Today sees the soft launch of The Space, a new free digital arts service developed by Arts Council England in partnership with the BBC.

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

At the heart of The Space is a new commissioning model, enabling artists and organisations to film and make work specifically for the main digital platforms. Some are live-streaming their events, others trailblazing new formats, all with mentoring support and training from the BBC where required.

Work from established organisations of world-renown will sit alongside innovative work from emerging artists to make The Space a laboratory of endeavour, committed to the sharing of new and developing skills.

Over the next six months, The Space will showcase some of the most exciting arts and culture events from across the UK. With something new added every day, the service will gradually fill up to become a record of an exceptional summer which includes the London 2012 Festival, the wider Cultural Olympiad, the Diamond Jubilee, the World Shakespeare Festival and the Edinburgh Festival.

Keep up to date with upcoming content at facebook.com/thespacearts and on Twitter@thespacearts and #thespacearts.

Read more on the arts council website.