Money needed to rescue arts venues
THE future of our theatres, cinemas and music venues across Wales is a deeply uncertain one.
Since lockdown was announced in March, all these venues have had to shut their doors and put the jobs of thousands of its staff in jeopardy.
Unlike many other areas of the economy, such as shops and pubs which are slowly beginning to reopen, the same cannot be said for the arts sector.
These indoor settings rely on huge gatherings of people in close quarters – a recognised breeding ground for Covid-19 to take hold and flourish.
It means the industry is facing a crisis unlike anything it’s experienced before.
The Wales Millennium Centre, which has become one of Wales’ most recognised buildings over the last decade, has lost £20m in revenue and will not be able to open its doors until at least April 2021.
While some 250 people are at risk of losing their jobs, this news will undoubtedly have knock-on effects for the area as a whole, including its surrounding restaurants, shops, bars and attractions.
While arguably Wales’ most iconic cultural venue is haemorrhaging money, also spare a thought for all the smaller venues, many of which were operating on knife-edge margins anyway.
Yesterday the UK Government announced a £1.57bn support package for the UK arts sector, including museums, galleries, theatres and music venues.
In response, a number of famous Welsh faces, including singer Charlotte Church, harpist Catrin Finch and actor Mark Lewis Jones urged the First Minister to use Wales’ cut of the funding “in full” to support the arts sector.
In a letter to Mark Drakeford, the they warn that we could soon “witness a catastrophic chain of events” that could lead to the sector collapsing within a month unless urgent action was taken.
But as always, Mr Drakeford is very cautious of any funding announcements by the UK Government and what the package really means for the people of Wales.
In these challenging times many of us have turned to the arts for support. Whether it’s a painted rainbow in the window or a virtual performance via Zoom.
It is therefore imperative that we, as the land of song, get our fair share of funding from the UK Government and then plough it into keeping our treasured indoor facilities afloat for the long term.