| 2024: A Year Without Precedent of Cultural Critique |
Culture in the Senedd |
| Senedd Members, Actors, Singers, Writers Speak with Common Voice in Condemnation , Culture Policy of Government of Wales , December 28, 2024 |
Sir Bryn Terfel performed an evening of Christmas carols at the Swansea Arena on 18th December. He had in earlier days recorded not far away with Pavarotti and Joan Sunderland. He spoke of 2024:“The arts in Wales are on their knees.” It was a current that coursed throughout what was a sobering year. On 21st December 2023 Gary Raymond had appeared on Radio 4's “Front Row” to say: “There is so little money in the arts in Wales. If you feel it's bad in England you should come over and try to put a show or publish a book or anything like that in Wales. There is so little money going around in Wales. The arts at the moment is running as close to an amateur sector or semi-professional sector as you can get and still walk around with your head held high.” One year on, 27th December 2024, Radio Cymru Wales ran its retrospective of the year in culture. Charles Williams opened with: “From a funding perspective it's been an annus horribilis. Funding slashed left, right and centre. Saint David's Hall closed. Cardiff Singer of the Year postponed for another couple of years. S4C in trouble. WNO. It goes on.” * * * * The voices in common are not those from a minority on the fringe. They come from the epicentre of accomplishment in the arts in Wales. In November Matthew Rhys used the adjective “stabbing" to describe the cuts to the arts in Wales. The arts, he said, were "absolutely not" receiving the support needed to thrive. The prospects, he said, were "very bleak.” The closure by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama of its junior conservatoire left him "speechless". “If there's one thing I think Wales has always done well it's the nurturing of art in the youngsters of Wales. There's no downside to doing art of any kind in your youth. It only opens doors, broadens horizons and helps you, I believe, down the line. And so to strip the primary funding, I think, is woeful." * * * * On 14th November BBC Cymru Wales cited Dafydd Rhys, Chief Executive of Arts Council Wales:. “If funding cuts to the arts industry continue “there will be no professional sector in 10 years”. “Arts Council Wales has received a 40% cut in funding in real terms since 2010.” “In June, research commissioned by performing arts union Equity revealed that in real terms, overall arts funding in Wales had dropped by 30% since 2017. “This is compared to a drop of 11% in England, 16% in Northern Ireland, and an increase by 2% in Scotland.” Dafydd Rhys had also featured on "Front Row" 24th January: “This is a significant cut to the arts. In 2010 ACW was receiving somewhere in the region of £35m from the Welsh Government. In 2024 the proposed budget is £30m. So, in real-terms it’s a cut of something in the region of 37% since 2010.” * * * * Culture is debated vigorously in Westminster but not on the floor of the Senedd. But on 13th October Alun Davies, Member of the Senedd for Blaenau Gwent, left the facts of the culture policy of the Government of Wales in the official record. “The Welsh Government has not funded the arts and culture sector in the same way as, say, Scotland or the Republic of Ireland, in terms of general funding over the last decade, and perhaps more. “We tick the boxes and I've never heard a Minister in the Welsh Government not talk about culture at some point; I've done it myself—but when it comes to voting on the budget, which is the real declaration of a government's values, the arts and culture sector is the easy target and is cut. “...that is not a recent issue since the pandemic; it's been the same going back over a decade. So, that tells me that the Government says one thing and does another.” * * * * In May an open letter was signed by 175 artists including Sir Bryn Terfel, Katherine Jenkins, Michael Sheen and Ruth Jones calling for emergency funding for Welsh National Opera, after it received a funding cut of 35% from Arts Council England and 11.8% from Arts Council Wales. “Elizabeth Atherton, an opera singer, said she had “no confidence” that the Welsh or UK governments were taking the matter seriously enough and said morale within the sector was "at an all-time low". “Without serious investment from government we will soon have nothing left for future generations.” “Yvette Vaughan Jones, chairwoman of Welsh National Opera said “continued cuts to the arts are a significant concern". Composer Geraint Cynan later spoke on Radio Cymru's Sunday Supplement on 22nd September: “We're happy to label ourselves the land of song. But we're in the middle of loads of cuts at Welsh National Opera at the moment. Politicians of all colours are willing to laud the ability of Wales to front the world, tenors, singers, actors, but are they willing to fund it?” * * * * On 18th May Tim Price was author of a weighty essay. “The Cabinet Secretaries for Culture and Social Justice alongside Arts Council Wales has consistently failed to make the case for the arts in Wales. Compared to England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and Ireland, Wales spends the least amount of money per head on culture. We spend just a little bit more than the English West Midlands. “We have had a decade of standstill funding in the arts, which in real terms is a cut of nearly 40% for some organisations. On top of this decade of standstill funding, Arts Council Wales had an additional 10% cut from Welsh Government this year. Our arts leaders are consistently not winning the argument for artists. “...But is it even possible to make a case for the arts when the minister in charge has a brief that covers: the arts, elite sports, heritage, broadcasting, the voluntary sector, welfare reform, asylum seekers, police and crime commissioners, human rights, community safety, prisons and the future generations framework. Is there hope for a nuanced understanding of anything with a brief like that? I suspect not. “I don’t believe the current Welsh Government values the arts or even understands the arts, and I don’t believe Arts Council Wales has the leverage to protect the next generation from more cuts.” * * * * Also on 18th May Lorna Prichard, Culture Correspondent for BBC Cymru Wales wrote a feature on Michael Sheen. “Sheen, from Port Talbot, said it would be "an outrage... terrible" if a continuation of funding cuts meant an end for the Welsh arts sector and insisted the public would not let that happen. “We are not going to let our country die, are we. We are not going to let it culturally die and wither on the vine," he said. "We have to do something about it. We’re not going to sit here and let people take everything away from us.” "...We have to make sure our voices are heard. Even if the opportunities for those voices to be heard are being shut down, then we have to shout louder don't we." On 11th February Michael Sheen was interviewed in the Sunday Times. Jonathan Dean wrote: “He mentions the collapse of local journalism and funding cuts...These are the kinds of conversations he wants to have- but where in Wales are they taking place?” “All the things that are about cultural identity in Wales are to do with the past and, for me, it's much more about exploring what is alive about Welsh identity now.” * * * * It is in the nature of governance in Cardiff that no Culture Secretary ever offer themself for interview. In its place the public is given: “The Welsh government said: “The arts sector makes a vital contribution to our social, cultural and economic fabric - enriching our communities and inspiring future generations.” “The Welsh government said it is "determined" current financial challenges will not restrict its "long-term ambitions for the sector". “The Welsh government said the arts sector made "a vital social, cultural and economic contribution to our society, enriching communities and inspiring future generations". “It added that the current financial challenges should not restrict its long-term ambitions for the sector.” This is public policy that might as well be made by an AI bot. But, on a rare occasion in autumn, an encounter took place between two human speakers. The official record of the Senedd for 13th November 2024 reads: Heledd Fychnan:: “This is 14 years of underinvestment in culture and sport—no strategy from Welsh Government” Jack Sargeant, Culture Secretary: “We've had 14 years of policies from a Westminster Government. That impact of austerity is very real, and the situation that is in front of the arts, culture and sports sector faces up to the reality of those policies. And that was a choice by the Conservative Government.” Heledd Fychan: “But we're talking about the Welsh Government.” |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
This review has been read 370 times There are 27 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
