Wales’ Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden has announced multimillion funding to support projects at Welsh museums and heritage organisations. The funding is part of the Welsh Government’s Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, first published in July.
More than £2.8 million has been shared between 22 local, regional, national or independently run culture and heritage organisations, alongside sport organisations across Wales.
The Action Plan is part of the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government and the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru.
Among the organisations to receive funding is MonLife Heritage, which operates six heritage sites; Abergavenny Museum, Caldicot Castle and Country Park, Chepstow Museum, Chepstow Tourist Information Centre, Shire Hall Museum and Tintern Old Station.
The government said it will use the capital to improve interpretation of collections so that they “honestly tell their complex stories, better representing their links to slavery, colonisation and empire and respect their impact on communities past and present.”
Multi-purpose culture centre and museum Tŷ Pawb has also received support for the future development of the recently established Multicultural Hub.
The funding will be used to support Tŷ Pawb’s Useful Art Space to host a range of activities led by Wrexham’s diverse communities; these will be directed by participants, and will include arts and crafts, music and dance, culinary exchanges, cultural celebrations and other exciting activities.
£1.67 million has been awarded to the Welsh Government’s cultural and sport arm’s length bodies.
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, the Arts Council of Wales, the National Library of Wales, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales and Sport Wales will use the funding they have received to build on existing and new programmes of activity, accelerating their work on anti-racism at a national level.
Funding for the Arts Council of Wales is designed to enable the appointment of more Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic creative practitioners. Funding for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales will develop the Places We Remember project, which records the heritage of Welsh Asian communities in Wales.
Cllr Hugh Jones – WCBC Lead Member with responsibility for Tŷ Pawb said the grant funding award is “fantastic news” and “will support the excellent partnership work being undertaken by Tŷ Pawb, our Community Cohesion team and Race Council Cymru, reaching out to local and regional diverse community groups and empowering them to actively lead and take advantage of cultural, arts, heritage and sport opportunities.”
Cllr. Sara Burch, Monmouthshire County Council’s cabinet member for Inclusive and Active Communities, said the Welsh Government’s Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan will “[Ensure] that our heritage collections are truly representative and reflective of our diverse community is very important.
“We are determined that all Monmouthshire’s places of culture, arts and sport should be inclusive places and reflect the tremendous contribution of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic members of the community.”
