£500K fund to Stimulate Digital Innovation in the Arts

Good to see that the Arts are able to get funding to join in with the explosion of Digital change and reach more people. Too often the Arts are sidelined due to either a lack of funding or a lack of vision from the organisations involved.

 

Tim

 

 

Funding will promote the use of digital technologies to connect with wider audiences and explore new ways of working.

Arts and cultural organisations are being given the opportunity to apply for a share of a half-a-million-pound fund to harness new technology.

The Digital R&D Fund for Arts and Culture was announced today by Arts Council England, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the
National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA).

It follows a speech by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey in January where he called on cultural organisations to embrace new technology and the opportunities it offers.

“Our lives are increasingly defined by how we engage and interact with the world digitally and cultural organisations can’t afford to be left behind,” Mr Vaizey said. “Too often finances, structures or traditions can constrain the arts from making best use of the technology which now sits at the heart of many people’s everyday lives.

“This programme seeks to show how digital technology can revolutionise our cultural engagement, helping people to derive greater value from cultural activities and to find new ways to generate income.”

Organisations that are eligible to apply to the programme include visual and performing arts organisations, cultural organisations in England including arts and cultural archives, literary organisations, museums and galleries, libraries, commercial arts and cultural organisations and creative industry businesses. Applications will be open until 2 September 2011.

 

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Skeleton found at Edward Jenner's Berkeley house

Archaeologists have uncovered a human skeleton at the former home of vaccination pioneer Dr Edward Jenner.

A team from the University of Bristol unearthed the remains during their annual dig in the garden of The Chantry in Berkeley, Gloucestershire.

The skeleton is believed to date from Roman or pre-Roman times and is said to be extremely rare.

Excavation leader Professor Mark Horton said it was "a completely unexpected but really important discovery".

He added: "It fills in the history between the Roman villa that we believe is on the site and the Anglo-Saxon monastery discovered during earlier digs."

 

Sealed remains

The skeleton is that of an adult, but the sex has not yet been determined.

It was found underneath the sealed remains of part of the Anglo-Saxon Mynster, founded in the 8th Century.

The excavation team, led by Professor Horton and Dr Stuart Prior, has been excavating part of the garden during a series of annual digs since 2007.

They have already established that Berkeley is an important Anglo-Saxon site with a mynster on the same scale and status as Gloucester.

Dr Edward Jenner lived in the house from 1785-1823 and pioneered the world-changing vaccination against smallpox there in 1796.

Visitors to the museum at Dr Jenner's House are able to visit the site and speak to the experts until Thursday 9th June 2011.

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St Mere Eglise and Paratrooper "John Steele"

St Mere Eglise and Paratrooper "John Steele"
Originally uploaded by CopperPhoenix

This picture is always popular on 6th June, as it shows the paratrooper dummy placed on the Church in Ste Mere Eglise each summer, commemorating the night of 6th June 1944 when US paratroopers landed in the town square. John Steele's parachute caught on the church tower and he hung there playing dead for a couple of hours before being captured. The event was shown in the film "The Longest Day"