Today the Welsh Government announced it is investing £53 million to help Wales’ diverse culture sector deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Arts Council of Wales is delighted by this significant investment of funds from the Welsh Government. These funds will be jointly administered by the Welsh Government and the Arts Council of Wales. Of the £53m total, the Arts Council of Wales will be allocated £25.5m of revenue funding and £2m of capital. 

The funds managed by us are for arts organisations who have been affected by Covid‑19 and who are trying to sustain themselves until they can resume publicly accessible activity in 2021 and beyond.

The Arts Council of Wales will be managing funds for:

  • theatres, arts centres and concert halls
  • galleries
  • organisations producing and touring arts activity
  • organisations providing participatory arts activity

The Welsh Government will be managing funds for:

  • grass roots music venues
  • heritage sites
  • local museums, libraries and archive services
  • events and festivals
  • independent cinemas
  • individual freelance creative professionals

 

Nick Capaldi, Chief Executive of Arts Council of Wales said:

“The announcement of these additional funds is the signal of support that the arts in Wales has been waiting for. The Welsh Government’s investment is a welcome acknowledgement of the importance of the arts to the well-being of the nation and to the country’s creative economy. With many arts organisations facing the imminent threat of insolvency, and freelancers struggling to see when they’ll secure their next paid work, these funds ease the immediate threat of a collapse in the creative sector. These funds offer artists and arts organisations a breathing space to stabilise their activities and encourage them to commit to the new ‘cultural contract’. It’s not enough just to protect and defend – we must create a new future in which cultural activities reach more widely and deeply across all of the public in Wales.”

 

We are currently finalising scheme details with the Welsh Government. We expect to open for applications in mid‑August, with decisions made in mid‑October.

Further information will be published on our website in the next couple of weeks.