The Wales Arts Review met for the first time yesterday [27 April]. One of their first decisions was that the review would be wide-ranging, open and robust and that extensive consultation with a wide range of interested parties would take place.The Chair of the Review, Elan Closs Stephens said: “We are determined that the review will be robust, independent and extensive. There is a huge amount of work to get through. We are really keen for this to be a collective national conversation on funding the arts, including access, involvement and excellence.” “We recognise that it’s a huge task and we are looking forward to hearing a wide range of views. We will be holding public meetings across Wales and meeting with key stakeholders. We also want people to submit written evidence.” At the meeting the Review Panel agreed its timetable and work programme. The Panel hopes to hear evidence from the Culture Minister and from the Arts Council of Wales during its first few weeks. A website will be set up and information about the Review, including the public meetings, will be made available through the website. The site will be live before the end of May. The Wales Arts Review has been charged with undertaking a review of the arts in Wales for the Welsh Assembly Government and to produce a final report by December 2006. They will look at the existing and future role of the Arts Council of Wales in relation to the funding of the arts, including the national arts organisations, the development of the arts in Wales, the development of access and inclusion in the arts, and tacking social inequalities. They will also examine the roles of the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government in future and the funding of the arts in an international context. The panel includes: Elan Closs Stephens (Chair) CBE, former Chair of S4C, and Professor of Communications and Creative Industries in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth; Roger Lewis, Managing Director, ITV Wales; Paul Loveluck, CBE, President of the National Museum Wales; Vicky Macdonald, former Curator of the Cambrian Academy Conwy from 1993-2005; Professor M Wynn Thomas, Swansea, Director of the Centre for Research into the English Literature and Language of Wales; and Alan Watkin, Chief Leisure, Libraries and Culture Officer Wrexham County Council. For further information, contact Lowri Jones, 029 2089 8557 |
| national assembly of wales web site: |
| Lowri Jones e-mail: |
Saturday, April 29, 2006 |
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