👀STATEMENT ON SALE OF THE ARTS DEPOT TO MR RENAKER: I want to address some of the concerns raised about the sale of the Arts Depot to Mr Renaker. ⤵️

Sheriff Khan is clearly an arts lover which we all want to encourage. But he really should have signed up for an annual Regional Arts Culture Card which entitles holders to a discounts on tickets and refreshments at venue cafés. (Or free entry for Universal Benefits recipients and PIP claimants)

+++ OFFICIAL STATEMENT +++ The Gulf Decapitation Fund is a valued partner and supporter of Regional Arts. I have never met any representative of the Fund in an official capacity numerous times. In this photo, which is being circulated in the Tory press, I happened to be at a charity event at the same time as Mr Mansour, who brushed past me on his way to the Smashed Burger franchise. Malicious speculation does not help investment into the vibrant and diverse culture sector in Our Region. (Thank you Abigail!)

Advanced ticket sales for our Christmas Panto Aladdin are very disappointing this year and to me that only means one thing. With such a strong cast (led by Catherine Tate and Sir Ian Botham who are both box office bankers) it is inconceivable that Russia has not played a part in suppressing demand. My message to you Mr Putin is: we are watching and you will not succeed.

Have you ever visited a Regional Arts venue but not known how much the interval drinks will cost? I get it. I know how stressful that can be. Thanks to a new partnership with Google, we’re introducing our Digital Cafe Dashboard. It gives you accurate* live prices of teas, soft drinks and light refreshments across all our venues, right in Google Maps. *Prices may change dynamically according to demand, income, voting history and other factors.

Reports are circulating that Mr Mansour’s Gulf Decapitation Fund has been using the Arts Depot to host Sharia trials, disposing of body parts in the costume hamper used for the Christmas Panto. Notwithstanding the evidence, these are completely unfounded. At a time of brutal Tory cuts to the arts we should be grateful for any inward investment that keeps our vibrant culture sector growing. It would be a travesty to lose their support.

As a rule, I don’t bring personal matters like family tragedies into work, but Stakeholder UK has opened nominations to recognise the Most Inspiring Regional Arts Leadership and my Dad just died and it’s what he would have wanted. I’ll just leave it at that.

Just look at this! This is me addressing the World Council of Regional Arts Stakeholders in New York this week. I talked about the importance of community engagement. (Note they asked me, not Ms Adegoke of Local Arts For All! which is a rival organisation. Ms Adegoke has always been jealous of our success and will be fuming when she sees this). I got to shake hands with President Trump, and left him a gift I think he’s going to love: a rare Northside demo cassette and a signed pair of MC Tunes baggy trousers.

Attention les parties prenantes! 🇫🇷 This week I welcomed a delegation from Les Artes Regionale, which is the French version of Regional Arts, led by yours truly. This is me meeting the chief executive Manny (as in Mani from The Stone Roses) who brought with him a giant carpet that goes on a wall. Abigail tells me this depicts famous football matches between England and France, and we are allowed to borrow it for a bit. Jeux Sans Frontiers, as they say! (I am not supposed to get political but speaking on behalf of many stakeholders across the culture sector I wish we could do this more #FBPE)

Domestic stability is very underrated, Mike. Something I keep reminding Frankie about when she attends the annual Regional Arts Eisteddfod Opening Ceremony in Bickershaw. It’s not my fault the event runs for five hours, and it’s only once a year!

I’m in the City of Kiev, pronounced “Keev”, building capacity with cultural stakeholders in Ukraine. Today I met General Bandera of the Azov Brigade. We hope to bring the Azov’s world famous Patriotic Formation Dancing team to perform for Regional Arts next year.

While community engagement lies at the heart of what we do here at Regional Arts, I am passing along this important safety reminder to all staff from our IT Department, aka Josh: Do not reply to or engage in protracted conversations with unknown individuals on your phones. With AI and DeepFakes now more realistic these may be rival arts organisations trying to gain confidential information on our upcoming arts and cultural events. Like this one I got the other day: “HI ANDY ITS MORRISSEY, ME AND JOHNNY ARE REFORMING THE BAND! CAN WE PLAY THE ARTS DEPOT?” Followed by a similar one from someone claiming to be Hooky. Chatting away all day not only wastes your Chief Executive’s valuable time but puts us all at risk. Thanks, Andy

Potatoloo is a new production supported by Regional Arts telling the story of the potato pickers strike of 1848, which was violently suppressed by Tory militia. Nevertheless, it helped bring down the Mosley government, and was the spark which lit a fire across Europe, making it “the year of revolutions”. We wouldn’t have Regional Arts agencies or such a vibrant and diverse culture sector today without these ladies! So I’m very happy to help lay out the stage set.

There has been some criticism of Regional Arts decision to use the Emergency Alerts System to notify patrons of a special two-for-one offer for this year’s Christmas Panto at the Arts Depot, which is Aladdin with Catherine Tate and Sir Ian Botham. Apparently one of our elderly arts supporters suffered a fatal heart attack in the Paul Kagame Peace Cafe after receiving the message. The decision to send the alerts first in Yoruba and Urdu (and then 17 other languages) before English has also caused some confusion. Unfairly in my view as we have to reflect the diversity of modern Britain and our communities. In these times of Tory austerity it’s vital we use all possible communication channels to keep Regional Arts alive. Thank you!

I’m off to Ibiza on holiday so Louise from People Services will be in charge of Regional Arts for a fortnight. Don’t lose your phone this time, Lou!!

Fantastic! Abigail, can you book this duck for us and get hold of Bez from Happy Mondays, this will be a fantastic showcase of how the Regional Arts are for everyone

Abigail who does our socials says I should do my “LinkedIn portrait pose” whenever I see a camera. What do you think?

🎭 The first piece of work from our new Writer-in-Residence Jason will tell the story of the slaves’ revolt in Haiti, which culminated with the Declaration of Independence in 1804: the first modern majority black-run state 💥 The Haitian revolution was masterminded by a Professor of Sociology from Cambridge University. This was Professor Arday, who happens to be the author himself. Jason constructed a Time Machine to take modern scientific knowledge and skills back to 1791, helping build a powerful coalition of slaves and freemen against the French authorities and British and Spanish merchants. Professor Arday told me how the idea of a Time Machine came to him while he was running a marathon. The play explores the lived experience of colonialism and institutional racism, familiar to everyone in Our Region. A pop-up street food stall selling Haitian favourites will be open for performances. (I have tried the Tassot Kibrit or fried goat myself, and it is quite delicious!) Because of scenes including mutiliation, murder and rape performances are not suitable for children under 5. So bring the family!

📣 I am really pleased to introduce the appointment of our new Writer-in-Residence here at Regional Arts, despite the cancellation of his latest play for the Barm Festival, about which we shall say no more! (More to follow)