Reminder : ACE Place Partnership Fund – invitation to attend a Walsall roundtable
Walsall Cultural Education Partnership would like to invite potential partners to a roundtable to explore this funding further and consider an expression of interest with a proposal for how we might deliver a major transformational arts and cultural programme in Walsall. The meeting will take place at Walsall New Art Gallery on Wednesday 16th March at 10am. If you and/or a colleague would like to attend, please register via the Eventbrite link below:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wasall-cep-place-partnership-fund-potential-partners-meeting- tickets-272202333507

Wondrous Stories
17th March, 7pm
18th – 20th March, 6.30pm and 8.30pm Centenary Square, Birmingham
Free
The cast of “Critical Mass”, young people aged 16 – 30 years including those recruited from Walsall via the Black Country Dance Hub workshops, will be performing as part of Wondrous Stories, a spectacular outdoor event staged to open the BIRMINGHAM 2022 FESTIVAL. Featuring
Motionhouse’s internationally renowned professional dance-circus company, audiences can expect large-scale immersive action and plenty of thrills as stories, a giant book and characters tumble out of the night sky. Inspired by stories of Birmingham, past, present and future, Wondrous Stories is a show for everyone, made by a local and international creative team. This is the first in a series of performances leading up to the opening of the Commonwealth Games.

Access All Arts Week – for Arts Organisations
Sky Arts is pleased to announce Access All Arts week, a nationwide arts week for all primary schools in UK & Ireland taking place 6th – 10th June 2022, celebrating the arts and highlighting their importance in supporting the health and wellbeing of young people.
There are many opportunities available for art organisations, including a ‘pod’ in the Partner area of the Access All Arts website with image, logo and a link to your website, potential to feature in the e- newsletters as part of a ‘partner spotlight feature’ and much more.
If you are interested in becoming a partner, or would like to find out more information, please email us including a few lines of information about your organisation, an image and a link to your website.

Funding for Artists to Develop their Artistic Practice (England)
Arts Council England has announced that its Developing your Creative Practice programme is open
for applications. Grants of up to £10,000 are available to support the development of independent
creative practitioners working in dance, theatre, music, visual arts, literature, combined arts or
museums practice. The aim is to offer practitioners the time and space to work on ambitious and
innovative research and development opportunities to make a step-change in their practice.
The closing date for applications will be 12pm on the 22nd March 2022.

The Culture Data & Research Network
The Culture Data & Research Network (CDRN) is a network of researchers and data practitioners
working within public-facing arts and cultural institutions and heritage organisations across the UK.
CDRN operates independently of any research or data agency, database provider or funding body
and is operated by a voluntary steering group who share a passion for data.
The network supports those who work with all kinds of data, which in turn supports the arts sector.
CDRN aims to strengthen data and research practice and skills within the sector by providing
members with a forum to exchange experiences, share best practice, debate current issues and form
new collaborative partnerships. Find out more and become a member here.

Creative and Cultural Leadership Programme: Excellence through Participation and Inclusion
Arts Connect is pleased to announce its Creative and Cultural Leadership Programme – excellence
through participation and inclusion for arts and culture professionals from Black, Asian, African,
Caribbean heritage and those from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
Arts Connect is committed to reflect the diversity of communities in the West Midlands. The
leadership programme will equip participants to exercise their leadership with others, to work with
their peers and to build networks and connections with other participants.
The ambition of Arts Connect, is that participants will feel seen, heard and valued as talented
leaders, as they meet in a space with like-minded others, adding their leadership voice to the Arts
Connect leadership community: its alumni of over 130 arts and culture professionals in the West
Midlands. Find more details about the course here.

Excellence & Quality in Participatory Arts: Call for Provocations
On 17th March Collective Encounters will be hosting an ‘Open Space’ style event exploring notions of
‘excellence’ and ‘quality’ in participatory theatre. Three different 5 minute provocations on
‘excellence’ and ‘quality’ in participatory theatre are sort, exploring examples of co-created
participatory arts quality principles; the balance of excellence in product and process; audience
expectations of quality in the 21st Century; resourcing of participatory theatre productions; whose
quality/excellence is it anyway? A £50 stipend will be paid to presenters. Contact Marianne for more
information and to discuss your idea.

Global CleanTech Challenge Opens to Applications (UK & Worldwide)
A global competition for innovative clean technology business ideas has opened for a new round of
applications. The 2022 Global CleanTech Challenge, jointly hosted by London Business School and
University College London, is open to applications from university students currently undertaking a
postgraduate degree in a business, science or engineering discipline in the UK and around the world.
Teams will compete for a cash prize of over £7,500 by submitting ideas for a new viable green startup. The first stage of applications closes on the 30th March 2022.

A Day of Stories at The New Art Gallery Walsall
Saturday 5th March
FREE
Following World Book Day on 3rd March, learn how to illustrate your own story with Egle Gelaziute,
artist and author of ‘…And my brother is called Tomas, a story about autism by Luke’. Egle based the
book on her autistic son and his brother. Egle will give each participant a signed copy of her
wonderful book.
Enjoy the story about The Selfish Giant in the Landscape Room of the Gallery with The Play House.
Entertaining for all ages!
Storybook illustration workshop for ages 5-11, all abilities, 10.30am -11.30am – FULLY BOOKED
Storybook illustration workshop for ages 12+, all abilities, 11.45 – 15.45 – LIMITED SPACES REMAIN
Storybook illustration workshop for children with autism spectrum disorders and additional needs,
1-2pm. LIMITED SPACES REMAIN.
Interactive storytelling performance with theatre company The Play House – for all ages and abilities,
1pm. LIMITED SPACES REMAIN.
Autism- friendly, interactive storytelling performance – 2.15pm. LIMITED SPACES REMAIN.
For more information and to book onto this event, email alex.jolly@walsall.gov.uk or call 07845
878727

Arts Council England’s 2023-2026 Investment Programme Now Open
The 2023-26 Investment Programme consists of two separate funding programmes, both intended
to support different aspects of Arts Council England’s ten-year strategy (2020-2030), Let’s Create:
• National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) 2023-26 Programme.
• Investment Principles Support Organisations (IPSO) 2023-26 Programme.
NPO Activities must align with at least one of the outcomes associated with Let’s Create:
• Creative People – encouraging widespread participation in creative activities.
• Cultural Communities – promoting social cohesion and improved physical and mental
wellbeing across local communities.
• A Creative and Cultural Country – embracing innovation, collaboration and diversity to build
a robust and resilient cultural sector.
IPSO Activities must embed at least one of the four Investment Principles and support other
organisations to do the same:
• Ambition and quality – linking creative work to wider aims and ambitions and working with
creative partners to refine output.
• Dynamism – developing a business model that is flexible and able to adapt to changing
environments.
• Environmental Responsibility – embedding environmental thinking into every aspect of
work, from operations to creation and programming.
• Inclusivity and Relevance – identifying who is under-represented and which communities are
under-served and taking action to address this.
Each programme will open to arts organisations, museums, local authorities and libraries, with
successful applicants receiving a minimum of £50,000 a year for three years.
Applications are welcome from partnerships and consortiums.
The programme of work supported by the investment must primarily benefit artists, creative
practitioners, participants or audiences across England.
Funded activities should run from 1st April 2023 until 31st March 2026.
The deadline to apply for either programme is 26 April 2022 (12pm). Click to view further
information about this news alert

Funding to Support Small Capital Improvements in Not-for-Profit Theatres Across UK
Grants of up to £5,000 are available for theatres run by charities and not-for-profit organisations to
support small capital projects that will make a big impact on a theatre’s resilience, sustainability, or
accessibility, including work to make theatres COVID-secure and ready to reopen. The Theatres
Trust’s Small Grants programme will support essential works to not-for-profit theatres across the UK
that will enable them to be viable and thrive in the future.
Funding will support small capital works, including:
• Improvements and repairs to the building fabric.
• The installation of key plant and machinery.
• Works or which make theatre buildings digital-ready.
• The purchase of key equipment (not software) to improve digital infrastructure.
• Projects that help to make theatres COVID-secure for reopening.
Priority will be given to improvements to buildings that protect theatre use and remove barriers to
participation and attendance.
The next deadline for applications is 3rd May 2022 (midday). Click to view further information about
this news alert

Greenhall Community Fund Re-opens for Applications (UK)
The next round of funding from the Greenhall Community Fund has re-opened for applications. The
objectives of the fund is to improve the lives of the sick, the elderly, the disabled and the
disadvantaged particularly in the UK. Overseas project are also supported provided that the
applicant charity is registered in the UK. The grants of £1,000 to £10,000 are only available to UK
registered charities. Preference will be given to applications for specific projects rather than to
supplement funds used for general purposes. In this funding round grants will be awarded to
charities with an annual income of £250,000 or less. The funding round will close when 200
applications have been received.

Funding for Sports Kit & Equipment (UK)
Grants of up to £750 are available to local children’s sports clubs or organisations in the UK working
to purchase new kits. Applications will be considered for any kind of team sport, from football to
netball, hockey to volleyball. The funding is being made available through the Poundland
Foundation’s Kit for Kids scheme. Last year the Foundation awarded 250 grants to provide
equipment and kit to help children get active again after the Coronavirus pandemic. Money for the
Foundation comes from in-store fundraising, carrier bag donations and micro-donations through
chip and pin machines. The application window will close at 23:59 on 13th March 2022.

Financial Support for Social Enterprises Impacted by Covid-19 (England)
Grants of up to £100,000 are available to support social enterprises across England impacted by the
Covid-19 pandemic. The funding can be used to help social enterprises rebuild and grow their
income from trading and help them to continue to support people facing increased social and
economic challenges as a result of the crisis. Priority will be given to applications from groups led by
people from deprived areas, Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, disabled people,
LGBTQIA+ communities, and leaders with lived experience. The closing date for applications is the
24th March 2022.

More than 100 Locations to be Prioritised for New Arts Funding (England)
In an effort to level up access to the arts, the UK Government is making an additional £75 million in
funding available to culturally underserved communities outside of London. The funding will be
distributed by Arts Council England to support new and established arts and cultural organisations to
expand their operations beyond the capital to areas that historically have had low investment in arts
and culture. This could mean, for example, new centres, permanent spaces and extended tours,
performances and exhibitions. 109 ‘Levelling Up for Culture Places’ have been identified to receive
additional investment.

Nature Grants for Schools (England, Scotland & Wales)
Schools in England, Scotland and Wales will soon be able to apply for up to £500 worth of free
outdoor equipment and up to half a day of professional outdoor training. Schools can choose from
hundreds of different products to deliver outdoor learning and play. The funding is being made
available through the charity Learning through Landscapes’ Local School Nature Grant Programme
and is funded by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery. Funding will also be open to Early Year’s
settings which have their own building and more than five staff. There will be four funding rounds
throughout the year which will support a total of 900 schools. Applications for round one will be
accepted between the 22nd March and the 29th April 2022.

Emergency Funding for Storm-Damaged Community Sports Facilities (England)
Grants of up to £15,000 are available to sports clubs, education establishments and others for the
repair of storm-damaged community sports facilities such as clubhouses, courts and pitches, etc. The
funding which is being made available through Sports England Storm Relief Fund could be used to
repair storm-damaged building and roofs, grass and artificial pitches, decontaminate flooded
clubhouses, replace damaged electrical systems or clear blocked drains. The funding could also pay
for other items needed such as the hire of skips, pressure hoses or tarpaulins to secure exposed
buildings. Any funding for projects that include football will need to be part of a multi-sport offering.
Organisations should receive a decision within ten working days.