Hub Associate Matthew Linley recently attended RE:SYSTEMS seminar on mobile technologies as the guest of Howard Monk of the local . The invite came about after Howard and Hub Director Julia Payne were chewing the digital cud as part of work the hub is doing on the market development of Gigzine (thanks Howard!). The key […]Read More

For one weekend each year the Digbeth arches in Birmingham vibrate with strange, wonderful sounds as the Custard Factory becomes the focal point for one of the UK’s most distinctive and respected music festivals…Supersonic Festival. A dynamic and constantly challenging experimental multi disciplinary arts festival, Supersonic identifies the otherwise indescribable connections between contemporary music, art, […]Read More

In these straitened times, everyone suddenly wants to collaborate. For independent music producers though, collaboration has long been a way of life, and a way of making great work. In this blog, recently published by Guardian Culture Professionals, hub director Julia Payne explores how collaborations with these independents can benefit established arts organisations. In music, […]Read More

For the last few months, it’s all been about happiness within the hub team, as we worked hard to programme this year’s INTERROGATE! festival at Dartington, which took place earlier this month. I’m not sure that ‘festival’ is the right noun for INTERROGATE!, including as it does a punch packing programme of performances, panel discussions, […]Read More

“NMP… was blue sky thinking made real.” (NMP… host organisation) In 2009, the hub joined forces with the PRS for Music Foundation to initiate New Music Plus…, a development programme which aimed to strengthen leadership skills and cross art-form learning amongst organisations and independent producers keen to develop their approach to programming and building new […]Read More

In last week’s budget, Chancellor George Osborne announced changes to the amounts of tax relief individuals will be able to claim that are almost certain to hit big gift donations to the arts sector, as well as the wider charitable sector. In his budget statement the Chancellor said, “From next year, anyone seeking to claim […]Read More

Response to the Skillset DCMS Creative Industries Council report and how we hope to work with Creative & Cultural SkillsRead More

Here at hub towers, it’s all about happiness right now. That’s because we’ve just started work on programming this year’s Interrogate! festival at Dartington, which will take place 12-14 October. This year, the focus of this unique little festival – which has one foot in Dartington’s arts programme and the other in its social justice […]Read More

Last night, the shadow culture secretary, Ivan Lewis MP, announced the launch of the Labour Party’s new Creative Industries Network, established it seems to link arts organisations with businesses. Members will include arts organisations, trade unions and businesses, and the network will be tasked with determining what arts organisations need in order to develop important […]Read More

the hub is excited to be working with the National Campaign for the Arts this summer. Over the next three months we’ll be working with the NCA, which campaigns and avocates for the arts sector across the UK, to help the organisation chart a new strategic course. At a time of almost unparalleled change in […]Read More