Private Investment in the Arts

Arts & Business launched its latest research into Private Investment in the Arts yesterday: positive news on the whole, in that overall investment is up 12% on the previous year, with a slight decline in business investment, but significant increases in individual giving and support from trusts and foundations. The full data will be published in February, but you can read the headline points here. There is, however, a huge 'but': the research covers 2007/08, so the period before the worldwide financial turmoil really kicked in. What will the results be next year, covering the current months? There is, not surprisingly, a certain trepidation amongst the arts development community about how this essential private investment will hold up, with 2010 likely to be the crunch year. The Culture Minister, Barbara Follett MP, gave a reassuring speech, urging us not to panic, but acknowledging that everyone would need to work harder to retain their current levels of support: she is - at least - a fan of orchestral music!

British Council A&B International Award nomination

We are delighted that the sponsorship by Cambridge University Press for our tour to South America last year has been nominated for an Arts & Business Award in the British Council A&B International category. We won't know whether we have won until late November, but you can watch the chair of the jury's summary of the shortlisting here and read the full list of nominations here.

Memories of South America

(l. to r) David Butcher (BS), Stewart White (BBC), Katherine Stevens (CUP), Nigel Atkinson (CUP), Emma Baxter (CUP), and John Bickley (BS)

The first Arts & Business East Awards took place last week at the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds. David Butcher and I had a most enjoyable evening with several of our coporate sponsors and supporters, including Cambridge University Press, Savills, 'one' Railways, and Mills & Reeve. Our partnership with CUP was one of the featured collaborations, focusing on our tour to Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay last May. CUP has a large operation in South America, so there were excellent synergies in this relationship. We have great memories of that tour and Britten Sinfonia will be returning there in 2010.

The search for new corporate partnerships goes on, of course, and several new ones are on the verge of being sealed, particularly in that toughest of arts sponosrship markets, London.

We are playing tomorrow with Imogen Cooper in Norwich: Birtwistle, Prokofiev and Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto. Call 01603 630000 for tickets.

John Bickley