‘We’re determined to broaden access to the arts for all people’
Phil George, chairman of the Arts Council of Wales, looks ahead to an exciting new year – and breaking down the barriers between the arts and the less well-off parts of our society...
2018 is going to be a big year for remembering the needs and hopes which bind us together as a society.
In July, we’ll be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the NHS and Nye Bevan’s colossal achievement in creating a health service free to all at the point of use.
In the arts, I’m thrilled to see both our national theatre companies, National Theatre Wales and Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, including a rich, bold and inclusive programme of events focused on the NHS in their 2018 seasons.
But all of us concerned with the common good, with the wellbeing of our fellow citizens, must be deeply anxious about the inequalities and social exclusion around us.
Wherever you stand in the Brexit debate, we were all stopped in our tracks in 2016 by the shout of contempt for institutions and establishments that came from the disadvantaged areas of Wales and England.
From outside the vibrant metropolitan centres, we were hearing the voices of those who felt forgotten and left behind.
Now, more than ever, it is urgent here in Wales that public bodies and those who spend public funds should pursue the widest possible distribution of social, economic and cultural benefit.
In doing this, we can be true to the powerful traditions of Welsh communitarianism.
It’s a challenge we’re taking up in the arts. We don’t see the arts as a bit of icing on the cake but rather the cake itself – as a central force for the wellbeing, delight and energising of people right across society.
We believe that those life enhancing experiences of the arts, of imaginative expression, are crucial for a healthy and dynamic society.
At the Arts Council of Wales, we’re determined to push forward with broadening access to the arts for the full range of Welsh people, as spectators, participants and artists.
And you will see this determination feature more prominently in our future plans.
There are two focuses to this: breaking down the barriers between the arts and the less well-off parts of our society; and pushing hard on equalities for groups such as BAME communities, LGBT people and the disabled.
Of course, this is not entirely new territory. From Ystalyfera to Menai Bridge, from Llanhilleth to Milford Haven, arts organisations and venues are making a big difference in areas of social need.
Community arts bodies like Valleys Kids and Head4Arts and companies like Arad Goch and Bara Caws are doing some great work. Major venues like Pontio in Bangor, Aberystwyth Arts Centre and Taliesin in Swansea are making crucial impacts on their patches. Outside the performing arts, you see galleries broadening the reach of involvement in the visual arts. But we need to push further, reach deeper.
Artists of all kinds are making a huge difference in more than 500 of our schools through our internationally-praised partnership with the Welsh Government, Creative Learning through the Arts; and our funding of seven artist-led regeneration projects across Wales is changing some of our urban and council estate environments – just look at the impact in Swansea High Street.
And the range of artistic activity we support is very wide, including the development of talent and new voices in the creative industries such as film and popular music.
But we can do even better in being more inclusive.
Now, I hear two challenges which often come up when I and others make this commitment and I want to face them head on.
The first challenge comes from those who believe that we can’t broaden engagement with the arts if we make big investments in prestigious national companies and producing houses in opera, theatre and dance – “there won’t be enough money to break out into more disadvantaged areas; and these art forms or institutions are not friendly to poorer people”.
There’s some truth in this challenge but I still essentially disagree with it.
Organisations like Wales Millennium Centre, the Sherman Theatre, Theatr Clwyd, Welsh National Opera and National Dance Company Wales are beacons of excellence and aspiration.
But they are also crucial engines of change in broadening engagement and supporting activity and development of talent across our communities. It might not be immediately apparent to everyone, but they’re doing some vital work in this regard and are set to do more.
The second challenge comes from those who think that the hardpressed arts sector is being given too much to do in broadening social engagement and in committing to areas like health and education. They fear that the intrinsic value of the arts will be neglected for other purposes – that the creative freedom of artists will be undermined.
Well, at the Arts Council of Wales, we are committed to excellence and to supporting bold, innovative and provocative art. This is crucial and definitive.
But so is reaching a wider range of our fellow citizens with the transformative power of the arts. Access and excellence of various kinds must go together – that’s our challenge. And it’s one we should relish.