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Attendance: Cynog Dafis (Plaid Cymru, Mid & West Wales: Chair) Tom Middlehurst (Labour, Alyn & Deeside: Assembly Secretary) Elin Jones (Plaid Cymru, Ceredigion) John Griffiths (Labour, Newport East) Christine Humphreys (Liberal Democrat, North Wales) Apologies Jonathan Morgan (Conservative, South Wales Central) Alun Pugh (Labour, Clwyd West) Christine Chapman (Labour, Cynon Valley) Jocelyn Davies (Plaid Cymru, South Wales East) Officials Julia Annand (Committee Clerk) Stephen Thomas (Deputy Committee Clerk) Also in attendance Ceri Sherlock (Committee's Arts & Culture expert advisor) Declarations of Interest: None Introduction The Chair welcomed everyone to the third of the Post-16 Education and Training Committee's arts and culture roadshows. He told the Committee that he and the Committee's special advisor had visited two local schools in the morning. They were heartened by the childrens' comments particularly the apparent desire to escape from the culture of television and an eagerness to attend and participate in live performance. Elin Jones expressed her disappointment that, for the third roadshow in succession, no member of the Conservative party was present. Policy Review: Arts & Culture in Wales - ETR 8-00(p.1a-f) Questions were put to the following organisations: Clwyd Theatr Cymru Representatives: Terry Hands Margaret Hanson The following points were raised during the question and answer session: The recently published Boyden report, prepared for the Arts Council of England points to the fact that lack of funding and over-management have contributed to the decline in regional theatres and in theatre-going. Boyden argues that over-management has divided the audience rather than unified it. The decline in theatre-going might suggest a decreasing relevance of theatre to people's cultural life. The whole idea of theatre as a passionate debating chamber has slipped; audiences now often attend theatre merely for gratification. Theatre companies need to build bridges with new audiences. Mr Hands recommended a return to a policy adopted by the Arts Council of England in the 1960s whereby new arts companies had to be established for two years before being given state help. The voluntary, amateur and community arts do have a part to play in the cultural revival of Wales, but this is largely restricted to certain artforms eg music. As far as the theatre is concerned, amateur theatre has great value for the individual, but such theatre cannot advance Wales's position on the international stage. The very best professional art speaks to people as human beings and cuts across issues of nationality. Other countries do not talk about French art or German art. The great advantage of flagship companies is that they will create a fleet around them. The Assembly's cultural policy should avoid the Celtic fringe and target the world's mainstream. Mr Hands agreed that one of the functions of a "National Theatre" should be to interpret the cultural life of a nation, but in theatre terms Wales has a problem here as it does not have a playwright/author of the status of an Ibsen or Strindberg, around whom it can build a body of work. Previous experience in England has convinced Mr Hands that flagship companies should be funded directly from the centre (ie the Assembly). The "Pwerdy" (Welsh language National Theatre) concept for Theatr Gwynedd is a major and positive step for Welsh language theatre as it will provide a facility that could be used by all Welsh language theatre groups. Theatr Gwynedd Representatives: Dafydd Thomas Sian Summers The following points were made in discussion: Representatives of Theatr Gwynedd confirmed that discussions were on-going with ACW about the establishment of "Y Pwerdy" and that a consultation document was about to be issued. There has to be a touring arrangement within Welsh speaking communities, but the amount of touring expected by "Y Pwerdy" to compensate for the decrease in work of other companies will be unreasonably high without additional funding. Welsh language theatre needs a better foundation and structure. Talent cannot be created, but existing talent needs to be nurtured through better use of resources. There is currently little opportunity for artists to develop a career structure in Welsh language theatre and that is partly down to resources. Given a choice, artistic provision should come before bricks and mortar. Theatr Gwynedd agree with the principle of "funding fewer better", although by improving funding for the fewer, it's necessary to ensure that companies offer a diverse range of work. Local arts venues should provide the focus of culture for its community, but North Wales has a greater population than say Mid Wales and requires more community venues. The sheer size of a powerhouse organisation limits the service it can provide to small communities. Within its resources, Theatr Gwynedd tries to reflect the diversity of the local community, both in terms of its interests and its cultural background and also puts on performances from around the world to great acclaim. There is room for engagement and co-operation between professional and amateur theatre; professional theatre should not be endangered by the amateur side. Theatr Gwynedd believe that ACW should have a strategic overview of the arts in Wales and should fund art that will not immediately attract full houses. Local authorities should make a greater financial contribution towards the arts, particularly in respect of arts centres and performing venues. The arts world need to look at greater partnership funding; North Wales, in particular has had difficulty in attracting public sector sponsorship. Theatr Bara Caws Representatives: Ian Rowlands Linda Brown Berwyn Morris-Jones Emyr Morris-Jones The following points were made in discussion: The establishment of "Y Pwerdy" has become a very slow process, which is danger of losing momentum of the situation is not resolved quickly. Representatives of Theatr Bara Caws hoped that the significant touring work the company does, would not be lost in an amalgamation with Theatr Gwynedd, although they could not be certain that of this. In terms of addressing education and training, "Y Pwerdy" should nurture contact with drama departments. Theatr Bara Caws do not distinguish between professional and amateur theatre; the two should exist hand in hand. Excellence in theatre is difficult to define. The pursuit of excellence is an admirable goal, but Welsh language theatre needs to develop and experiment with different ways of staging events and in collaboration with television companies. The Assembly and funding bodies need to have faith in the creators of live theatre. We should try and develop a culture of faith and trust between artist, sponsor and audience. Theatr Bara Caws' representatives felt that culture could play a key role in the development of nationhood, but other activities such as sport were equally important to a nation's cultural health. New technology can have a great significance to the arts and to society in general, but it is no substitute for live art. Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru (TAC) Representative: Dafydd Hughes The following points were made in discussion: The Creative Industries should be seen as an integral part of culture and not set apart from it. There are dangers in treating the Creative Industries as competitive industries, but on the whole the Assembly should pay more attention to the arts' valuable contribution to the economy. S4C has had a dominant influence upon Welsh independent producers and a commissioning policy distinct from English language networks. This has led to Welsh producers being isolated from the national market. The independent producing sector needs to diversify; most of the companies in the independent sector are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and in terms of economic development, the Assembly could do many things to support the sector. The Creative Industries are a significant employer and the Assembly should recognise this. The lack of information regarding the formulation of local/national Objective 1 plans is having a negative effect on companies' abilities to take strategic decisions. The evolution of new technologies provides Wales with a great opportunity to broadcast and promote itself to the world. The world is now a village in terms of technology. There is a danger that we forget the creativity that goes into website design, animation etc. TAC emphasise the need for quality and high standards in television production. TAC's mission is to supply quality material in the Welsh language, mainly to S4C. Festivals of Wales (FoW) Representatives: Deian Creunant Kay Laver The following points were made in discussion: Festivals of Wales was formed in 1993 and its main objectives are to act as the main umbrella group for festivals in Wales and to promote the 65 member festivals that fall under its banner. The main stumbling block at present for member festivals is funding. Many festivals will soon have their lottery funding withdrawn and may face closure if alternative funding is not secured. There has been a significant flowering of activity in this field. Festivals are increasing throughout Wales and seven new ones will be brought under FoW's aegis this year. It is difficult to precisely define a festival; they vary in size and duration, but FoW have recently secured funding to employ a research and development officer who will be responsible for collating information about festivals including quantifying the social and economic effects of festivals on local areas. Festivals can supplement and enrich the work of other cultural institutions and add significant value to cultural tourism within a region. Tourist companies have not always been forthcoming in co-operating and entering into partnership with FoW. FoW would welcome this Committee's endorsement of closer between co-operation and links between themselves and the Wales Tourist Board. There is a danger that new festivals receiving lottery funding could undermine those festivals already established. Oriel Mostyn Representative: Martin Barlow The following points were made in discussion: Oriel Mostyn's core activities are its exhibitions' programme and historical exhibitions. It has also developed a consistent and regular education programme with local schools and colleges. Oriel Mostyn's funding is derived from a variety of sources. Approximately 55% of its funding comes from an ACW grant for revenue/core activities. 25-30% is generated from sales etc; most of the remainder comes from Conwy County Borough Council. Peter Lord has done invaluable work in excavating the history of Wales's visual culture. Oriel Mostyn has a policy of showing work by Welsh artists and is particularly interested in the work of artists who produce work of a distinctly Welsh flavour, while at the same time having an international appeal. The proposal to establish a National Gallery for Wales is laudable, but it has to be the right sort of gallery with a policy of collecting contemporary artists. Such a gallery would preferably be based in Cardiff, but having satellites throughout Wales. The establishment of the art in Wales gallery in the National Museum of Wales (NMW) was a significant step forward; NMW should be in the forefront of spearheading the development of a National Gallery. The contemporary art scene in Wales is relatively healthy but still very much in its infancy. Mr Barlow hoped to see a further cultural flowering from Wales's political evolution. New technologies are having a significant impact both on artforms and organisation but looking at images on a computer screen is still no substitute for visiting a gallery. Open microphone session The following contributions were received: The North Wales Area Committee of the Arts Council of Wales represented by Elinor Bennett, Sian Tomos and Patsy Wood made a presentation to the Committee. The North Wales branch of the Friends of Welsh National Opera (WNO) represented by Lionel Pilling, Ieuan Llewellyn Jones and Sandra Sandpatch wished to see WNO visit North Wales for an extra week. WNO currently visit Llandudno for one week a season, but there is a significant demand for opera in the North and performances are often over-subscribed. The WNO estimate that an additional week in North Wales could be met by an additional £75k. An extra week would prolong the season in North Wales and herald significant benefits for the local economy. Peter Gibson of Conwy County Council introduced Nick Reid, General Manager of the North Wales Theatre. Mr Reid stated that the North Wales Theatre was the largest receiving theatre in North Wales. Its contribution has been recognised by Conwy County Council but ACW has halved its funding contribution in recent years. Ramsay Isaac of Ffynnon Gwerin wanted to ensure the future of Cerddoriaeth Gwerin and urged the Committee not to ignore the Celtic fringe. Dyfed Wyn Edwards a music publisher, wanted to know why Wales has only received a 2% increase in its arts budget compared with 15% in England. He also made the point that the BBC National Orchestra of Wales perform very few works by Welsh composers and should do more to promote indigenous talent; only 3.5% of works in their current programme are by Welsh composers. Iola Emyr and Shelley Owen were concerned by the recent ACW announcement of the suspension of the contracts originally awarded to theatre companies under the Theatre for Young People franchise. They represent a company who had originally been awarded the franchise and had entered into discussion with Theatr Gwynedd and Theatr Bara Caws about "Y Pwerdy". They had heard nothing from ACW since the announcement of the suspension. Their comments were supported by Ieuan Llewellyn Jones. Ed Parry-Jones, a photographer, made the plea for a federal National Gallery. David Eager of the Countryside Council for Wales asked the Committee to consider the link between Wales art and its countryside and rural heritage. He drew the Committee's attention to the significance of environmental art such as architecture, civil engineering, town planning etc. William John Evans, a tutor from Coleg Menai, pointed to the lack of opportunity in the North to study photography at higher education level. |
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Thursday, March 30, 2000 |
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