Arts Council of Wales announced today the first phase of a major overhaul of its investment in the arts. Over the past year, the Council has been working on one of the most detailed funding reviews it has ever undertaken.
Announcing the outcome of the review, Arts Council of Wales Chair, Dai Smith said:
“We’re acting today to keep the arts vibrant and strong for tomorrow. We’re taking bold decisions to ensure that the best of the arts in Wales thrives in the future. By making clear our priorities, investing funds where they’re most needed and deserved, we’re setting the foundations for the longer-term success of the arts. We want the arts in Wales to thrive, not just survive. We’ll support work of quality and excellence in order to engage the widest possible audience across Wales, and to signal the vibrancy of contemporary Wales to the world.”
Features of the new strategy include:
- supporting a nation-wide network of organisations, working in English and in Welsh – from 2011/12, the Council is proposing to provide annual revenue funding to 71 organisations. They include a wide variety of organisations from orchestras, theatres and galleries, to arts centres, carnival and community arts organisations
- encouraging more people to develop their own creativity by taking part in the arts – the Council is investing in local communities, supporting arts activity that’s enjoyable, challenging and transformational. From Valleys Kids in Pen-y-Graig to Theatr Felinfach in Ceredigion, Rubicon Dance in Cardiff to Arts Connection in Powys, and Head for Arts in the south Wales valleys, we’re supporting organisations that make the arts part of people’s daily lives
- promoting Wales’s international reputation for dynamism, creativity and excellence – supporting a portfolio of companies who can represent the best of Wales on the world stage. International beacons of excellence – such as Artes Mundi, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, and Welsh National Opera – whose work is rooted in Wales
- investing in the country’s economic, cultural and social renewal – funding the best and most entrepreneurial organisations in the arts, companies such as Aberystwyth Arts Centre and Galeri in Caenarfon who are growing audiences, creating new employment opportunities and making our towns, cities and communities better places to live and work
- breathing new life into the arts – from National Theatre Wales to NoFit State Circus to Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias, the Arts Council is backing new talent and innovation
- transforming the places in which people experience and enjoy the arts – award winning buildings from Chapter Arts to Ruthin Craft Centre to Mostyn in Llandudno, to Aberystwyth Arts Centre for present and future generations to enjoy by offering distinctive, high quality and welcoming facilities for the arts
- advocating new opportunities for young people to enjoy and develop their own creativity – from Community Music Wales to Theatr Iolo, from Arad Goch to National Youth Arts Wales we want more young people to get involved in the arts, formally and informally, in and out of school.
Sadly, today doesn’t only bring good news. 32 organisations (who are currently receiving annual revenue funding) will, from April 2011, see this arrangement end. They will be able to receive support from a transition programme, and in future will also be able to apply for project funding. Council has had to reduce or discontinue funding to some so that it can
properly support those who remain.
Dai Smith said:
“We’ve looked carefully at what we can support. We started this process a long time ago. It’s never been about cuts, it’s been about using taxpayer’s money well. We’re not using the worsening economic climate as a convenient excuse, nor are we deflecting responsibility onto potential government funding cuts that might come at some point in the future. These are our decisions, and we take responsibility for them.”
In December, Arts Council of Wales hopes to learn the amount of funding it will receive for next year from the Welsh Assembly Government. At that juncture, individual funding allocations to the 71 organisations will be confirmed. The Council will also, at the same time, announce how it intends to reduce its own administrative and running costs. The announcements come at a time of unprecedented pressure on public funding.
Commenting on the situation, Prof Smith said:
“We’re not naïve. Wales will have to make cuts in public spending, and the Assembly Government will have its own choices to make about its funding priorities. We hope to persuade them of the prime value of investing in the arts as a key social and cultural driver for twenty-first century Wales.”
