The arts - live, free and on demand

The Space is free digital, pop-up arts service, developed by Arts Council England in partnership with the BBC, that could help to transform the way people connect with, and experience, arts and culture.

On 22 February we announced the 53 successful applicants that will be creating hundreds of hours of original commissions for The Space, drawing on the richness of the summer of arts in the Olympic year.

The project, which is designed to build the digital skills and capability of the arts and cultural sector, will run until the end of October 2012.

You can access The Space now at thespace.org or by viewing on connected TV or The Space channel (Freeview HD channel 117).

We have set aside £8 million of Lottery funding to allow for the possibility of The Space continuing as a freely-available digital arts service. The BBC and Arts Council England are actively exploring the future of this service with the BBC, which has a huge potential to make more of the arts available in new ways to new audiences. We expect to have more details in the autumn. 

Background to the project

The new pop up service will run until the end of October 2012. It will challenge artists, arts and cultural organisations to collaborate with each other and partners to capture and create a wealth of cultural experiences, drawing on the richness of the summer of arts in the Olympic year.

Arts Council England has invested £3.5 million of its strategic digital innovation funds which was made available to arts and cultural organisations via a Lottery grant programme. The BBC have committed a £2 million support package including providing the technology solution and training and mentoring for successful applicants.

The programme is designed to encourage experimentation, innovation, and provide an opportunity to learn more about how to connect audiences with arts and culture using digital technologies. The service will use technology across four digital media platforms: PC, mobile devices, tablets and connected TV.

It will showcase a host of content, from both established and up-and coming companies and artists, and will include celebrity curation and critique, live broadcasts and some of the best content from the Arts Council and BBC archives.

Aims of The Space

We expect our investment in The Space will significantly build the digital skills of the arts and cultural sector, ensuring that they are at the forefront of emerging digital technologies, and making their work available to even more people.

Logos for The Space commissionsLogos and brand and publicity guidelines for commissioned arts organisations can now be downloaded from the logos section of our website.