Electric Hotel - a new 'pop-up' temporary dance work designed to involve the audience in a voyeur role - is set to embark on a UK tour from 7 May. London's Sadler's Wells theatre and outdoor festival consortium Without Walls co-commissioned the performance, which will be taking place in a number of public open spaces. Debuting at Millennium Place in Norwich between 7-9 May, the Electric Hotel concept will see

Hornsey Town Hall is set to be transformed into a major new multi-million pound arts centre in Crouch End, London, under proposals submitted by Haringey Council. Plans for the renovation of the Grade II*-listed building, which was initially designed by Reginald Uren and opened during the 1930s, have been drawn up by architects John McAslan and Partners. Capita Symonds has been appointed to project manage the Hornsey Town Hall redevelopment,

Efforts to renovate Liverpool's Royal Court Theatre have taken a step forward after Royal Court Liverpool Trust (RCLT) was awarded a 30-year lease to operate the venue. The trust will now be able to move forward plans to raise funds for a £10.6m renovation of the Grade II-listed building, following Liverpool City Council confirmed its decision on 26 March. Designs drawn up by London-based architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM)

Contractors have been appointed for the US$275m (£172m, 188m euro) Miami Science Museum in Florida, US. Boston-based Suffolk Construction and San Francisco-based Webcor Builders have been awarded the contracts to develop the museum, which was designed by British firm Grimshaw Architects. The 250,000sq ft museum will boast a 35,000sq ft aquarium, a planetarium and 55,000sq ft of indoor and outdoor exhibition space. It will be part of a new Miami

Small and medium-sized leisure businesses should find it easier to secure bank loans and funding, according to plans outlined by chancellor Alistair Darling in today's budget announcement. The budget - the last by chancellor Alistair Darling before the expected general election in May - will see Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds make £94bn available in business loans. Darling added that "at least half" of this will be made available

A performance of Swan Lake by the Russian State Ballet has marked the official opening of the new Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Designed by Switzerland-based architect Daniel Libeskind and Dublin-based McCauley Daye O'Connell, the 2,111-seat venue forms the centre of the Grand Canal Square development. Chartered Land has delivered the theatre, which boasts seven bars, the Circle Club and a rooftop terrace bar and is operated by Live

Leeds City Council (LCC) has unveiled new images showing the internal layout of a proposed £80m entertainment venue, which will be built in the West Yorkshire city. The council revealed detailed design work is now at an "advanced stage" on the interior configuration of the Leeds Arena, which aims to provide an unobstructed sightline for each of a 13,500-capacity audience. Under the 'super theatre' proposals for the venue, the furthest

Plans for a new £35m arts and innovation centre in Bangor, North Wales, have taken a step forward after Bangor University announced the start of design work. The Pontio Project - a name derived from the Welsh word for "to bridge" - will include the creation of a dynamic innovation hub, learning facilities and a new home for the university's students' union. Indoor and outdoor performance spaces, including a 450-seat

Warwick District Council (WDC) has approved plans for the refurbishment of a Grade II-listed former church in Leamington Spa to provide a new home for the Loft Theatre Company. The former United Reform Church building on Spencer Street will be extended and revamped as part of the project to create a new performance centre, which will establish a new focal point for the arts and creative industries in the town.

A new museum in Abu Dhabi, being built under advisement from the British Museum, is to open 2013. The Zayed National Museum, which is being developed by the Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), is to be the cornerstone of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District. Designed by London's Foster + Partners, the 12,000sq m (130,000sq ft) museum is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late founder and

The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, US, is to open its new 127,000sq ft expansion in April next year. Work began on the building, which was designed by New York-based Thomas Phifer and Partners, in December 2006. The new building will be home to the museum's permanent collection of 5,000 objects. The existing building will have its lobby renovated and will become a centre for temporary exhibitions, collections

The Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany has officially opened its doors for the first time in 70 years after a 212m euro (£192m) redevelopment project. The museum, which originally opened in 1855, was closed at the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and was subsequently damaged by bombing raids. British architect David Chipperfield’s refurbishment involved the reworking of the exhibition spaces, with modern design replacing the parts of the

Work has begun on the US$12m (£7.36m) Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame and Regional History Museum in Natchitoches, US. The Sports Hall of Fame will feature a collection of memorabilia donated by 250 Louisiana sports figures, while the history museum will operate as part of the Louisiana State Museum system and will focus on the contributions of the diverse cultures that have shaped the state. The 28,000sq ft building

Aberdeen City Council (ACC) has appointed Glasgow-based Gareth Hoskins Architects (GHA) to draw up plans for a major revamp of Aberdeen Art Gallery ahead of the venue's 125th anniversary in 2010. GHA will now create a design study for the scheme, which will be financed by the Marguerite McBey Trust - set up in 2001 to distribute a bequest left to help fund a range of projects promoting contemporary art.

A new landmark tower structure - comprising a "cloud" of transparent spheres to display images and information - could be built in London to celebrate the hosting of the 2012 Olympics. Initially earmarked for the Olympic Park, a number of other sites across the city are now being explored for The Cloud, which has been designed by a team of engineers, architects and artists. The Cloud would boast an observation

Construction work has started on a £9m scheme to restore the Gwyn Hall in Neath, South Wales, two years after the venue was severely damaged by fire. Swansea-based contractor John Weaver has been appointed to carry out the scheme, the first stage of which includes stonework repairs, cleaning and re-pointing. The main restoration work is set to get underway in the New Year. Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC)

Duggan Morris Architects have been selected to design a new £250,000 pavilion, which is set to be built alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in South Sefton, Liverpool. The London-based practice's design for the building, which was chosen following an international contest, has been inspired by the profile of a canoeist in motion, and features a number of jetties stretching out into the canal. Arts Council England, North West, NewHeartlands

Work has started on the construction of a new £22.5m arts training and performance complex for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) in Cardiff. Willmott Dixon has been appointed to lead the development of the new facility, which has been designed by Hamiltons architects and is set to feature a 450-seat concert hall and a 160-seat courtyard theatre. An exhibition gallery and drama rehearsal studios will also

A groundbreaking ceremony has been held to mark the start of construction work on a new book storage facility for the Bodleian Library on the outskirts of Swindon, Wiltshire. Oxford University has acquired a 15-acre (6.1-hectare) site at South Marston for the high-density facility, which is expected to house eight million volumes of the library's low-demand items. The work forms part of a wider modernisation scheme at the New Bodleian

The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is to open its new location in New York on 22 September. The new 14,000sq ft space, located in a former machine shop, was designed by Maya Lin and will boast multiple exhibition galleries, interactive display kiosks, a multipurpose auditorium/classroom, a research centre and a space for multidisciplinary public programmes. MOCA’s core exhibition is called “With a single step: Stories in the making

Southampton City Council has named property company Grosvenor as the preferred bidder for the city's new £13m arts complex. Grosvenor's scheme, which will combine a mix of uses for the proposed site, was chosen over a number of competing bids. Plans drawn up by Grosvenor's partner architects, CZWG, include 75,000sq ft of gallery spaces, auditoriums and educational areas as well as restaurants and retail units. Councillor Royston Smith, cabinet member

A number of events and activities have been announced to mark the launch of a new centre for the arts and creativity in Glasgow, which will open its doors to the public on 12 September. The opening weekend of Trongate 103 will feature printing, self-portrait and board painting workshops, live music performances and an opportunity to view the archives of the Glasgow Print Studio (GPS). Housed within a renovated six-storey

A new multi-million pound concert hall is set to be built at the University of Birmingham (UB) to provide a new home for the institution's music department and facilities for the local community. Plans for the venue have been drawn up by Glenn Howells Architects to include a 450-seat auditorium designed to accommodate a range of performances – from solo voice to electro-acoustic – as well as associated research, teaching

A new multi-purpose public arts venue, which is currently under construction in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, is to be called The Apex. St Edmondsbury Borough Council (SEBC) met on 29 July to approve the new name for the venue, which is scheduled to open in 2010, will incorporate a multi-purpose auditorium with a 500-seat capacity for theatre performance and seminars and standing capacity for 700 people for concert performances. Space

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal in north-eastern Wales was awarded UNESCO status at the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee held in Seville, Spain, last week. Thomas Telford's pioneering engineering achievement of the Industrial Revolution is the nation's 28th UNESCO site. A further 10 cultural sites were added to the World Heritage List, including Stoclet House in Belgium, the Ruins of Loropéni in Burkina Faso and Mount Wutai in China.

Britain's oldest continuously working cinema, The Phoenix in East Finchley, is to receive a makeover after a £608,800 grant from the Heritage Lottery fund (HLF). The revamp of the grade II-listed building will include the construction of a bar or café, repair work to the auditorium including the original Mollo and Egan plaster wall panels and barrel vaulted ceiling as well as the extension of the mezzanine. The restoration is

The Royal International Pavilion in Llangollen, North Wales, is set to be refurbished after receiving £1m from the Welsh Assembly Government in a bid to secure the future of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. Denbighshire County Council (DCC) will also provide an additional £600,000 towards work to upgrade the structure of the venue, which attracts visitors and participants from all over the world as part of the annual cultural festival. Welsh