Mike Hedges AM
welcomes £200,000 to engage communities across Wales in cultural activities
Economy Secretary, Ken Skates has announced that over
£200,000 worth of grants will be awarded to eight partnerships across Wales to
support people from disadvantaged communities to participate in cultural and
heritage activities.
Mike Hedges AM said…. ‘ I welcome this news as Arts and
Culture have borne the brunt of public spending cuts over recent years. I
welcome the news that Swansea Council will use their grant of £25000 for
2017-18 to employ a cultural community organizer to work with partners such as
Communities First and Flying Start to deliver Key outputs which will include increased volunteering
opportunities, qualifications, and accredited learning.
The Economy Secretary confirmed that eight separate
organisations across Wales, including local authorities and housing
associations, had been successful in their applications to the Welsh
Government’s Fusion programme.
Since its inception in 2015, the Fusion: Creating
Opportunities through Culture programme has worked with over
5,000 people and 150 partners to deliver a huge range of projects to young
people and adults across Wales. Fusion has enabled community members to widen
their horizons and increase their confidence, skills and qualifications by
taking part in cultural activities. It has seen young people taking over the
running of museums and castles, famous artworks taken out to primary schools
and professional opera performances on school buses. Adults have volunteered
and gained qualifications to help improve employability, and taken part in schemes
to boost health and digital inclusion.
This latest round of Fusion funding will
enable innovative partnerships to transform many more lives in some of Wales’
most economically disadvantaged areas. Local authorities, housing associations
and employment programmes will link directly with museums, theatres, libraries
and other cultural sites, ensuring that cultural programmes are accessible to
all.
The Economy Secretary, said:
“Fusion is an innovative, low-cost
intervention that promotes collaboration to better serve the needs of the
people of Wales. Since the launch of the Fusion we have worked with Local
Authorities, heritage sites, theatres and others to encourage thousands of
people who might not normally have engaged in cultural activities to get involved.
I am very pleased to be able to allocate more than £200,000 to eight new
projects across Wales that will enable this important work to continue.
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