Today I am announcing Welsh Government is providing additional funding to ensure Wales’ cultural institutions are protected and preserved, with £3.2m earmarked this financial year for repairs to be carried out at both the National Museum Cardiff and the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. A further £500,000 has also been allocated to help improve storage facilities and protect important collections at local and independent museums and archives which tell the stories of our communities across Wales.
Funding will also continue to be invested in the re-development of the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, which will create opportunities for greater and improved access to the national collection in North Wales.
Our museums, archives and galleries are vital parts of cultural life in Wales and this additional funding will help protect them and their collections for the benefit of people across Wales, now and in the future.
Emphasising our commitment to equity of access, the dispersed model for the National Contemporary Art Gallery, will provide increased access to the national collection and bring contemporary art closer to communities through a network of nine galleries already established across Wales. Access to more of Wales’ collections will also be provided through continued development of the digital online platform ‘Celf ar y Cyd’. The existing website already enables more people across Wales and the world to enjoy our national collection of art.
The immediate priority of protecting and preserving cultural institutions and their collections means investing in an anchor gallery for the National Contemporary Art Gallery for Wales and a new Museum of North Wales will not be possible at this time.
The Welsh Government continues to invest in the significant redevelopment of Theatr Clwyd in Flintshire and The Football Museum for Wales in Wrexham. We are also working closely with Amgueddfa Cymru and the National Library of Wales to develop plans to address the wider maintenance issues at the National Museum Cardiff and the Library’s building in Aberystwyth over the coming years.
The Welsh Government has listened to concerns regarding the intense financial pressures on all cultural institutions, both at a national and local level and is acting to mitigate these difficulties. Difficult decisions and choices have to be made however, the priority at this time must be to help safeguard our cultural institutions, be they large or small, national or local.
We have been honest about the financial challenges we are facing, however this does not stop us being ambitious for the sector. The investment we are continuing to make and our consultation on draft priorities for culture over the next six years, show the importance this Welsh Government places on culture. We must continue to work together to safeguard our cultural institutions and collections.
