Beacon Arts Centre, a new £9.5m arts venue currently under construction in Inverclyde, has been handed a £100,000 grant from The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation (ALWF). The funding will go towards the establishment of a youth theatre providing opportunities for those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds in the Greenock area. Due to open in summer 2012, the new Beacon Arts Centre will replace Greenock Arts Guild Theatre - a venue that

A new home for Monaghan's Garage Theatre will be developed as part of a wider education complex earmarked for the Irish town's old Defence Forces barracks on Armagh Road. Jimmy Deenihan, minister for arts, heritage and the Gaeltacht, has awarded EUR2m (£1.8m) towards the new venue, which will replace the existing Garage Theatre opened in 1992. Monaghan Vocational Educational Committee (VEC) is heading plans for the new EUR35m (£30.7m) educational

Aspen Art Museum (AAM) in Colorado, US, has held an official groundbreaking ceremony to help mark the start of the work on a new 30,000sq ft (2,787sq m) home for the attraction. The US$50m (£30.4m, EUR34.6m) building has been designed by Shigeru Ban Architects and will be located at the corner of South Spring Street and East Hyman Avenue in Aspen. Construction work is due to commence during the first

Shakespeare's Globe has chosen architects Allies and Morrison to lead the design of a new indoor Jacobean Theatre, which is to be developed alongside the iconic London venue. According to Shakespeare's Globe chief executive Neil Constable, the development is set to fulfil Sam Wanamaker's bid for the venue to stage both indoor and outdoor performances. Allies and Morrison will work with reconstruction architect Jon Greenfield and the Globe's Architecture Research

A park celebrating the life of Jimi Hendrix is being developed in Seattle, US next to the city's Northwest African American Museum. Portland-based architects Murase Associates has been chosen to design the US$2m park, which is scheduled to open in 2012, marking the 70th birthday of Hendrix. Butterflies, guitars and spiral flowers are among the key elements of the design and the park will be decorated in lyrical stepping, stones,

firstsite, a Colchester-based visual arts organisation, has revealed that its new Rafael Viñoly Architects-designed home is to open its doors to the public on 25 September. An exhibition inspired by Colchester's history as one of the UK's oldest-recorded towns - Camulodunum - will mark the opening of the 3,200sq m (34,445sq ft) complex. Built at a cost of £28m, the new building will include flexible presentation spaces for visual art

A £1m renovation of Liverpool's former Neptune Theatre - now called The Epstein Theatre in honour of former Beatles manager Brian Epstein - has been completed. Liverpool City Council (LCC) contributed £750,000 towards the project, which has seen the Grade II-listed venue restored to its former glory and ready to host productions once again. The 98-year-old property was acquired by Liverpool Corporation in 1967 and shut in 2005, with current

The opening date of the new multi-million pound Jerwood Gallery in Hastings, East Sussex - part of a wider bid to regenerate the resort - has been pushed back until early 2012. Jerwood Foundation director Liz Gilmore told the BBC that opening the new attraction next year was preferable to a Christmas 2011 launch as "there's a lot of other focus". Designed by HAT Projects, the complex will incorporate more

Oriel Mostyn Gallery - designed by Ellis Williams Architects - has received the Gold Medal for Architecture at the Wrexham and District 2011 National Eisteddfod of Wales. The contemporary art attraction in Llandudno, North Wales, underwent an extensive revamp that led to the addition of two new galleries at the Grade II-listed property. The Gold Medal for Architecture is sponsored by the Design Commission for Wales and is run in

Demolition work has started on site of Redcar's new £8.3m 'Hub' for the creative industry, which will bring about the transformation of the town's derelict Palace Theatre. Surgo Construction has been chosen by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RBBC) to oversee the two-month demolition phase, with construction work to start in the autumn. Newcastle-based xsite architecture are involved with the project, which will lead to the creation of a new

London-based property group Grosvenor has submitted plans for a new mixed-use scheme in Southampton, which is to be anchored by a 100,000sq ft (9,290sq m) arts complex. New restaurant space is also proposed as part of the multi-million pound proposals, which will see the development provide a "major addition" to the city's Cultural Quarter. CZWG has worked in partnership with Grosvenor to draw up the plans, which will feature a

Belfast's new £18m Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) remains on track to open its doors to the public "early next year", according to Northern Ireland arts minister Carál Ní Chuilín. Located in the city's Cathedral Quarter, the venue will replace the Old Museum Arts Centre and has received £10.76m from the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL). Facilities will comprise two black box performance spaces with seating capacity for 120

London-based artist Cecil Balmond has been selected to work with designer Charles Jencks on the creation of a new contemporary landmark to be located at Gretna, Scotland. The Star of Caledonia is the working title of Balmond's response to a design contest for "The Great Unknown" as part of The Gretna Landmark Project. Wide Open (South Scotland) will develop and produce the project for the Gretna Landmark Trust, which evolved

Engaging with Architecture Scheme 2011 - designed to support new projects that bring the public and architecture together - has been launched by the Arts Council Ireland (ACI). First developed in 2010 as a partnership response to government policy and ACI research, the scheme is now accepting bids until 21 July. Projects must take place by 31 March 2012. Waterford Festival of Architecture and Kinsale Arts Week were among funding

Plans to extend the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, London, UK have been approved. The directors of the gallery chose architect Zaha Hadid to design and create the new gallery in 2010, and the extension is now scheduled to open in 2012. As part of the project, the Grade II-listed The Magazine building of the gallery will be renovated and extended to house collections. The project, to be known as

A new art gallery and youth hostel has officially opened in Berwick-upon-Tweed, following the completion of a £5m refurbishment of the Grade II-listed Dewar's Lane Granary. In addition to the exhibition space and 55-bed hostel, the six-storey property also includes a modern bistro; meeting and conference rooms; and an outdoor courtyard seating area. The Berwick Preservation Trust (BPT) led the restoration programme, with One North East and the government's now-defunct

Cambridge Arts Theatre has unveiled plans for Act Two - a £12m construction project that is to include a new foyer and performance spaces in a bid to safeguard its future. Proposals would bring about a series of improvements to the venue's front-of-house areas, with the potential for creating additional bar and catering income streams. A 200-seat studio theatre on the fourth floor of the property has also been proposed,

One of the largest public artworks commissioned in Northern Ireland - the 37.5m (123ft)-tall RISE - is nearing completion above Belfast's Broadway roundabout. The work has been produced by Nottingham-based artist Wolfgang Buttress and features two globes - one inside the other - to symbolise the rising of the sun. Rasharkin-based M Hasson and Sons has manufactured the 65,000 individual parts that comprise the globes, with construction work due for

A groundbreaking ceremony has been held to mark the start of construction work on a new home for the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, US. The attraction has confirmed that it has already raised US$508m (£308m) towards the total US$720m (£436.5m) cost of the Renzo Piano-designed scheme. Forming part of a public-private regeneration of Manhattan, the new 200,000sq ft (18,581sq m) museum building is to be constructed

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney, Australia, has announced that it is to reopen in March 2012, following a AU$53m (£34.2m, EUR39.2m, US$56.5m) overhaul. Work started on the redevelopment project last August, with architect Sam Marshall and the New South Wales Government Architect behind the design of the new-look attraction. An additional 4,500sq m (43,438sq ft) of space will be created as part of the project and will

Hepworth Wakefield - one of the largest purpose-built art attractions to open in the UK for around 50 years - has welcomed its first public visitors in West Yorkshire. Designed by David Chipperfield Architects, the £35m gallery is run by an independent trust and aims to commemorate the work of local-born sculptor Barbara Hepworth. The 5,000sq m (53,819sq ft) attraction also houses the city's permanent collection of 6,000 art works

A number of leisure schemes have been included among the 97 UK and European projects to be named as winners of the 2011 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Awards. The RIBA Awards are designed to recognise "architectural excellence" and comprised 89 properties in the UK and a further eight across the European Union. Among the 2011 winners is the new £112.8m home for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon,

A new multi-million euro cultural attraction - Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS) - has opened its doors to the public in Antwerp, Belgium, following a four-year construction process. Netherlands-based Neutelings Riedijk Architects was appointed by Antwerp City Council to design the new museum in 2000, with B-architecten chosen to lead the interior design. Covering a total surface area of 6,600sq m (71,042sq ft), the museum also features pavilions and a

London mayor Boris Johnson has announced that up to £60m has been secured towards the creation of a new 1km (0.6-mile) floating promenade along the north bank of the Thames. International architecture practice Gensler have drawn up designs for the London River Park scheme, which is to be financed by Venus Group of Singapore. A Memorandum of Understanding has now been signed between Gensler and the mayor in a deal

A gala performance of Arthur Miller's The Crucible has marked the unveiling of the new £18.1m Lyric Theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland - two years after work commenced. Dublin-based architects O'Donnell and Tuomey were selected to design the new venue; one of 56 entries into an international competition held in 2003. Built by main contractor Gilbert Ash N.I., the Lyric Theatre is nearly three times larger than its predecessor and

Trustees of the Baltimore Museum of Art in Maryland, US, have revealed that Ziger/Snead Architects are to work on a US$24m (£14.4m, EUR16.2m) renovation of the attraction. It follows an extensive year-long procurement process for the scheme, which is scheduled to be completed in 2014 ahead of the museum's 100th anniversary. The renovation of Baltimore Museum of Art is to create "dynamic" new spaces for art and visitors, including enhancements

West Lothian Council (WLC) has announced the full reopening of the historic Burgh Halls in Linlithgow, which have undergone a major £5.2m redevelopment. The property has benefited from an extensive transformation and restoration of its features, with a new interactive display exploring its history available in the reception. Burgh Halls also features a gallery and the Glasshouse Café, while local community groups will also make use of the building. Malcolm