A vision of “a creative Wales where the arts are central to the life of the Nation” is behind ‘Inspire’, the Arts Council of Wales’ (ACW) new five-year strategy.
Describing the arts as “a cornerstone in Wales’s 21st century renewal”, the document, a draft of which was put out to consultation earlier this year, sets out what ACW wants to achieve in the coming years, focussing on ten “challenges” that will drive its funding and developmental decisions.
The strategy marks what ACW describes as a breaking with the past, replacing “strategising around defined artforms” with a new approach, summarised as “Make, Reach, Sustain”.
The aim for ACW is to enable creative professionals to work at their best; to support them to connect with and inspire the people of Wales; and to ensure that both of these can continue in the long-term, in spite of the prevailing economic conditions.
Recognising the role of ACW as a key player in the cultural life of Wales, the strategy emphasises ACW’s will to continue listening and learning so as to “remain relevant and in touch” and be more likely to “offer programmes and services that are needed and which represent value for money to the Welsh taxpayer”.
Connect and extend
Writing for Arts Professional, David Alston, Arts Director at ACW, said: “We see our role as encouraging and supporting the best that Wales can make in art, irrespective of media, type and form – and doing it in many ways, not just by giving financial support.
“We want to emphasise the reach of that art and to favour art that wants to connect and extend that reach, particularly beyond the bounds of its ‘taken as read’ public.
“At the heart of what we do will be the nurturing of creative professionals, to enable them to be their best… We are seeing working internationally, for artists and companies of calibre and readiness, as an issue of sustainability and a calling card for our creativity globally.
“We are looking to advocate and promote what the arts can do, with the collateral effect of empowering communities and contributing to new economic possibilities and wellbeing.”
