The Inspire Wales Awards are an initiative of the Institute of Welsh Affairs in association with the Western Mail.
To celebrate the achievements of the men and women throughout Wales who make a significant contribution to society, the Institute of Welsh Affairs has teamed up with the Western Mail for the Inspire Wales Awards. The awards reward those in the fields of business, education, science, arts and media, the environment and sport, as well as seeking champions in citizenship and young achievers. Entries are encouraged from the public, private and voluntary sectors. In this profile, we reveal the finalists in the Arts, Media and Creative Industries category.
Dr Rhian Davies
Dr Davies is a 48-year-old self-employed writer and musician who has dedicated her career to promote the musical life of Wales at home and abroad through a wide range of media. As well as writing about music Dr Davies is also an artistic director of the Gregynog Festival which is held for a fortnight each June at Gregynog Hall, Tregynon, near Newtown. The festival is the oldest classical music festival of its kind in Wales and occupies a unique place within the cultural life of the nation and Montgomeryshire by combining music-making by international artists of the highest calibre with an exploration of its artistic, historic and social context. Dr Davies has also produced documentaries for S4C and BBC Wales while she is also an executive committee member of the Welsh Music Guild and a council member of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion.
Ms Olwen Moseley
As director of enterprise at Cardiff School of Art and Design at University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, Ms Moseley is part of the management team responsible for the strategic and operational development. Originally from a commercial background, her role enables her to use her experience while at the same time indulge in her passion for the power of design in contemporary society. One of the most significant projects she has undertaken as director of enterprise was launching the Cardiff Design Festival. The festival is a collaboration with public and private sector partners from the creative industries which has received much praise for its impact on the arts community in the six years it has been running. In fact the festival has had so much positive publicity Olwen was listed in 2005 and again in 2009 as one of the “Hot 50” most influential people in the UK by Design Week magazine.
Mr Dennis O’Neill
Mr O’Neill is a founder and director of the International Academy of Voice (IAV) at Cardiff University. As well as the day to day activities of teaching, management and staff and student selection he also regularly brings in world class celebrity singers for masterclasses to aid his students development. The IAV has only been established for three years yet it has already seen many of its students’ employed by opera houses in Berlin, Salzburg, Zurich and Vienna. Among his motivations Dennis counts the promise of future generations extremely significant. He is a firm believer of the musical traditions of Wales and is hopeful these can be spread further throughout the world with the help of future international partnerships.
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