|
|
|||
|
News
|
|||
|
News |
Dateline: 27th February, 2005
An Extra £2M, WAG Confirms Welsh Assembly Government investment in the arts will increase by £2m to £26.6m over the next financial year, Culture Minister Alun Pugh has confirmed. Setting out the budget for the Arts Council of Wales, the Minister said the increase of 9.7% reflected the importance the Assembly Government placed on sustaining and developing arts and culture in Wales. "There is no doubt that the arts make a major contribution to the quality of life in Wales, and, since devolution, investment in the arts in Wales has almost doubled from £14,541m in 1999 to this year’s record £26,615m," said the Minister. "The creation of the Culture Board, which will work on determining the overall strategic direction for culture in Wales, will ensure that we can develop even better and more integrated cultural policies. "This year’s budget will enable the Arts Council to continue its sterling work of supporting and developing the diverse and active arts scene we are lucky to enjoy in Wales." With £1.16m earmarked for capital investment, theatres across Wales stand to benefit particularly from this year’s budget. This new money will play a significant role in the delivery of the forthcoming English Language Theatre Strategy. In addition, there are substantial revenue increases, including £1m for the Arts Outside Cardiff programme, £800,000 for Wales Millennium Centre resident companies and £90,000 for the Brecon Jazz Festival. The Arts Outside Cardiff programme will include support for Clwyd Theatr Cymru’s mobile theatre, which tours Communities First areas, and the Night Out scheme which delivers high quality performance to communities across Wales. As part of its remit for this year, the ACW is also required to continue developing the work of Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru. Welsh theatre commentators, however, point out that this is not new money at all, but the package which was announced on 2nd October, 2003. "How many times can they claim this money is new?" asked Theatre in Wales website editor, Keith Morris. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
|
||
|
|
