Nick Capaldi, Cheif Executive Officer, Arts Council of Wales
It’s all too easy to take the arts for granted. In fact, they’re an important – and growing – part of people’s lives. The recently published findings of the 2008 Welsh Omnibus Survey show that more people than ever before are attending, and taking part in, arts activity. And as this Newsletter proves, there’s an incredible variety of astonishing arts activity across Wales for people to get involved with.
So let’s not forget that the arts do matter. We all know that having a vibrant and forward‑looking culture is the hallmark of a creative and confident nation. We want as many people as possible to experience and enjoy the arts – to be inspired by imagination and creativity, excited by ambition and spectacle, fascinated by the new and unfamiliar. But we also know that the arts have a role to play across many different aspects of civic life. In our everyday concerns about community spirit, our built environment, health and education, it’s the arts that often provide the ties that bind people and communities together.
Nowhere is this more important than in the creative opportunities we make for our young people. The arts can transform the way children and young people learn and explore the world around them. It can change the way they see themselves – even what they dream of for the future – as well as helping them to develop life skills they need for our increasingly competitive world of work. There’s a growing body of evidence that shows how the arts can tackle youth poverty, inspiring young people with new ambition and confidence, challenging poverty of aspiration. This is why we’re so delighted that the Arts Council is working with the Welsh Assembly Government on the Reach the Heights project, helping young people find new opportunities for creative education, training and employment.
Of course, we’re not immune from the pressures that are being faced by all sectors of public life. Those who attended this year’s Arts Council Conference in Barry heard the Heritage Minister’s warning that the arts will have to argue its cause with passion and vigour. It’s a challenge that we’re happy to accept. After all, Wales will be the poorer if we don’t, so we must all be determined to see strong, vibrant and exciting arts thriving long into the future.