Artsnet e-newsletter: Issue 13 - July 2005

Many in the arts sector work on low profile, hugely important projects with what the media represents as "unpopular" groups. We need to work with our community, the arts sector and partners to ensure that good quality community-owned arts projects do not lose out in the process and that we work hard to shout out the best of our work. The first "public voting" fund has already been announced by the Big Lottery fund, The People s Millions. Do we vote out the least popular project like Big Brother or do we seize the opportunity to get good quality arts work with socially excluded groups on to TV? This can make the role of arts networks like Artsnet all the more important. For more information on the lottery announcement, Artsnet Update 1 News 2 Events 3 Artsnet Members 5 Training News 7 Opportunities 8 inside this issue: go to www. culture. gov. uk. Artsnet is reviving the culture pool. It exists to enable a dialogue highway between the Manchester Partnership and the Community Network for Manchester on culture and regeneration issues. Induction sessions will be run on Mon 20th June (am), Fri 24th June (am) and Mon 27th June (pm). If you are interested in being involved and finding out more, contact Sue on 01254 614965 or email artsnet@can. uk. com If you can t make these call anyway. Commitment will involve meeting four times a year and a willingness to deal with paperwork. Finally, keep telling us about your fantastic, public funded arts projects. Sue Robinson Artsnet Coordinator Public to Decide on Lottery Grants Issue 11 July 2005 Part of the Community Network for Manchester Creative Arts Network Update www. can. uk. com PAGE 1 This newsletter can be emailed to you, sent in large print, tape or braille. . . call 0161 234 2985 or email: artsnet@can. uk. com for culture, media and sport, said: “Lottery money is not government money. It’s not distributors’ money. It belongs to the people of Britain who play the Lottery. It is venture capital for their communities. “In the future the public will have a far greater say over where Lottery money goes, they will be able to get inResponse to public vote on lottery grants The general public is to vote on how over £50m of lottery money should be awarded to good causes via a new television show called The People’s Millions. The show, which is due to be launched on ITV on Friday 3 June, is the result of government plans to consult with the public on a wider basis before allocating funds. Tessa Jowell, secretary of state At the end of May, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell announced that the public would be able to vote on the way lottery good causes money is given out. In a statement she said "Lottery money is not Government money, it belongs to the people of Britain…In the future the public will have a far greater say over where lottery money goes. " Going on to mention voting, texting etc as a means of choosing who gets their project funded. Lottery money is public money and any group who receives it is accountable. However, this could cause a huge number of grassroots, good quality community arts projects who can t shout so loud to suffer in attracting funding. The media has not been the best advocate in how lottery money is spent on arts projects, with the amount spent taking precedent over the human impact. volved via public opinion polls, citizens’ juries, focus groups, internet surveys, telephone, internet, text or television voting for individual projects or by joining a local or regional awards panel. ” The need for greater public involvement forms part of the Lotteries Bill, which was published last week. Also in the bill was the formalisation of the merger of the New Opportunities Fund, the Communities Fund and the Millennium Commission into the Big Lottery Fund. A copy of the bill is available from www. publications. parliam ent. uk Taken from www. charitytimes. com, 25. 05. 05.