Government Stuff
DCMS has unveiled a new programme of research to demonstrate the benefit of culture and heritage to society and feed into policymaking.
One in six households are struggling to afford broadband during lockdown, according to a survey by Citizens Advice, and they’re calling on the government to help.
Applications are open for Round 2 of the Culture Recovery Fund for independent cinemas, administered via the BFI.
The government is reviewing the law on access to land for digital infrastructure.
DCMS Secretary Oliver Dowden has spoken at RESET 2021 (wish I could) about the importance of our advertising sector.
Wales tech sector made £71m in 2020 and had more job openings than healthcare and finance, according to Tech Nation stats.
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Culture Stuff
Arts & Culture
New ONS statistics have shown a 44% drop in Black and minority ethnic female arts workers. Worrying.
HOME and Manchester City Council have announced a major new hardship fund for arts freelancers in Manchester.
Arts Council England and the Heritage Fund have awarded £6m to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Culture Festival to interweave the arts in its plans.
New platform ArtULTRA has launched to bring together info for UK artists on grants, residencies, studio spaces and more.
A portrait by Botticelli has sold for £67m at auction, breaking a new record for the Italian renaissance painter.
Art UK has brought together all of its learning resources for schools under one (digital) roof. Here’s director Andrew Ellis with the full lowdown.
The Louvre has been examining da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi and reckons somebody else did a large part. Who could it have been? ;) No idea ;) Literally none ;)
The Serpentine and WeTransfer are teaming up for an important project on the climate crisis.
BLOOMIN’ ‘ECK! The Chelsea Flower Show is being moved to the autumn for the first time in its history.
Design
The winners of the Art of Building Photographer of the Year 2020 have been unveiled, including a candid snap of our national clock, Large Ben, getting some work done.
2 weeks in a row I get to do this, lucky you. Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na BATMOBILE (its also road legal) up for auction for £30,000.
Theatre & Dance
The Vertical Theatre, a ‘future-proof’ pop-up live venue that allows for social distancing, is to launch this year before being rolled out globally.
Classical Music & Opera
ENO Breathe has been rolled out nationally, prescribing a programme of singing and breathing for people recovering from COVID.
Netflix series Bridgerton is thought to be behind the rise in demand for classical covers of contemporary pop songs. Ariana Verdi. Cardi B-ussy (Debussy). Let’s leave it there.
Tourism & Heritage
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is investing £1.9m to support the development of three important heritage sites in the Scottish Highlands.
Museums
A set of hand-drawn, Elizabethan-era maps depicting the Spanish Armada have been saved for the nation after the National Museum of the Royal Navy raised £600k to buy them.
An entire 800-year-old stained glass window from Canterbury Cathedral is to be removed for the first time for a British Museum exhibition. They’ll probably just cardboard it up.
Books, Press & Libraries
A free anthology of books by black British authors is to be provided by BookTrust to every primary school in England.
Bhanu Kapil has won the most valuable award in British poetry, the TS Eliot Prize, for her collection How to Wash a Heart.
Monique Roffey has won the Costa book of the year award for her ‘utterly original’ The Mermaid of Black Conch.
You can write for Rolling Stone magazine if you like. How much are they paying? No, no, no, YOU pay! $2,000! Well, sign me up!
Exhibitions and Events
Sir Anthony Gormley has announced what he hopes will be the UK’s biggest ever art exhibition and he wants YOU to take part. This is it. My time. To shine.
Natural History Museum has a new online event called Bye Bye Plastic, exploring the impact of plastic pollution on our planet.
The BFI with a list of ways to engage with film from home this winter. I watch them through the window at Currys down the road.
15 Heroines, a new collection of 15-minute monologues, is now live through Digital Theatre+.
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Edward Fletcher, former managing director of Thunderbird Releasing, is to head up Rebellion’s new film division. Here’s Screen Daily with the low down of what’s in store.
Put this one straight in your diary. The hot, hot, HOTLY anticipated Evil Genius 2: World Domination is set for release on… *faint drum roll*… 30th March 2021.
Rebellion is looking for programmers to work on new projects, both announced… and unannounced *side eye emoji*
TIGA on what immigration changes mean for the UK video games industry and a survey on the future for UK-EU trade in services.
They (TIGA) have also rather helpfully put together a free webinar with MMP on Video Games Tax Relief on 2nd Feb at midday.
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Creative Industries & Tech Stuff
Gaming pioneer Ian Livingstone chats to Schools Week about a new school he’s opening in Bournemouth aiming to create the ‘creative technologists’ of the future.
Film & TV
Netflix is boosting its support for diversity programs in the UK – and has picked Belfast Harbour Studios to shoot a major new film, supporting about 350 jobs.
Sky has announced a 50% increase in original films and TV shows this year in a bid to compete with the streaming giants.
Wunderman Thompson has the 100 trends that will shape 2021, with animation set to almost double in value to $473.7m by 2026.
Jane Fonda is set to be honoured with a lifetime achievement award at next month’s Golden Globes.
A third time to die for the new James Bond film: 8th October.
Miquita Oliver talks to gal-dem about the brilliantly chaotic Popworld 20 years after it kicked off. Lemar from Afar changed the game.
Fashion
Boohoo has bought Debenhams for £55m… but is letting go of its 118 high street stores and 12,000-strong workforce.
And Asos is the frontrunner to buy Arcadia Group, including Topshop. Here’s The Times on why it looks a perfect fit.
Telfar’s vegan-leather, gender-neutral shopping tote won the Fashion Design of 2020 award at London's Design Museum. “Tote’s amazeballs” a judge told me.
Music & Radio
PRS Foundation has launched a new Power Up initiative to tackle anti-Black racism in music.
F1 owner Liberty Media has launched a new music acquisitions company with a warchest of $575m.
The BRIT School has announced a new partnership with the Royal Bank of Canada to support new talent.
PRS has come under a bit of heat for issuing a licence fee on small live-streamed events, often arranged to raise money for struggling artists.
The Flaming Lips are getting COVID creative with their gigs. How?? (That’s a Flaming Lips song, FYI) ‘Space bubbles’.
Gaming
The latest Xbox launch has been the most successful in Microsoft’s history, boosting their gaming revenue by 51%.
The European Commission has issued fines totalling €7.8m to six publishers, including Valve, for restricting cross-border sales of games.
Tech & Telecoms
O2, Three and Vodafone are teaming up to build 222 (come on and do the conga. 222. It’s conga night for sure) mobile masts to boost rural 4G coverage.
Facebook News has launched in the UK following a deal with the major publishers.
According to Tech Nation’s new Scale Ratio, Belfast, Dundee and Exeter are the most likely cities in the UK to become the next wave of tech hubs.
Google is committing $150m to promote vaccine education and equitable access - and has announced a plan to tackle privacy issues in online advertising.
Apple sales have hit another record: more than $111bn in the last quarter of 2020, up 21% on the year prior.
Tesla shares have also rocketed 700% over the past year. Not interested. Only care about GameStop.
On THAT note. Here’s the Beeb with a breakdown of GameStop stocks and what Reddit has to do with their wild week. And now app Robinhood has banned trades. Bit iffy.
Facebook's Oversight Board has made its first rulings about content, deciding four out of five of the removed posts referred to it have to be restored.
JP Morgan is to launch a digital bank in the UK.
Will Shu, founder of Deliveroo in 2013, could be set for a payout of more than $500m when the company completes its IPO this year.
Twitter has announced a pilot which let users flag ‘false’ content.
Students at the University of Exeter have created 3D-printed coral structures that could help rebuild the world’s damaged reefs.
A cyclist was rescued from a flooded river after calling 999 from his Apple watch as he clung to a tree. Phew.
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Appointments & Movers
Elizabeth Denham is staying on as the UK’s Information Commissioner for a further three months; Dan Wootton, executive editor of The Sun, is leaving for GB News and Mail Online; Marty Baron, executive director of The Washington Post, is to retire; Clint Dyer has been appointed deputy artistic director of the National Theatre; Warner Music Group has appointed Dallas Martin as the new president of Asylum Records; Live Music Now has appointed Janet Fischer as chief exec
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Ed Stuff
Joined a new APPG exploring issues related to performing arts training; talked media reform on a panel with The Media Society
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...And Finally
FUN FACT: The man third in the line of presidential succession has been in five Batman movies. Na-na-na-na-n… oh, I can’t be bothered.
Not a bad shout actually. This chap in Montreal has had enough of WFH so he’s now WFDBRRTCOW (Working From Desk But Rolling Round The City On Wheels).
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