University takes leading role in arts industry network

THE University of Warwick is at the centre of a new group that has brought together 22 university-based arts centres to collaborate on the best ways to engage with higher education, the arts industry and the communities in which they are based.

The centres generate a total of £25m a year and have now come together in the University Centres for the Arts Network (UCAN).

Andrea Pulford, UCAN spokesperson and director of planning and operations at Warwick Arts Centre, said: “This is a dynamic group of 22 university based arts venues who are united in our understanding of how Higher Education operates within an arts context; how university structures can influence, develop and support the arts industry and a have direct link to Higher Education in England, Scotland and Wales.”

The group is a response to the Warwick Commission report on the future of cultural value, which was run by the University of Warwick last year.

One of the Commission’s recommendations was that: “Higher Education institutions should develop long term commitment and strategies to position themselves as beacons of civic and cultural engagement and as a resource for the local community by offering access to facilities, skills and new avenues of funding.”

The centres within the group are committed to supporting the development of students and artists, assisting universities’ research, teaching and community engagement, and being places which contribute socially and economically.

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