Arts Council of Wales to review regular funding

Five years after a radical review of funding which saw a net loss of 28 regularly funded arts organisations in Wales, the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) is preparing to undertake another major review of funding. 2015/16 is the fifth and final year in ACW’s funding cycle and the current portfolio of 69 revenue funded organisations, which will share £27.2m this year, will be in the spotlight for the 2015 Review, which will decide the shape and membership of the future portfolio.

Since 2010 Welsh Government arts funding has fallen by 10%, and ACW has set out to protect front line activity by reducing Grant in Aid in other development programmes and cutting its own running costs. But a statement by ACW makes it clear that this strategy is unlikely to continue: “…the horizon for the arts is changing and we need to ensure that we are supporting the right organisations across Wales to help deliver our future strategies.”

Professor Dai Smith, Chair of ACW, said: “The public rightly demands that the organisations that it funds offer quality, excellence and value for money. The Arts Council is fully committed to public value, and the Investment Review that we have launched will enable us to ensure that the people of Wales will continue to have access to the very best arts that Wales can offer.”

Online applications will open on 12 March 2015; the application deadline will be 14 May; and the new revenue portfolio will be announced on 21 October.