Surviving arts funding cuts by taking a responsible yet creative approach; across England in Nov/Dec 2010

• Fri 29th Oct in LONDON at Battersea Arts Centre
• Tues 9th Nov in BIRMINGHAM at mac
• Thurs 11th Nov in NEWCASTLE at Live Theatre
• Tues 16th Nov in LIVERPOOL at Tate
• Thurs 18th Nov in LEEDS at The Carriageworks
• Tues 23rd Nov in NORWICH at Dragon Hall
• Thurs 25th Nov in LONDON at Islington Assembly Halls (tbc)
• Tues 30th Nov in BRISTOL at Watershed
• Thurs 2nd Dec in DIDCOT at Cornerstone Arts Centre
• Tues 7th Dec in BRIGHTON at Brighton Dome

Who is it for?

This course is ideally suited to anyone in an arts or cultural organisation with some responsibility for fundraising. It will also be relevant for those in management or administrative roles who are aware that action and decisions need to be taken in the light of cuts and would benefit from objective guidance on diversifying income, strategic planning and decision making in difficult times.

What is the purpose of the day?

To enable cultural organisations of all sizes and disciplines across England to take a proactive approach to the public funding cuts that face them. To equip them to face the cuts ahead, plan for change as necessary, maximise income streams and diversify their funding portfolios.

What’s the key focus?

The day will be split into two parts. The morning will focus on the funding landscape in the region and what the cuts mean locally. It will address how to use what you’ve already got, plan for change and proactively take decisions to benefit your organisation. The afternoon session will look at what sorts of income streams are out there and help you decide which ones are right for you.

What subjects will be covered?

• An overview of the landscape, nationally and regionally, and what this means for you
• Understanding what you have got to offer and the benefits you bring Planning for change and ensuring financial stability
• Responsible decision making and planning in the light of cuts
• The range and potential of funding/income opportunities open to you, both new and existing
• Best use of staff, trustees, volunteers, friends, visitors and audiences
• Partnership working and backroom efficiencies
• Resourcing fundraising and action planning

What is the format?

Most people learn more effectively when they are doing more than just listening so, as with all hub training, the emphasis is on a workshop format where you are applying learning to your own organisation throughout the day. Input is welcome as you may have experiences that will benefit your peers and vice versa. Relevant case studies will be included where relevant and guest speakers with regional expertise and insight will attend each date.

What will you go away with?

• An action plan template to inform decision making and priorities
• An understanding of the changing landscape and its consequences
• An overview of funding and income sources and which are right for you
• An insight into potential partnership efficiencies
• The confidence to make decisions in difficult times

What is the cost?

£159 per head, 15% discount offered on additional places if you are attending with colleagues. Price includes VAT, lunch, refreshments and all course papers.

How to book?

A maximum of twenty places are available to ensure high quality learning so book early to avoid disappointment. To book a place use the booking form on this website – below.

For further information Please contact Wendy Smithers on 020 8398 4363 or email wendy@thehubuk.com.

About the hub

The hub is an arts development practice renowned for its dynamic and open approach to training, which is informed by its own work as producers, fundraisers and marketers of its arts programme. Training will be led by hub co-founder and Director Wendy Smithers, who has over 15 years experience of arts fundraising.

Here’s the link to the full article…http://tinyurl.com/3y63lm4

It’s a plea to arts organisations to not compromise their integrity in these hard times, which ends “Be brave like Joan Littlewood. Tell them to bugger off.”

A thought provoking piece in these hard times. What do folks think? Will we all be re-examining our ethical policies, whoever and whatever they might rule out at the moment?

Programmed by the hub and the PRS for Music Foundation, other speakers confirmed so far include Stuart Brown (BFI Southbank), Regis Cochefort (Paul Hamlyn Foundation), Laura Ducchesci (De La Warr Pavilion), Will Dutta (Chimera Productions), David Francis (Dartington), John Kieffer (Sound and Music), Penny King (Arts Council England) David Metcalfe (Forma), Jo Ross (Oxford Contemporary Music), Andi Studer (Cenatus), Alexandra Tomkinson (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) and Andy Wood (Como No).

The event, which draws on the hub and PRSF’s learning from its New Music Plus… leadership development programme, will explore the artistic, audience and organisational development opportunities created when independent producers collaborate with arts organisations to programme new music.

Places at the event are limited, so if you’d like to attend, email us here at the hub as soon as possible.

Our research provided information about MusicLeader’s members, their needs, ambitions and the challanges they believed they face and will face in the future. It also consulted them around how they thought that MusicLeader could most usefully provide support in the future, testing this with key figures in the music education sector, and providing recommendations for future programme development, communications and operations.

Informed by this research, MusicLeader has published a new on- and off-line brochure, describing the information, advice and guidance, training and networking opportunities and online resources it provides, and giving useful information about how all those involved in young people’s music making can access them. It looks great (!), and is packed with really useful information. If you’re involved in this kind of work, or know someone who is, then do check it out and get in touch with the MusicLeader team in your region; they’re a great bunch, they really know their stuff and can connect you to lots more free advice, training and guidance.

As part of this partnership, hub producer Matthew Linley will be working alongside members of the Arts Team on all aspects of the arts programme, including the forthcoming GeoQuest project and June’s Home festival, which showcases acoustic music from around the world as part of a programme that explores themes of diversity and sustainability. Other members of the hub team, including hub Director Julia Payne, will be involved too, working with Dartington to develop its programme ideas and supporting the development of new partnerships.

You can keep up with Dartington programme by following Dartington on twitter (#DartingtonHall), and by following Matthew (#matthewlinley).

Taking place at London’s City Hall on 10 June, the programme will include discussion panels, breakout sessions and presentations about New Music Plus… Panellists will include Stuart Brown (BFI Southbank), Laura Ducceschi (De La Warr Pavilion), Jude Kelly (South Bank Centre), John Kieffer (Sound and Music), Penny King (Arts Council England) and David Metcalfe (Forma). Watch this space for full programme details, or email us to make sure of your place at the event.

The event will draw from our learning from the pilot New Music Plus… producer development programme which ran in London during 2009. Click here to find out more about New Music Plus…

Our compere for the evening was the fantastic poet Ross Sutherland . Click here to see him escape our tech run through to give us a sneaky reading of one of his poems from his Things to do Before you Leave Town collection.

Also featuring in the line up were Last Mango in Paris (seen here in sound check), 30birdproductions.org, poet, musician and editor of the Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Indian Poets Jeet Thayil, actress and writer Pauline Melville and poet and performer Zurab Rtveliashvili.

Music in the bar for the evening was provided by the love and hate DJs Jason Phipps and Ruth Barnes. Their blog which includes a mix tape and play list is well worth checking out.

As part of the evening we asked members of the public and team members to read selections from well over 100 Mills and Boon books which we gave out to the audience at the end of the evening. You can catch Jason and Ruth’s readings in this short video here. . You can catch many more of the readings on our blip tv site here including readings by hub director Julia Payne &amp, and hub producers Jenny Harris and Matthew Linley. Contained within each Mills and Boon book was a book mark detailing the case of one of the writers being championed by International Pen, an ‘on the tube home’ reminder that even thought the Insulting Cabaret is a lot of fun the work of Pen continues to be very real and important.

You can also catch some photographs from the evening of our love / hate survey here

As ever a long evening – but a very successful one!

Insulting Cabaret was produced by the hub (www.thehubuk.com) for International Pen (www.internationalpen.org.uk) as part of Free the Word festival.

EFDSS aims to “nourish artistic innovation and excellence and develop the reach of English folk and new acoustic music in the UK and its profile internationally”, and we’ll be looking in particular at how it can support artists to build and connect with new live audiences. Get in touch if you’d like to find out more, or tell us what you think.

In the meantime, check out Folk Rising, a three-part concert series sampling the freshest, undiscovered and at times radical UK folk music, produced by EFDSS and the most excellent The Magpie’s Nest. The future sound of folk…today.