In an interview for BBC Wales Sunday Supplement, Roger Lewis discusses the funding crisis facing the creative industries in Wales and the UK.
Last weekend I was invited to appear on BBC Wales Sunday Supplement, presented by the inimitable Vaughan Roderick. The prompt for the interview was the review I recently conducted into Cadw, the historic environment service, to be discussed in the context of the National Eisteddfod being held in the heart of the valleys of South Wales.
Our conversation, though, soon moved onto the funding crisis facing the cultural, artistic, music, heritage and creative industry sectors in Wales and the UK. I made no bones about it.
Equity, the arts, and entertainment trade union’s research, shows that funding for the arts in Wales from national bodies has dropped by 30% for Wales in real terms since 2017.
I said that they are in dire straits, due to years of chronic underfunding, and the lack of coherent joined up long term UK wide strategies. For good measure, I added that access to the arts, whether to participate, learn or experience, for both young and old, is under greater threat today than for a generation, and that ultimately, we are failing our future generations, who will not have the opportunities we have experienced in our lifetime.
I emphasised that Wales has been hit hard and that the many and varied issues facing us make for bleak listening. The Blackwood Miners Institute, part of our Welsh DNA, is under threat of closure, and the orchestra of Welsh National Opera have voted overwhelmingly for strike action. Equity, the arts, and entertainment trade union’s research, shows that funding for the arts in Wales from national bodies has dropped by 30% for Wales in real terms since 2017. That’s the biggest hit amongst all four nations: England dropped by 11%, Northern Ireland by 16%, Scotland increased by 2% but we in Wales have dropped by 30%.
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Vaughan rightly challenged me. How can any argument for increased arts funding stand alongside the urgent financial demands of our health and education services? Well, at the head of that day’s programme was a probing feature on the violent scenes across England following the shocking events in Southport. And so, I said that I believe our cultural sectors have a fundamental part to play in addressing such dreadful situations and I explained why: our cultural activities, with cultural tolerance and understanding, are key ingredients in the glue that holds our communities and our country together. Opportunities to invest in shared cultural experiences, undertaken in a spirit of generosity and trust, can benefit so many in society. And if we want to nurture curiosity, imagination, creativity, and ultimately encourage civilising activity, and if we think that the arts enhance social and economic well-being, we must act now. We must act differently, smarter, and be far more radical in our thinking and most importantly our actions.
Wales, as someone once said, is “the land of the pulled punch”. Well, the arts funding arguments in Wales have pulled so many punches over the past decade that they have been knocked over the ropes and out of the ring. We must stand up, get back on our feet and argue our corner. The creative and cultural sectors need to make compelling cases for support, sensitively and skillfully. We need to challenge the old ways of working.
Opportunities to invest in shared cultural experiences, undertaken in a spirit of generosity and trust, can benefit so many in society.
We need new partnerships, new alliances, new relationships. And we must ensure that devolution is a help, not a hindrance. Welsh National Opera’s work in England is vital for the company’s survival in Wales. The critical mass created by our local authorities working together is key to safeguarding wider regional cultural activity. I added that there is a new UK Government in Westminster who have said they are committed to fixing the foundations to build a better future. In their policy statements and manifesto leading up to the recent general election, the new Labour government outlined a raft of ideas and initiatives to support the arts and the creative industries. Wales must embrace this thinking.
There was, understandably, no time on the programme to delve further into these vitally important and complex topics for further debate and discussion. I only had four minutes and only scratched their surface. But over the coming weeks and months, there is an opportunity for many voices to be heard. The Senedd Culture Committee has recently launched a consultation process to help understand the impact of funding reductions for culture and sport ahead of the autumn budget.
I passionately believe that carefully considered cultural strategies can regenerate our villages, towns and cities. When I was a Board Director of Liverpool European Capital of Culture, we all agreed that the key metric for the festival’s success would be the creation of good, long term sustainable jobs alongside the city’s physical regeneration, and both were delivered. Liverpool was transformed. Such thinking can be part of our argument.
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Cardiff Bay and Westminster need to come together and identify and agree what works best for the UK and the devolved nations interests when it comes to the big arts and cultural projects which transcend boundaries. Clear red water is a sound bite not a strategy when it comes to leveraging the might of all, for the good of all in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England. A new strategy for culture is critical to all our well-being, both social and economic.
The wonderful myriad displays of Welsh culture on the Maes in Pontypridd this week, celebrating the rich kaleidoscope of Welsh identity was a feast to behold and listen to. But Wales is in danger of being silenced if we do not act decisively now.
You can make your voice heard by contributing to the Senedd Culture Committees consultation process here.
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