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1 Other than providing additional arts funding, what do you feel the Assembly can/should offer the Arts in Wales and how could the Assembly develop its own definitive Arts and Cultural Policy? The Assembly should recognise and give status to the fantastic opportunities the Arts in Wales can offer to the Assembly in terms of selling Wales to the world, nurturing a sense of nationhood, offering employment, attracting inward investment. The Arts are not a luxury but a valuable resource - recognition of this provides stimulus to artists in Wales, and creates an environment in which creativity can flourish. The creating of such an environment is dependent on attitude and helped by funding, but when funding is limited attitude and awareness become of even greater importance. · The Assembly should produce a vision for the Arts in Wales and invite members of the arts community to help realise that vision. · This should lead to a comprehensive Arts Policy, with a clear strategic plan on how to deliver the vision · The process of delivery needs to be open and transparent · The Assembly can give the Arts additional status by being aware of any opportunity they can offer companies or individuals, to perform/exhibit at high profile international events e g. The European Summit. · The Assembly must take every opportunity to promote the importance of the arts to the business sector in Wales · It would he helpful for A M's to see the work - nothing speaks more eloquently than experience. · Finally the funding issue cannot be ignored - Investment in arts activity is crucial 2 What should he the principle objectives of an arts and cultural policy for Wales? · Quality and excellence - this has to be the guiding principle, the foundation on which everything else is built. · Diversity The "funding fewer better" mantra of ACW works against this by concentrating the majority of funding into a few, usually building based companies This disenfranchises whole communities in rural and urban Wales. Asking the larger companies to tour does not solve this problem. Only companies dedicated to community touring, understanding the needs and problems can adequately fulfil this role. We need a mixed Arts structure covering the whole of Wales. Access for all of the people of Wales. This means disability access, geographical access, linguistic access and access through pricing policies. · Policies should build on the wide-ranging arts activity which already exist in such a way that the arts can grow and flourish. · Professionalism. It is essential to the infrastructure of the arts in Wales that support is given to maintaining a sizeable core of professional practitioners whose creative and administrative talents underpin all aspects of arts practice. · The arts community is reeling from year on year of major changes in structure and funding, this is demoralising and works against creative expansion. It is essential for the Assembly to realise its responsibility by providing stability through strategic planning and long term commitment. 3 Should the priority qf such a policy be based on the arts in Wales or on Welsh arts? · A policy should recognise the need to nurture and develop both as together they weave the dynamic and unique tapestry of Welsh culture. · In addition it should recognise the fantastic opportunities offered by the world outside Wales to both Welsh artists and communities throughout Wales. · It must be inclusive not exclusive 4 Given a "clean sheet", how would you suggest the Assembly structures its funding and the management/development of the arts in Wales? · Ideally we would have a Ministry or Department of Culture, who would be responsible for policies and vision. · The strategy to deliver the policies would either be the responsibility of an Assembly sub-committee or ACW, or a mixture of the two. · Grant giving would be administered by either: 1. a committee made up of A.M.s, arts advisers/civil servants appointed with knowledge and expertise in the arts ii. ACW officers · I am not sure whether I would advocate the complete abolition of ACW. The whole issue of The Drama Strategy has created an environment of distrust, suspicion and animosity that will take years to rebuild - if it ever can be. To start the healing process radical structural changes have to occur. i. A clear redefining of roles and responsibilities between the Assembly and ACW. Who has the power to do what, and where do companies go for redress if they have a problem with the process. ii. A clarity about responsibilities within the Assembly, where does the power lie for final decisions, The Subject Secretary or the Committee? There is a perception that the Secretary feels the Post 16 Committee has an advisory role only with no decision-making teeth. Is this the case? iii. Absolute transparency and accountability. ACW Council meetings need to increase the number of Agenda A items by moving discussions currently on Agenda B. To publish minutes from Agenda B unless there is an issue of great sensitivity, in which case this item only would be omitted. 5 In your experience, how open and accessible do you feel ACW is and have they been prepared to listen to your views and take on board your ideas? Using the Drama Strategy as an example, do you feel the consultation exercise was well managed or were there things you feel could have been done differently? · ACW claims to be an open and transparent institution, the arts community perceive it to be closed and secretive. Is this a gap in reality or perception? My view is this is a reality gap. · The whole process of the Drama Strategy has been managed appallingly from start to finish. The decision to cut Hijinx's grant in the Draft strategy published on 21st January 1999 came out of the blue. There had been no indication in any earlier consultation that this was even being considered, either on the basis of the artistic quality of our work or the service we provide to community audiences and people with learning disabilities. The public outcry that followed coupled with the high profile campaign, and our own presentation to Council resulted in a reversal of the decision. I suppose there could be a view that ACW did in fact listen and act on what they heard; but to be forced into confrontational politics (as we were) is a million miles away from consultation, and nothing to do with the making of theatre which is what we are funded to do. We have never discovered how, or where the original recommendation came about, even after robust questioning by our Board of Management - how can this be open and transparent? At the end of the day we are left with the feeling that if supporters from the Disability movement had not indicated ACW's actions could lead to legal action under the Disability Discrimination Act would we still be here today? · To move on to the debacle of the Theatre for Young People situation. The franchise bidding process was handled in such a way that it has lead to acrimony and division - relationships fractured that will never be healed. If implemented the end result would have been a radical reduction in performances for children in schools. The abandonment of the strategy three months after the awarding of contracts caused, and continues to cause, major problems to the 5 companies offered a Funding Agreement. The reason given for the U-turn being the need to consult more widely with L.A.s -why wasn't this done in late 1997 or early 1998? To hear in March 2000 that there is to be a comprehensive audit of arts activity in each L.A. area before moving forward with a new plan of action re TYP seems tantamount to gross mismanagement when it comes so late in the process. · The way New Writing has been dealt with causes some great areas of concern - not least the £90k reduction of money being invested in New Writing in the future. With rumours flying around this process also seerns to have been flawed. Throughout all The New Writing bidding process little has been said about the commissioning of new plays by companies other than the New Writing Company. Another result of the Strategy will be less new plays being written because there are less companies to commission them. · Where is the responsible rnanagement of change in all of this? ACW assure us in the Strategy that this will inform their decisions and actions. · We still await a comprehensive policy for Cardiff, I would expect ACW to work with Cardiff CC on producing one, but there seems little evidence of this so far. For our capital city to be able to compete with other capitals of Europe in terms of culture and vibrancy this is crucial. · We have consistently been promised independent assessors reports on our work - I did receive a couple in 1994, but since then nothing. I have a letter from the Chief Executive promising them from 1st April 1999, none have been forthcoming. Now I am promised them from 1st April 2000 - should I believe this? It is vital to us that we have this feedback and I would have thought it would be important to ACW in their role as distributors of public money. 6 Do you feel the Council's structure and organisation is appropriate to enable it to develop national arts strategies and to manage the distribution of Assembly funding? No - the different divisions within ACW seem to work in isolation from each other. The restructuring of 1997 which was supposed to bring about a more holistic approach to the arts, and bring the two income strearns of grant-in-aid and Lottery money together has failed. The ACW Council meeting in December 1998 made an £84,000 Arts for All award to Hjjinx for a 3 year project, the January 1999 Council meeting recommended a cessation of our revenue funding. This would have meant the end of Hijinx Theatre. 7 In your view, how well have the arts been supported acrosss all regions of Wales, particularly in promoting the medium of the Welsh language? · In the past when the TIE companies also had a community touring arm, with many producing work in both languages, the geographic spread was reasonable . With the reduction in the number of companies this is set to decline radically Support for Welsh language work has been patchy. There certainly is at the current time a severe shortage of Welsh language plays available in South Wales. 8 Do you agree with the principle of 'funding fewer better", i.e. concentrating resources on a lesser number of organisations with a view to significantly improving the quality of productions? · No - I do not believe that bigger means better quality. Smafl can be exquisite. There has long been a view held in Wales that our National Theatre is made up of all the component companies large and small who contribute to the rich and vibrant tapestry of theatre in Wales. The concentrating of resources in large organisations is a retrograde step which will hinder creative expansion. · The Drama Strategy will not fund fewer better - it will actually only fund fewer. Those who continue to be funded have no possibility of enhancement to enable expansion. In Hijinx's case expansion would be a production with more than 4 actors, or indeed to be able to guarantee 4 actors in each production. The dream of touring a musician, as we did in the early I 990s, has long flown out of the window. · If the Drama Strategy had been implemented it would have resulted in: i. A cut of£168K for Young People's Theatre - fewer children having the opportunity to see plays ii. A cut to New Writing of £90K - fewer plays being written in Wales in both languages. iii. The end of Hijinx Theatre - fewer new works by Welsh playwrights, fewer productions touring communities across Britain, and an end to specialised work for people with learning difficulties. iv. A significant cut to the budget to support new experimental work. Initially plans were to significantly increase this, but the project budget has paid for all the U-turns that ACW have made over the past year. v. This would have decimated the vibrant but fragile arts environment in Wales. 9 Which body/bodies should play a key role in the management and distributionof European funding for the arts? At the inception of Wales Arts International I was hopeful that clear and helpful information about European funding opportunities would become available to arts organisations. Sadly this has not been the case. European funding opportunities are still a mystery. Hijinx's only trip abroad was to Ukraine in 1995 with a show for adults with learning disabilities, so my experience is limited in this area. This trip was organised with no help whatsoever from either ACW or The British Council. Both organisations seem to concentrate on promoting large companies only. We are currently in discussion with the National Cultural Foundation of Barbados about the possibility of touring Paul Robeson Knew My Father to the island in 2001, so perhaps my view will change. · It would be helpful to have a post which could be a conduit for information and advice, even if it did not have a grants budget. 10 What more can Wales Arts international do in promoting Wales abroad? See answer to question 9 11 How do you feel the arts can contribute to tackling social exclusion in Wales and what barriers presently exist which hinder progress2 · Theatre sensitises people to change and has the power to challenge prejudice, alter perceptions and generate feelings of self worth. The companies who chose to work in this area are at the margins of society and are often as invisible as their audiences. Our society gives little status to a project on the Penrhys estate but major status to the birth of a new opera, even though both may be of high artistic quality. Companies who work at the margins need public investment because they are generally not attractive to corporate sponsors. · Our own experience of working with people with learning disabilities has enabled us to see the growth in confidence of a person who has very little language, and the joy as they learn to communicate in other ways. · Our professional tounng productions for adults with learning disabilities have moved long term carers to tears as they see their daily struggles given meaning and value, One audience member with a learning disability said "You showed me it was all right to shout and be cross because I could make up after". o Our work in the community has shown how a group of academic-shy boys of 16 with low self esteem, could in only a week become a cohesive rock band, whilst their mates ran the sound and lighting desks. Their headmaster said "I never knew they had it in them". He had been their headmaster for 5 years, they had worked with us for 7 days. · There will be thousands of such examples from companies all over Wales about their own work with people and communities on the margins. ACW's policies will significantly reduce opportunities for socially disadvantaged people to participate in or partake of arts activity. 2 What support should the Assembly be providing to sustain or increase the viability and income of the creative industries in Wales? · First and foremost there has to be more public investment · Help with profile raising on an international stage · Help and information re European finding sources · Help in validating the arts and making businesses aware of the possibility arts sponsorship offers to them · Awareness of the Arts in terms of Economic Development, inward investment and tourism. · Setting up of regular Arts Awards - the BBC Wales Arts Awards ran for 2 years only, in 1993 and 1994, the BAFTA Awards are growing each year. Awards give recognition and status to the quality of work in Wales. Theme rankings The six themes mentioned are all of crucial importance and make for the foundation of the priorities which should inform an Arts Policy. Hijinx's mission statement is to take high quality, accessible theatre performances to communities who do not generally have access to such an experience. We aim to examine human relationships in a changing world and to create celebratory pieces of theatre with universal themes, we strive for the best fusion of music, design, movement and theatre. Our aim is to combine high quality innovative theatre that is accessible, entertaining and challenging Hijinx have been doing this since 1981. We understand the difference between a community tour and a Leisure Centre tour - the difference for the inhabitants of Gwernogle between a trip to Carmarthen Leisure Centre and one to Brechfa Village Hall. Where do the people who live in Llanigon go to see theatre if it isn't in their Village Hall? However much we cut costs, it is expensive to tour for 9 or 10 weeks giving between 40 - 45 performances on a one night stand basis. However small the venue we aim for a quality experience for the audience and never compromise on production values. All this is labour intensive. In terms of our shows for adults with learning disabilities, no other companies in Wales offer this service for this sector of the community. We perform in venues for our audiences. In the past this has been in Day Centres and Gateway Clubs, but now a less uniform picture is emerging. In some areas we still perform in Centres, whilst other areas favour bringing several groups together in a Community Centre or small Arts Centre. We tour both shows throughout the whole of Wales taking performances to small communities. We also perform in England, thereby becoming ambassadors for Wales. We have an active policy of offering job opportunities to Welsh based people, actors, stage managers, writers, directors, designers, composers and choreographers.. This gives their work profile throughout Wales. In addition we offer work placement opportunities to tertiary students in the area of arts adrninistration. In our own way Hijinx contribute to all your identified priority areas. The structural changes detailed above would be a start - clarity of information, clarity of lines of responsibility, clarity of grants available from a variety of sources, plus opportunities to promote the important role cornmercial business can play in supporting the arts. Val Hill Administrative Director |
| Hijinx Theatre web site: www.hijinx.org |
| Val Hill e-mail: |
Sunday, May 28, 2000 |
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