Grants & Funding News

Pegasus Theatre, an Arts Council England National portfolio organisation, has announced theatre director Jonathan Lloyd as its new Chief Executive and Artist Director.

Pegasus Theatre, an Arts Council England National portfolio organisation based in Oxford, has announced theatre director Jonathan Lloyd as its new Chief Executive and Artist Director.

Jonathan will be starting the new role in September 2013. He comes to Pegasus with over 18 years' experience as a professional theatre director. He replaces Euton Daley MBE, who has led the organisation since 1994.

Pegasus Theatre is a centre of excellence for its participatory performing arts work with young people. The popular East Oxford venue runs a year-long programme of visiting and resident professional artists and companies, new performances created with, by and for young people and performing arts courses for all ages.

Jonathan has been Artistic Director at Polka Theatre in London since 2007. The theatre is one of the few theatres in the UK dedicated to work for children and young people.

Prior to that he was Associate Director at Soho Theatre for nine years, where he set up and ran the company's education and outreach programme. He has directed plays at several respected theatres including Bush Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, Barbican Pit, Birmingham Rep and Gate Theatre.

Over the years Pegasus has seen several milestones including celebrating its 50th birthday in 2012 and a £7.4 million pound refurbishment in 2010, which was supported with a £3.35 million Arts Council Capital Grant for the arts award. More recently, Pegasus received £120,000 Arts Council England Catalyst award to increase the theatre's fundraising capacity.

Cate Canniffe, Interim South East Regional Director, Arts Council England says, 'I'd like to congratulate Jonathan Lloyd on his appointment and also congratulate Pegasus trustees for doing an excellent job recruiting for this dynamic role. We all look forward to working with Jonathan as he leads the organisation to carry on doing their outstanding work for children and young people and the wider arts community across Oxford and Oxfordshire.'

Jonathan Lloyd says, 'I'm thrilled to be joining Pegasus. It's a company with over 50 years' experience of pioneering work with, by and for young people, with strong roots in its community and a wonderful, refurbished theatre. This is an exciting opportunity to develop its programme of produced work and support emerging artists, whilst ensuring that Pegasus' core value, at the heart of what makes it so special - the direct participation of young people - is protected and thrives.'

Becky Hall, Chair, Pegasus Theatre Trust says, 'I am absolutely delighted that Jonathan is joining us - he brings with him a wealth of experience in producing world class theatre for children and young people and I am really excited that he will be taking the helm at Pegasus so that we can continue to provide top quality theatre for the people of Oxford and beyond.'

http://www.pegasustheatre.org.uk/

Envisioning the library of the future, a major research project undertaken over the past year, is published today. The research will help library staff, funders and users to better understand what libraries could and should look like in the future.

Envisioning the library of the future, a major research project undertaken over the past year, is published today. The research will help library staff, funders and users to better understand what libraries could and should look like in the future.

Valued services

The research has found that public libraries are trusted spaces, open to all, in which people continue to explore and share the joys of reading, information, knowledge and culture. People will continue to value the services that libraries provide in the future.

Challenges ahead

Envisioning the library of the future also indicates public libraries face many challenges in the coming years, including: advances in technology, which affect the ways in which people want to connect to information and culture; reduced public expenditure; the increasing involvement of citizens in the design and delivery of public services; and the needs of an ageing population.

Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said:

'It's good to hear how highly valued public libraries are by both users and non-users. And this research has also brought lots of great examples to our attention of how libraries are experimenting with new ways of working and constantly adapting to the needs of their communities.

'The vision of the library of the future is not a distant goal - it's very much an attainable one. Envisioning the library of the future has shown us that collaboration is key. If everyone with an interest in and passion for libraries works effectively together, we can help the sector to develop and respond to the challenges and opportunities that are presenting themselves. And we can all be ambitious about the future for libraries.'

Four priority development areas

The Arts Council has set out four priority areas for development in response to the research:

1     Place the library as the hub of the community

2     Make the most of digital technology and creative media

3     Ensure that libraries are resilient and sustainable

4     Deliver the right skills for those who work in libraries

We will be developing these with partners across the library, cultural, commercial, voluntary and academic sectors, in order to make real the ambitions set out in the research.

Recognising libraries' contribution to society

Janene Cox, President, Society of Chief Librarians (SCL), said:

'The publication of Envisioning the library of the future is very timely. Backed up by robust evidence, Envisioning re-asserts the value, role and purpose of the public library service.

'SCL are keen that the many ways that libraries contribute to literacy, health, well-being, growth and prosperity are recognised. We know that communities are passionate about their public libraries and we welcome the opportunity to help lead and deliver on the aspirations of Envisioning.'

Read more about Envisioning the library of the future and download the research documents.

How do you expand an audience beyond the limitations of your theatre space or encourage audiences to interact with visual arts and ultimately contribute towards curation of an exhibition?

The simple answer is digital technology.

How do you expand an audience beyond the limitations of your theatre space or encourage audiences to interact with visual arts and ultimately contribute towards curation of an exhibition?

The simple answer is digital technology.

The Digital R&D Fund for the Arts is a strategic partnership between the Arts Council, Nesta and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). It is unique in encouraging collaboration between the arts, digital technology providers and the research community in order to undertake experiments from which the wider arts and cultural sector can learn.

The £7 million fund is available over three years, starting 2012/13, to support research and development projects that use digital technology to enhance arts' audience reach and/or explore new business models. First stage expressions of interest must be submitted before the end of this year.

The fund focuses on the following key themes: user generated content and social media, digital distribution and exhibition, mobile location and games, data and archives, resources and education and learning. Please follow the link below for more information about the fund.

http://www.artsdigitalrnd.org.uk/content/about-digital-rd-fund

On 29 May 2013 renowned digital expert and former managing editor of BBC Mobile, Jason Da Ponte, will host a collaborative workshop in Cambridge specifically aimed at helping arts and cultural organisations harness digital technology within their projects.

This ‘ideas camp’ will create a opportunity for arts and cultural organisations not only to learn about the potential of digital technology, but also collaborate with their peers and industry experts to share concepts and ideas about how it could enhance their projects.

The workshops have already been a great success and we look forward to helping more arts and cultural organisations. The workshop will take place at Cambridge Central Library on Wednesday 29 May from 10am to 4pm. To register please use the link below.

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6693457311#