My 2012 Zombies in the Library event in rural New South Wales has just been featured as an online ‘how-to’ feature at The Library as Incubator Project – http://www.libraryasincubatorproject.org/?p=8939 – a U.S. scheme highlighting the way that libraries and artists can work together.
Last month, British playwright Fin Kennedy wrote a compelling piece for the Oxford Culture Review on the value of arts collaborations with the higher education sector. He writes:
“When these sorts of collaborations work well they’re a brilliant two-way street; arts organisations get a share of Universities’ physical resources and manpower, Uni students get professional experience and links with industry, and inner city young people get friendly and accessible contact with Higher Education. And it all costs hardly anything – the ingredients are all there. It just takes a creatively-minded individual to bring them together. I’m a big advocate of artists taking that role. As freelancers we’re in a strong position to broker those relationships between organisations we all already have links with anyway.”
Following a meeting with Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, award-winning UK playwright Fin Kennedy is running a campaign to raise governmental awareness of the effects of arts funding cuts upon theatres. I spoke to him about the project and the importance of the arts in Britain.
To anyone who doesn’t know about your campaign – what are you trying to achieve, and who can get involved?
Last month I met Culture Minister Ed Vaizey at a Writers’ Guild event at Parliament. He claimed that the recent round of swingeing cuts to public investment in the arts were having no impact at all on the development of new plays in the UK. I knew from my own experience of seeing the theatre industry I work in contracting all around me that this wasn’t true, but there are surprisingly few facts and figures available. Vaizey said he would look over any evidence I could…
View original post 1,676 more words
matt finch / mechanical dolphin 