Arts Council of Wales, in partnership with Natural Resources Wales, the National Trust and the Elan Valley Trust are looking for eight artists, based in Wales, to be awarded the Future Wales Fellowship.
The Fellowship is a paid opportunity for eight artists, or creative individuals, who will receive a grant of £25,000 each to spend 16 months undertaking creative research on the theme of “connection to nature”. It is an opportunity to challenge our understanding and relationship with nature and to explore ways of reconnecting people and communities with the nature around them.
Artists can work in any artform and will be given support and opportunities to develop their own artistic research, but also to engage participants and audiences with the nature emergency and our relationship with the natural world.
This opportunity is part of the Creative Nature Partnership between Natural Resources Wales and Arts Council of Wales, which aims to cultivate the relationship between the arts and the natural environment, as part of a shared commitment to improve the environmental and cultural well-being of Wales. We believe that both nature and the arts can help promote wellbeing and improve the quality of people’s lives, which has led us to set the theme of “connection to nature”.
Applications to the Future Wales Fellowship is open to all but we would like to see more people from under-represented backgrounds applying. Under-represented could mean people who face barriers to opportunities due to their sexuality, ethnicity, social and economic background, or a disability.
In addition to new partners National Trust and Elan Valley Trust, we are delighted to announce that Peak Cymru has been selected (following an open call application process) to co-host a structured development programme which will support the Fellows, working in collaboration with arts manager and creative producer Elen Roberts.
Successful artists invited to be a Future Wales Fellow will:
- Receive a grant of £25,000 for a 16-month Fellowship from December 2023 to March 2025.
- Develop creative research that addresses the themes of the Fellowship and engages participants and audiences.
- Participate in a development programme hosted with Peak Cymru, combining curatorial dialogue, mentoring and support, collaborative conversations about ideas, research and work in progress, and 3 in-person, three-day residential visits with guest practitioners.
- Share their practice and process as part of wider, cross-sector conversations exploring our relationship with nature via 1-2 public events across the duration of the Fellowship.
- Have opportunities to learn from and respond to sites managed by Natural Resources Wales, The National Trust and the Elan Valley Trust.
The Fund opens on 2 August 2023 and closes on 15 September 2023 at 5pm.
Apply here: Link to guidelines
If you would like to find out more about joining the Future Wales Fellowship, Arts Council of Wales will be holding 2 online events.
1000-1100, 30 August 2023 with the Climate & Culture Working Group. Click here to register: https://forms.gle/6592o2bByrvyNhVa8
0830-0930, 6 September 2023 with What’s Next? Cymru https://eisteddfod.zoom.us/j/83413535015#success
“The arts offer a powerful way for us to explore how we connect with nature, which is important both for our own wellbeing and for taking action to protect our natural environment for future generations. We’re delighted to be able to offer artists an opportunity to explore this theme through the Future Wales Fellowship as part of our Creative Nature Partnership with Natural Resources Wales, and to welcome new partners National Trust, Elan Valley Trust and Peak Cymru on board for this second iteration of the Fellowship.”
Judith Musker Turner – Portfolio Manager, Arts Council of Wales
“We know that we need to take urgent global action to address the climate and nature emergencies, but sometimes it is the little things that can make the most meaningful contribution to change. Our personal relationship with nature is often undervalued and our access to nature can be disproportionately influenced by our social circumstances. Building on the first round of the Future Wales Fellowship, we are delighted to offer an opportunity for 8 artists to spend time creatively exploring what connection to nature means to us today, and how we might centre social justice in the way we act towards nature in future.”
Joseph Roberts, Lead Specialist Advisor: Outdoor Access and Recreation, Natural Resources Wales