Arts Council of Wales
The Arts Council of Wales (ACW) is responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.
The Welsh Assembly Government provides ACW with money to fund the arts in Wales and, as an Assembly Sponsored Public Body (ASPB), ACW is responsible to the Welsh Assembly Government for the way this money is spent. ACW is also the distributor of Lottery money for the arts in Wales. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), based in London, allocate national Lottery funds to ACW. ACW is managed by its Council, which meets six times a year. Council members are unpaid and appointed by the Welsh Assembly Government. ACW’s staff are based in offices in Colwyn Bay, Carmarthen and Cardiff.
ACW was set up in 1994 by Royal Charter, and its aims remain to:
- develop and improve the knowledge, understanding and practise of the arts
- increase the accessibility of the arts to the public
- advise and co-operate with other public bodies
- work through the medium of Welsh and English
ACW works with many partners in carrying out its national responsibility for developing and funding the arts in Wales. Audiences Wales is one such partner, funded by ACW to assist arts organisations to develop strategic marketing skills and practice with the aim to develop access to the arts. ACW’s priorities for audience development, working through Audiences Wales, include the development of training programmes that improve strategic marketing skills; development of partnership projects for groups of like minded arts organisations; encouraging opportunities for networking and skills sharing; and work to raise the creativity and professionalism of the arts marketing sector.
