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New funding for regional Welsh arts
The Arts Council of Wales has announced ambitious plans to spend an extra £2m of Welsh Assembly Government funding on arts organisations working outside Cardiff. The plans have arisen from extensive consultation with the national arts sector. Proposals included in consultative documentation include plans for a sum of £1,000,000, to be distributed to arts venues during 2005/06 and a further £2,000,000, available in 2006/07. The consultation document sets out the case for distributing the funding between existing venues, provisions to increase the number and quality of productions and by providing for greater cross-border touring. The venues to receive additional funding are intended to create a national network of centres each impacting on their local area and contributing to the development of the arts in Wales as a whole. Chief Executive of ACW, Peter Tyndall, said: ‘This investment is one of the most important developments in the arts in Wales for a generation. It will ensure that audiences throughout Wales can experience excellence in the performing arts and ensure that Welsh actors, dancers and musicians are using their creativity to many more of the people of Wales’. ‘Through in-depth consultation we have sought to apply ourselves to the strategic vision of access to a high quality arts venue for everyone in Wales. It is our aim that no one will be more than 45 minutes away from a top class theatre, arts centre or gallery.” He continued, “Such a vision would have been unthinkable before devolution and is only realisable thanks to the increasing support the arts receive from the Welsh Assembly Government.’ ‘There is no shortage of creative talent in Wales - the Arts Outside Cardiff funding will help ensure that communities in Wales have the opportunity to enjoy performing arts of the highest quality,’ said Alun Pugh, Minister for Culture Welsh Language and Sport, endorsing the new initiative. To download the consultation document, CLICK HERE For more information, CLICK HERE
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