Arts Council England

Are you passionate about widening arts engagement across diverse communities and locations? We’re looking for a Relationship Manager, Combined Arts to join our South East team and support artists and organisations working across this vibrant and varied sector. You’ll bring strong knowledge of Combined Arts practice, experience building and managing relationships, and an understanding of place‑based working. You’ll also be a confident communicator with a passion for making arts and culture accessible to more people. You’ll be based in Cambridge, with hybrid working available. 📍 Apply by Sunday 14 June https://bit.ly/43w6s7Y

From funded Friday writing sessions to award-winning success! 🙌 In 2023, Marcia Hutchinson MBE received £13,100 through our Developing Your Creative Practice fund to focus on her debut novel, The Mercy Step. Fast forward to today, she has won the 2026 Discover British Book Awards and has been shortlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction, alongside being named one of the Observer’s best new novelists of 2025! 🥳 We were thrilled to meet Marcia and hear how this support helped her turn an idea into an extraordinary debut. Watch the video to find out more. 🎥 #ACESupported

New: Introducing our Strategic Framework    This simple Framework sets out how we will make it easier for applicants and partners to work with us, as we start work developing a new, longer-term strategy later this year. Our three strategic objectives are:   Support excellence 🌟 Deliver for everybody 🤗 Reach everywhere 🌍   Get the headlines below, and click the link to read in full > https://lnkd.in/eRh37bQj Images: 1&2: Brighter Sound showcase. Photo by Rebecca Oliver. 4. DFOL 2022 - Photo by James Mulkeen 5. Festival of Colours 2024 Barrowfull. Credit John Rennie. 6. Children's Capital of Culture. Photo © David Sanchez

Last week we were at UKREiiF in Leeds talking about the importance of arts and culture in placemaking. We had the pleasure of hosting our fringe event, The Poetry of Place alongside our partners Historic England, and The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The inspiring evening, held at the historic Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, brought together delegates from UKREiiF, including Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and writer and broadcaster Nick Ahad. Throughout UKREiiF delegates from the culture and heritage sector reflected that that great places are not just designed- they are felt. This was echoed at the thought-provoking panel made up of Susan Pitter (Freelance Cultural Heritage and Partnerships Producer; Out of Many People CIC Director), Claudia Kenyatta CBE, (co-CEO, Historic England) Laura Dyer MBE, (Deputy Chief Executive Places, Engagement & Libraries, Arts Council England) and Isabel Hunt, (Executive Director, National Lottery Heritage Fund), who discussed the importance of stories, poetry, and words in creating great places. #Placemaking #Culture #Community #Heritage #Leeds #Storytelling #ArtsAndCulture

🗞️ Guidance for applying to the Museum Transformation Programme is now live! The Museum Transformation Programme is a £13.6million fund supporting museums in addressing long-term challenges and building sustainable and secure operating models fit for the future 💛 Applications open on 1 September and close at midday on 30 September. Read the guidance 👉 https://bit.ly/49nvQQR Image credit: Powell Cotton Museum. Photo by Chloe Hashemi.  Department for Culture, Media and Sport

🌟 Vacancy 🌟 Are you a strategic finance leader who enjoys partnering with senior stakeholders and shaping organisational decision‑making? We’re looking for a Senior Finance Business Partner to act as a key link between Finance and the wider organisation, helping drive insight, performance and transformation. You’ll bring significant experience in financial analysis, business partnering and reporting, along with strong leadership skills and the ability to communicate complex financial information clearly. A professional accountancy qualification (or equivalent experience) is essential. You’ll be based in Manchester, with hybrid working available. 📍 Apply by Sunday 7 June 2026 https://bit.ly/3RKdl2X

Now open: Libraries Improvement Fund 📢 Library services in England can apply for our latest capital funding to upgrade buildings, spaces and digital infrastructure, helping libraries become more flexible, more accessible and better connected to their communities. With £5.5 million available, LIF supports projects that: • modernise and future-proof library spaces • improve digital access and service delivery • increase sustainability, commercial potential and community use Apply today: https://bit.ly/4wcDVl4

The Inclusive Sport & Culture Festival (ISCF) Liverpool 2027 is seeking expressions of interest from disabled people to join our Cultural Advisory Group (CAG). The CAG will play a vital role in shaping an inclusive and accessible festival experience for artists/participants, audiences, staff, and volunteers. We would welcome applications from individuals, with lived experience of disability, in a freelance capacity and/or representing an organisation. Further information is available on Culture Liverpool website 👇 https://bit.ly/4wK8gYs Deadline: Monday 8 June 2026 at 9.00am.

Today we've published a new enquiry exploring career progression routes in South Asian dance. The research brings together insights from artists, freelancers, teachers and organisations across England, highlighting both the vibrancy of the sector and the challenges shaping career development. Alongside the enquiry, a new resource pack has been created to support practitioners by bringing together training opportunities, mentoring, funding programmes and sector networks in one accessible guide. Together, these resources aim to strengthen connections across the dance ecology and support clearer progression routes for artists working across South Asian dance practices. Read the report and resource pack > https://bit.ly/4f1PUMe Image credit: Sonia Sabri Company

With our research showing a decline in drama touring in recent years, we’re proud to support this vital programme from the Royal Shakespeare Company, alongside the recent announcement of the National Theatre’s National Theatre Nationwide.   We hope this significant investment, using funding from the National Lottery, will help combat the findings of our research and ensure a regular supply of large-scale and high-quality work with a national footprint, appearing on stages and in schools across the country.   Read the Royal Shakespeare Company announcement 👇 https://bit.ly/49dg9vs   Read the National Theatre announcement 👇 https://bit.ly/4nIdFLH