The Space will launch in May and run until October this year. It will give arts and culture organisations the opportunity to experiment and engage with new and existing audiences in an innovative digital environment.
“The project is designed to build the digital skills and capability of the arts and cultural sector – currently only about four per cent of the hundreds of organisations funded by the Arts Council are creating and producing high quality digital content for a variety of platforms. The Space will be available across all four key digital media platforms; PCs, smartphones, tablets and internet connected TVs. The service will also be available as a red button, video on demand service via Freeview HD.
“The Arts Council is committing up to £3.5m to The Space from its recently created £20 million Digital innovation fund, with ‘in principle’ grants ranging from £15,000 to £185,000. The BBC is contributing to the partnership by developing the technological solutions and providing ongoing support through mentoring, production, training and skills development.”
The launch of The Space has been timed to coincide with the London 2012 Festival and the wider Cultural Olympiad. It is also the year of digital switchover.
From almost 750 ‘Expressions of interest’, 111 organisations were shortlisted to be part of The Space. These included ACE-funded organisations, national museums and other cultural organisations. Of the fifty-three winning organisations, eight represent the Visual Arts. These are:
– Vanilla Galleries, East Midlands: The News
– Serpentine Gallery, London: Park Nights
– Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery, London: TateShots 2012
– The Photographers’ Gallery, London: The World in London
– Whitechapel Gallery, London: Rachel Whiteread: Behind the Scenes on the Whitechapel Gallery’s major new art work
– Blast Theory, South East: I’d Hide You
– Multistory, West Midlands: Black Country Stories
– Fabric, Yorkshire: Time and Place – Bradford’s Asian Communities
Successful applicants in the Combined Arts category include: Leeds Canvas for the Quay Brothers’ OverWorlds & UnderWorlds project; and The Artangel Trust for A Room For London.
