It has been announced today that Birmingham’s leading arts organisations face cuts after council bosses approved a 25 per cent reduction in grant funding.

The city council currently spends £6.425 million per year supporting arts and culture organisations, but is now writing to the groups to tell them thi

s will be cut to £4.85 million from March 2016.

It is the third major reduction in arts subsidies in the austerity era, following a 17 per cent cut in 2010 and a further 20 per cent cut two years ago .

Labour cabinet member for culture Councillor Penny Holbrook said: “This is not something we want to do but the financial position of the council is clear to everybody. However we are still investing almost £5 million in the cultural offer of the city.”

The city council has previously stated that a well supported arts and culture sector are vital to Birmingham’s status as a global city and one of the factors which generate investment and brings visitors to the city,

The Stringcredibles are delighted to announce that they have a new member of the team! Tabitha Allum, a freelance arts consultant, will be working with us over the coming months to develop our strategy and secure funds to support our work.

Tabitha works with a number of arts charities to ensure that they are clear about their purpose and have a solid financial footing from which they can deliver their ambitions. Prior to working independently, Tabitha was Chief Executive at Stagetext (www.stagetext.org) the organisation which provides and promotes captioning in the arts for people who are deaf, deafened and hard of hearing.

We are delighted to have Tabitha on board and look forward to delivering more Stringcredible work in 2016!

The Stringcredibles World War 1 Remembrance concerts, “Tunes from the Trenches” are returning to the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham, for a second year, for 3 performances, on October 15th and 22nd and November 4th.

’Tunes from the Trenches is a a musical journey from 1914 to 1918, using visuals from the Imperial War Museum, music by Elgar, Shostakovich and Bridge, and excerpts from the books Archie’s War by Marcia Williams and WarHorse by Michael Morpurgo to tell a story that that resonates with audiences of all ages.

The Stringcredibles are delighted to announce that our residency at Pinfold Street Primary School in Darlaston Walsall, has been extended for a further year. Through 2015-16 we will be working with every child in the school on two occasions, supporting them to create and perform their own music.

“We are delighted to be collaborating with the Stringcredibles for another year. I know the children and staff feel they benefit hugely from their visits and through this residency and a variety of other initiatives that sit alongside it, we have observed that children’s behaviour, levels of concentration and attention and thirst for knowledge have improved. We feel very privileged to be able to continue this partnership.”

Sally-Ann Sinclair, Head Teacher, Pinfold Street Primary School