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Theme : arts
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Cultural and Artistic Practice and Democratic Participation
Last week, I spoke at the launch of Peckham Space, a project run by Camberwell College of Arts that looks at the role or participation in contemporary art.The speech covered a range of topics, in particular that of creative and artistitc production as a democratic space and its potential in relation to politics. You can read a text of the speech, here ... and a podcast of the event will follow soon.
from : samjones
27th June 2008
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Culture and learning urgent news
We experienced severe problems with our emails around the deadline for responses to the cultural learning paper on April 30th. If you sent a response then, you will probably have received a message saying that your email could not be delivered.
Responses that did not get through can still be sent to
cultural_learning@demos.co.uk; or to
rachel@cloreduffield.org.uk
With many apologies for this inconvenience.
from : johnholden
28th April 2008
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It's our public institutions that drive Britain's creative surge
An article by Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive of the British Library quoting recent Demos work proposing that culture might be repositioned as a driver, rather than a passenger, in the creative economy. He added that this relationship is most significant in relation to direct transfers of product, skills and ideas - with culture playing a central role in the networks and resources that underpin the creative economy.
from : samjones
12th February 2008
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Public called key to arts funding
There is a fundamental disconnect between politics and culture, which sometimes seems like a form of enmity, according to British think-tank guru John Holden, who will give a public lecture this afternoon at the Ontario College of Art & Design.
from : samjones
31st January 2008
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Reactions to Cultural Interventions in Russia
In the wake of recent events involving the British Council's offices at Yekaterinburg and St Petersburg, it's interesting to see commentators once again pointing to the importance of culture in international relations, the theme of our Cultural Diplomacy pamphlet last year. I thought it was worth posting a selection. In last week's Guardian, Simon Jenkins argued that 'culture and lifestyle are the diplomacy of the 21st Century' - very much an echo of his earlier article in response to our...
from : samjones
21st January 2008
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Ever so Hidden Dragon
Literature, the arts and cultural production are one of the most crucial means by which we learn about norms, behaviours, outlooks and attitudes. In Cultural Diplomacy, we argued that we need to start thinking about cultural literacy, and how we build not only greater awareness of the many cultures that we encounter, but also to take that beyond simply informing of facts to providing skills to accommodate and respond to them in every situation, everyday or institutional, in which...
from : samjones
17th January 2008
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Sir Brian McMaster's Excellent Adventure
The DCMS has just released the McMaster review of excellence under the rubric “from measurement to judgement”. Demos has been arguing for years, starting with our Valuing Culture conference in 2003, that it is vital to reintroduce discussions of quality and excellence into cultural policy. Many of our publications and speeches have emphasised the point (have a look at Capturing Cultural Value and Cultural Value and the Crisis of Legitimacy). So we very much welcome this move on the...
from : johnholden
10th January 2008
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Statement of Regret
Kwame Kwei-Armah's Statement of Regret, currently playing at the National Theatre, is set in a think tank called the Institute of Black Policy Research (ibpr). The play takes its title from the demands made of the British and other governments to issue a 'statement of regret' for their respective nation's involvement in the slave trade.Some of us went to see it last night and thought that - if people haven't already come across it - it was worth drawing to their attention.Briefly...
from : samjones
8th January 2008
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The Grim Reap of Arts Cuts
'Nearly 200 arts organisations in England have been told that their funding will end from next April in the biggest and most bloody cull since the Arts Council was set up more than 50 years ago'
from : samjones
17th December 2007
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Waiting for Panto...
The new extension to Coventry's Belgrade Theatre was opened in September of this year. It was designed by the architectural practise, Stanton Williams, the firm behind Compton Verney, the refurbishment of the RSA, the Tower Environs Scheme at Tower Hill and several other major projects of recent years.We have just published a review of the theatre in this week's Architectural Journal. It's registration only site I'm afraid. However, very briefly, we examined the theatre from...
from : samjones
17th December 2007
