Chief Executive’s statement

Resilience and renewal…

Chief Executive, Nick Capaldi, reflects on an extraordinary year for society and the arts.

What a year it has been. Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on our economy, our culture and our way of life. Overnight, this global pandemic led to the suspension of all public activities and a collapse in the living and working environment for everybody.

Organisations, unable to generate ticketed and earned income, faced an immediate fight for survival as they tried to find new ways of sustaining their businesses in the face of the threat of insolvency. Individual artists reported the wholesale cancellation of work and many left the arts altogether in search of employment elsewhere. A tragedy in every sense.

The Arts Council responded quickly, working with the Welsh Government to distribute emergency funding. And organisations responded to the Covid restrictions by moving work online where they could, and furloughing staff where they couldn’t. The extent and level of our grant-giving far exceeded anything seen in previous years. In all, we distributed £23.9m of urgent and emergency support to over 750 individuals and organisations – a notable achievement given that Arts Council staff were working from home at this time.

In spite of the unprecedented disruption, artists and arts organisations presented inspiring and engaging work under these most difficult of circumstances. Organisations also responded positively to the wider public health need, distributing food, volunteering staff to Test and Trace, making their facilities available for public health screening. The arts demonstrated – once again – their resilience, imagination and their place at the heart of communities.

Now, as we look cautiously towards the easing of Covid restrictions, the world looks very different to how it did before the pandemic. So, as we consider “what next?”, we’re not talking about “business as usual” – instead,

we must take a fresh look at how we can achieve a strong and resilient arts sector that properly reflects culture and society in modern-day Wales.

Public health crises aren’t equal opportunities events. The most marginalised, and people with the fewest economic and social advantages, are generally the worst affected, while the wealthy, connected and healthy are usually better able to weather the storm. Areas of Wales battling the effects of long-standing poverty and economic disadvantage have been harshly affected by Covid-19. And the heightened attention in recent months given to the lived experiences of culturally and ethnically diverse people and deaf and disabled people have filled our newspapers and television screens. No one can now be unaware of the disproportionate impact of Covid on these people and communities.

But it’s not just a question of how quickly venues can re-open and resume activity, it’s about what happens when they do.

We’re seeing a profound questioning and re shaping of values across all aspects of public life. And as these values shift and evolve, we mustn’t find ourselves caught between nostalgia for a ‘comfortable’ past and the worries of an uncertain future.

That change is needed is inarguable. But it’s about making ‘good’ choices. A generous, fair-minded and tolerant society is instinctively inclusive. It values and respects the creativity of all its citizens. And if we want Wales to be fair, prosperous and confident, improving the quality of life of people in all of its communities, then we must make the choices that enable this to happen. We must expect the future to look, and feel, very different.

In conclusion, this is my last annual report as Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Wales. Looking back over my thirteen years in the role I feel enormously privileged to have worked with so many extraordinary people and to have encountered artists and creative professionals of inspirational talent and achievement. I’ve also been lucky to have enjoyed the support of two excellent Council Chairs – Dai Smith and Phil George – and to have worked with so many eminent and committed Council members. My final words are reserved for my staff colleagues. Your commitment and energy is remarkable. You’ve been wonderful to work with and have made every one of those thirteen years a complete joy. Thank you.

Nick Capaldi Chief Executive

57%

of adults in Wales took part in arts activity

2019/20: 49% Source: Wales Omnibus Survey

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