BBC outlines new arts and culture programming for 2018

Jonty Claypole, BBC Director of Arts says: “This is an exceptional year of programming on the BBC, from the biggest arts commission in decades, Civilisations, to world-class creative documentaries across TV and radio, ground-breaking performance, review and criticism and arts participation projects right the way across the UK to inspire everyone.

"As the nation’s stage, the BBC wants the UK to be the most creative and culturally engaged country in the world, because the arts bring us together like nothing else. There really will be something for everyone who loves the arts on the BBC in 2018.”

Download the full BBC Arts 2018 media pack here

Performance

• A season of dance on BBC Four shines a light on a broad range of dance styles from ballet and contemporary, to tap and hip-hop including a ground breaking partnership with Sadler’s Wells to create four special 30 minute films with leading dance talents: Zenaida Yanowsky, Carlos Pons Guerra, Shobana Jeyasingh, Dickson Mbi
• The BBC, in partnership with The Space, is taking the acclaimed all-female Shakespeare Trilogy from the Donmar Warehouse to BBC Four
• Performance Live returns this year with more live dance and theatre adaptations across BBC television
• Robert Icke’s vivid, ground-breaking production of Hamlet with Andrew Scott as the prince comes to BBC Two

Creative documentaries

• Imagine, the BBC’s award-winning documentary series presented by Alan Yentob returns to BBC One and BBC Two with subjects including Mel Brooks, Philip Pullman, Rupert Everett on Oscar Wilde, and Tracey Emin
• Mark Kermode presents a new series for BBC Four about the secrets of movie making. Plus Film 2018 returns to our screens
• Kirsty Wark presents a programme about the Scottish writer Muriel Spark for BBC Scotland and BBC Four. BBC Radio 3 is also exploring of one of the writer’s best known works, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and five female Scottish writers present their takes on her life and work
• A film about author, poet, journalist and short story writer, Angela Carter explores one of the most original and iconoclastic voices of the 20th century
• Picasso’s Last Stand, for BBC Two, reveals the untold story of the last decade of the great artist’s life, through the testimony of family and close friends
• Artist, director and Scottish Venice Biennale entrant, Rachel Maclean, reflects on a century of female enfranchisement with her first feature length broadcast film, Make Me Up

Campaigns and festivals

• Get Creative Festival returns from 17-25 March which will see the BBC working with hundreds of organisations across the country to encourage everyone to try something new and creative - from pottery to painting to printmaking and much more besides
• Contains Strong Language poetry festival returns in the Autumn in Hull, with an evening of new plays inspired by Spike Milligan, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 amongst other content
• Civilisations Festival - more than 200 museums, galleries, archives and libraries are set to take part in a festival that will shine a spotlight on collections across the UK. They’ll be hosting events to spark debate, broaden understanding and share ideas about what the term civilisation means for their communities
• Hay Festival - the BBC returns once more to the Hay Festival with screenings, talks and live broadcasts of some of its well-loved content

Related Media Centre Links

• BBC partners with museums, galleries and libraries across the UK to launch a major cultural initiative - The Civilisations Festival
• BBC Two to broadcast Robert Icke’s critically-acclaimed production of Hamlet starring Andrew Scott
• Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Olusoga to present BBC Two series Civilisations