First recipients of the Creative Wales Ambassadors Awards announced today

Arts Council of Wales, 29 April 2009,Wales

This year a further dimension was added to the Creative Wales Awards Ceremony, (April 29, 2009), with the inclusion of the new Creative Wales Ambassadors Awards.

The Creative Wales Ambassadors Awards is the Arts Council of Wales's Beacon scheme for individual artists and is an exciting and extremely valuable extension to our existing support structure for individuals.

Last night, at the Barry Memorial Hall and Theatre, the Minister of Heritage, Alun Ffred Jones, AM, presented four awards of £25,000, (£100k in total), to four exceptional Welsh artists: Michael Cousin, Sioned Huws, John Metcalf and Laura Thomas.

Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, the aim of the Creative Wales Ambassadors Awards is to recognise significant individual achievement in the arts, to raise the profile of Welsh culture outside of Wales and to provide financial support to enable the artist to develop a new programme of work.

Although the Creative Wales Ambassadors awards are focused on the individual, the scheme required the artist to demonstrate a strong partnership with two host organisations, one based in Wales and one beyond Wales.

The aim of the partnership with the host organisations is to provide a platform for the work the artist develops during the period of the award and to further promote art being produced in Wales.

Visual Artist, Michael Cousin, is based in Cardiff and received a 2007 Creative Wales Award from Arts Council of Wales. Michael will be working with Contemporary Temporary Artspace, (g39) and Danielle Arnaud Contemporary Arts Gallery, London on an offsite installation which will allow visitors to explore the works on their own timescale with their own emotions shaping their viewing experience.

Dancer and Choreographer, Sioned Huws, is originally from Bangor, North Wales. Sioned will be working with Chapter Arts Centre and Aomori Contemporary Arts Centre, Tokyo on her Creative Wales Ambassadors Project. The award will enable her to develop a wider cultural exchange between artists in both Wales and Japan and to promote Welsh culture internationally through residencies, workshop programmes and performances in Wales, London and Tokyo.

Composer, John Metcalf, is from Swansea. John will be working with Taliesin Arts Centre and international partner, the performing arts collaborative, Companion Star Inc, in New York. John's Creative Wales Ambassadors award will enable him to write 'Under Milk Wood-a Live Radio Opera' and to produce the opera in Wales and New York as well as exploring other international staging opportunities.

Applied Artist, Laura Thomas, is originally from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire and received a 2007 Creative Wales Award from Arts Council of Wales. Laura will be working with Ruthin Craft Centre and Brown Grotta Arts in the US, the leading fiber art representation body in the country. Laura hopes her Creative Wales Ambassadors Award will enable her to develop her career in the context of the American market, resulting in an exhibition of her work, promoting Welsh Craft on an international platform.

Presenting the awards, Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones congratulated the four Creative Wales Ambassadors:

"It is fitting that the Arts Council of Wales Annual Conference opened with the announcement of the inaugural Creative Wales Ambassadors - artists are the key to the future of our vibrant art scene and this award will help bring their work to a wider audience outside Wales, raising the profile of Welsh arts and crafts. In a scheme designed to acknowledge excellence and encourage innovation by individual artists across art forms, it is extremely pleasing to see that these four Creative Wales Ambassadors represent such a diverse group of individuals with such a variety of different projects. This is an achievement they should all be proud of, I congratulate them all and wish them the best with their chosen projects".

Professor Dai Smith, Arts Council of Wales Chair, commented on this year's selection of recipients:

"We were looking for first class artists with an established reputation in their field who also had an imaginative and creative collaborative project to offer. The judging panel was delighted with the exceptional quality and range of artists who were put forward for consideration this year. We chose the title "Creative Wales Ambassadors" for these awards as the Artists will not only be promoting Welsh Art nationally but also on an international platform. We're confident that the four Creative Wales Ambassadors will use their award to put Welsh Art on the world map".

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