Shadow arts minister
Gloria de Piero, Labour MP for the Ashfield and Eastwood area of Nottingham, has been appointed shadow arts minister. Before being elected to parliament this year, de Piero was political editor for GMTV and worked as a journalist for the BBC’s Politics Show.
MLA funds web resources
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) has funded a new bank of online resources for use in English local authority museums, libraries and archives. The electronic resources are intended to improve public access to lifelong learning and research materials. Archives of music journalism, fashion and art are among the resources available for purchase.
www.librarylicensing.org
Gallery exceeds targets
Nottingham Contemporary exceeded its projected visitor target by 45% in its first year of operation. The contemporary art gallery, which celebrated its first anniversary last month, drew 290,000 visitors and is estimated to have contributed £8.7m to the local economy. The gallery has exhibited work by Turner Prize winners Steve McQueen and Wolfgang Tillmans.
Museums at Night plan
Culture24 hopes to expand its Museums at Night programme for 2011. Coordinators want to encourage more arts organisations to participate in next May’s after-hours festival and have announced a series of new key partners, including Arts Council England and the Historic Houses Association. The initiative attracted 85,000 visitors in 2010.
www.museumsatnight.org.uk
