSA initiative in partnership with Arts Council England.

For further information about the RSA Arts & Ecology Centre go to:www.rsaartsandecology.org.uk.

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Collaboration in the face of chill winds

Anne Brodie @ National Glass CentreAnne Brodie @ National Glass Centre, Sunderland

This week has brought profound jolts with respect to political and economic predictions on climate change, the first from Rajendra Pachauri, leading the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He seriously doubts that the US will be able to make the pledge needed on carbon reduction. This is frightening given the latest revision on sea levels which has been given wide press coverage this week. Scientists think their rise will be nearly twice as much as they previously reckoned, which would be disastrous for an estimated 600 million people (the UK population was 60.5 million in 2006).

This is why increasing numbers of artist and arts organisations are focusing on the Arctic and the Antarctic for their subject matter.

The most recent exhibition relating to the Antarctic is at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland. You have until 29 March to visit it. Anne Brodie has created a chandelier using a huge block of ice from the Antarctic lit not by electricity but by bacteria. It’s creativity and collaboration that we need and Brodie’s work is an exemplar of both, supported as it is by the British Antarctic Survey, Arts Catalyst and Arts Council England as well of course by the National Glass Centre – together presumably with the advice and support of scientists and technicians.

Anthony Giddens wrote in The Guardian on Wednesday 11 March of the “collaboration essential to coping with climate change” (more on this in his new book The Politics of Climate Change which will be available in a week’s time). It’s collaboration – relationships – which makes me sure that the word “ecology” is the right one for our centre here and of which we need so much more. We have a lot to learn on the subject from artists.

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January 11: Greening the Arts Panel at APAP Conference, NYC

The Initiative just got word of a “Greening the Arts” panel relating at this year’s Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York City, being held at the New York Hilton at 1335 6th Avenue, this Sunday, January 11th, from 9:30 to 11:30.  The panel features five speakers from the UK, Canada, France, and Belgium with experience and expertise in greening the performing arts venues, and is moderated by Brian Allenby of Reverb. Information from the British Council’s website and the APAP website follows below:

Greening the Performing Arts: Here and Abroad

Featured Speaker:
Ben Todd, Executive Director, Arcola Theatre (London)

Facilitator:
Brian Allenby, Manager of Operations and Education, Reverb

Discussants:
John Hartley, Arts and Ecology Strategy Officer, Arts Council England; Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Artist; Neil Woodger, Acoustician, ARUP

In what ways does the presenting field benefit from engaging in the greening movement? Who are the leaders and what have they learned from integrating environmental initiatives in performing arts programming and presenting? This session features the work of individuals and organizations, both in the United States and United Kingdom that have demonstrated the effective integration of greening policies and outcomes in performing arts initiatives.

The British Council brings a distinguished group of international experts in the emerging field of arts & environment to New York as part of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters annual conference.        
With unique experience managing environmental reporting and performance, arts professionals from the UK, Canada and Europe can meet with you to explore the hows and whys of sustainability in the performing arts industry.

 EVENTS        

These free events are open only to registered attendees of the Arts Presenters membership conference in January 2009. See the conference website for full details on these and other sessions.
 Greening the Performing Arts: Here and Abroad
Sunday, January 11, 2009
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
An APAP Professional Development session - see details in MyPlanner on the conference website.        

In what ways does the presenting field benefit from engaging in the greening movement? Who are the leaders and what have they learned from integrating environmental initiatives in performing arts programming and presenting? This session features the work of individuals and organizations, in the United States, Canada and the UK, that have demonstrated the effective integration of greening policies and outcomes in performing arts initiatives.

 TREETOP SESSIONS

Is your venue, festival, consultancy, production house or service body keen to engage with the most important global issues of the day?

Thinking about environmental sustainability in your business operations and public programs can help you demonstrate your responsibility in a new way to the audiences, partners and cultural communities you serve.

Join us at the Arts Presenters membership conference in 2009 for a series of ‘green consultation’ sessions: intimate Q&As with international colleagues about how they approach environmental issues in their arts work. Feel free to bring specific questions or problems you’d like ideas on how to solve.  

Even if you’re at the very beginning of thinking about environmental challenges and how to tackle them, this is a great opportunity to learn about both immediate and long-term practical solutions.

Email us to sign up for one of the consultation slots below – please include your name, title, organization, contact email and telephone in your message. All consults are held at the British Council Booth 309 in the Rhinelander Gallery of the Hilton, unless otherwise indicated. See bottom of page for participant biographies:

CHRISTOPHER CRIMES
Director, Le Domaine d’O

Christopher Crimes was born in England and moved to France in 1974, becoming a French citizen in 1979. Initially trained as a language teacher, he originally worked for a national resources center for the French Education Service. In 1982 he became Administrative Director of La Maison de la Culture in Le Havre (now known as Le Volcan). In the following years Christopher served as a manager and director for several major theaters and arts venues in France including La Filatureand Le Quai, which he opened as Director in 2007.

As of January 2009 Christopher will be Director of Le Domaine d’O in Montpellier, a historical site devoted to cultural events, and will focus on projects around arts and the environment including the influences of sustainable development.

GUY GYPENS
Artistic Director, Kaaitheater

Guy Gypens served as financial director of the Belgian dance companyRosas for many years and was involved in the founding of P.A.R.T.S., the dance school of the influential European choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.  He now serves as co-artistic director of the Kaaitheater in Brussels.  

The Kaaitheater was established in 1977, originally as a biennial international festival. Since 1987 its work has extended to full seasons; the Kaaitheater presents theater, dance and concerts, with a special emphasis on innovative work and productions/co-productions with national and international artists.

JOHN HARTLEY
Arts and Ecology Strategy Officer, Arts Council England

John Hartley is Arts Council England’s Arts and Ecology Strategy Officer, supporting the development of practice and infrastructure in the face of changing contexts. John led on developing ACE’s self-assessment toolkit to help arts organizations implement effective energy management programs. Implementation of the program can reduce energy usage and carbon emissions, potentially reducing energy costs by up to 20% 

John also works on the Arts Council’s Arts and Ecology partnership with RSA, is on the GLA steering group for Greening London’s Theatres and the DCMS Climate Change Project.  Previously John has worked in the visual arts, architecture and interdisciplinary arts teams of the Arts Council’s National Office developing, among other things, ‘Art in Industry Placements’, through action research with industrial partners across the UK, India, the Americas and Asia. He is also a practicing artist, directs a collaborative experimental music group and has co-written a book published by Transworld.

NATHALIE HEBERT
Programming Agent – Circus Arts, la TOHU

Following a number of years’ experience in the circus arts – as an aerialist, choreographer and producer – Nathalie co-founded the Davaï Project, an agency specialising in circus and the production of circus-cabaret. After her retirement from the stage she worked with Cirque Éloize and the Cirque du Soleil in Montreal, developing a particular interest in outreach programmes and audience development. 

She joined la TOHU in 2007, enthusiastically taking on the challenge of programming circus arts and developing an audience for contemporary circus within an organisation which places a strong emphasis on the environment and the community.

A non-profit organization founded by En Piste (the Canada national association of circus arts), the National Circus School and Cirque du Soleil, la TOHU is a circus arts training, creation, production and performance center. La TOHU’s mission not only involves making arts and culture readily available to local audiences, but also informing and raising environmental concern among its visitors.  The organization is located in the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex, the largest urban landfill in North America, and actively participates in environmental activities to renew and revitalize the site. 

BEN TODD
Executive Director, Arcola Theatre

Ben Todd brings scientific expertise to his role as Executive Director of London’s Arcola Theatre. He completed his PhD on the Modelling of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Power Generation at Cambridge University Engineering Department. He has worked in R&D, technical and strategy consulting on both commercial and government projects. As well as managing Arcola Theatre, Ben works as a technology broker for theLow Carbon and Fuel Cell Knowledge Transfer Network run by the UK Technology Strategy Board.

Arcola Theatre aims to become the world’s first carbon neutral theatre venue and to create the first center for new energy technology in the arts. The theatre intends to install biomass heating, solar panels, fuel cells and state-of-the-art energy saving technologies throughout the building alongside a dedicated work space for arts and science professionals to collaborate.

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