Y Pwyllgor Diwylliant, y Gymraeg a Chwaraeon

Adolygiad Polisi: Cyfraniad y Celfyddydau a Chwaraeon at Adfywio Cymunedol

Rhondda Cynon Taff Community Arts

From Julie Evans, Director - Rhondda Cynon Taff Community Arts The philosophy principles and practice of Rhondda Cynon Taff Community Arts (RCTCA) focus on the people of Rhondda Cynon Taf and people are at the heart of regeneration. The community art activities provided by the organisation promote and encourage participation, boost confidences and celebrate diversity and identity. The age range of participants is 3 to 93 years old, and groups and individuals identified as at risk, or suffering from social exclusion are actively encouraged to take part and become involved in community life. Revenue funding from the Arts Council of Wales, yearly project grants from the New Schemes /Lottery Division, the continued support of a Service Level Agreement arrangement with Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Cultural Services gives RCTCA a funding base on which to develop its work. As a registered charity, RCTCA is also well placed to develop and create additional partnerships to develop relevant project work on a commissioned basis. With this much needed investment, RCTCA strives to continue to develop and play a very real, meaningful role in specific and often poignant aspects of community life where poverty, lack of opportunity, social exclusion and deprivation continue to be major concerns. RCTCA is a professional community arts organisation that has been in existence for 20 years. Its track record of work has been innovative, challenging, pioneering and has been a catalyst for social change. This has manifested itself in a variety of different ways contributing not only to arts development in the borough, but also to community development and regeneration. Social change through community involvement has been the common thread that has linked the role of the professional community arts sector in Wales. Over the years, our work has influenced arts policy makers, community regenerators and trends eg Arts Council of Wales policies such as "Building Creative Communities", "Taking Part", the Disability Equality agenda relating to Equality of Opportunity, Cultural Diversity policy-making and development, "Culture Makes Communities"/Joseph Rowntree research document. RCTCA: "Community Art is cultural expression of and by a particular community." Our work from the onset has been at the heart of community life and working alongside the voluntary and traditional arts sectors and in partnership with the arts development departments of the local authorities in Wales - together we form the infrastructure for the arts and culture in Wales keeping communities alive and vibrant. EXAMPLES OF BEST PRACTICE: 1 Since its inception 20 years ago,RCTCA has grown from being a two-member team with backgrounds in community dance to its current team of 7 core-workers (3:business team, 4:artistic team developing the artform areas of community dance, computer art and design, environmental/public art. RCTCA contracts a further 17 professional freelance sessional\project workers to work alongside the core team, and additional project work further includes technical theatre, creative writing, music-making/percussion. Total participation figure for the year 2002/03 was 18,579 with an estimated audience figure of 3000. At present, the demand for the work is greater than RCTCA’s capacity to provide. Put communities in control. Initiatives designed for community benefit where community ownership is essential for renewal and regeneration. 2 "Green Black and Back" was a Creative Writing and Publishing Project which brought people together to tell the story of the village of Blaenllechau in the Rhondda Fach. The book records stories, poems, conversation, photographs and documents and became the catalyst for developing and establishing a community archive which continues to exist. In 1994, the project further catalysed community action and a successful application to the Welsh Office at that time under the Community Revival Strategy resulted in the Bell Centre being built and the establishment of the Blaenllechau Community Regeneration Group which remains a self-sufficient and sustainable project to this day. The experience of poverty, decline and exclusion - how to challenging it can be applied through the arts - tackling social exclusion by including disaffected groups in challenging and rewarding activities 3 The Teenage Mums Magazine Project funded by Children’s Promise is in its third year and is aimed at pregnant teenagers (under 16) and young mums (post 16) of school age or unemployed. The project seeks to empower young women by working on issues relevant to them and teaching skills in Design IT, Communication alongside improving confidence and skills aimed at better parenting. The first two issues of their magazine has had on overwhelming response across Wales and the UK and requests to input into other youth/young parent projects. The long-term sustainable development plan for capacity building is to develop a peer education training project and and an enterprise project creating employment opportunities. Older members of the project continue to receive 'training on the job" and accreditation opportunities with RCTCA. Other members have left the project and gained employment - demonstrating how skills learnt through the arts are transferable to work and social life. Community arts can improve quality of life and employment prospects. 4 Expressions and Hawthorn Youth Dance Projects for 13 to 25 year olds are two long-standing youth dance projects that focus on developing technical and contemporary dance skills - a community resource which is not provided in these areas by any other organisation. The project has become a route for young people with vocational aspirations with a desire to pursue a career in dance. Currently working in Wales today are 3 professional community dance animateurs who began life with us whilst growing up in Rhondda. More recently, three other members have gone on to study Dance/Performing arts degrees at Northen Contemporary, Bretton Hall College, Wakefield and the University of Glamorgan. One member living in Rhondda, has become a qualified dance leader in the community through the Laban Guild is and isemployed as a sessional worker with RCTCA. Currently up to 300 participants access our regular programme of community dance workshops held throughout the borough in theatre venues, school halls, youth and community centres. The children’s dance workshops filter through to an ever expanding and much needed youth dance provision. Community arts projects can build on local traditions and lead to the image of an area taking on a new positive life. 5(i) With monies from the European Social Fund, RCTCA set up a Disability Equality Awareness Training Project that ran for three years (1994/97) utilising community art practice and involving adults with learning disabilities in awareness-raising, directed at the principle that disabled people have the same right to citizenship as the able-bodied community. This work became a benchmark for change in people’s perceptions and attitudes to disability locally, regionally, nationally and did much to influence the policy-makers at that time. The work was achieved through a performance art advocacy project called "Orangefield" performed by members of what developed into an integrated culturally pro-active group called RAAW (Rhondda Alternative Arts Workshop) - their work further demonstrating principles of integration, community presence and ability. Students further acquired additional skills in computer technology and were responsible for the design and production of 4 challenging posters which addressed the Disability Discrimination Act which were widely distributed - this was another way of having their voices heard. (ii) Outcomes of this training have been:

• members taking an advocacy role in Peoples First
• members taking up further training at Rhondda College with one being voted "student of the year" in 2003
• another student has become a volunteer support worker working alongside RCTCA’s dance practitioner who works with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities
• The Llwynypia Reminiscence Public Art Group is an established group of older men with learning diffi culties who have extended their creative skills to actively contributing to the physical regeneration of areas of the borough through producing indoor and outdoor public art works eg Rhondda Heritage Park, Tonypandy and Ton Pentre Libraries, Ynysyngharad Park and the Catherine Street Underpass in Pontypridd - and many more.

Community arts can build a sense of place with a special identity and improve the health of communities 6(i) RCTCA will be celebrating its 20^th Annual Community Dance Night festivity in 2005. This has become an established annual cultural event during the month of March - a time when people come together in celebration and pride. Theatre venues in the Borough are always full to capacity eg the largest being the Park and Dare Theatre in Treorchy seats 600 people. (ii) The Reminscence Performance Art Project called "Remembering" reaches older people between the ages of 55 and 93 in the Communities First areas of Maerdy and Trebanog. The project utilises dance movement and digital media to share memories with each other and the rest of the community - living histories kept alive. (iii) The Celtic Millennium Weaving Project 1996 - 2003 involved older people from six different valleys communities who learned the skills of weaving to produce an exhibition of artworks that depict the history, culture, traditions and hopes of the valleys through the eyes of older people - a legacy to the community and work that bridges the generation gap and can be handed down through the generations. (iv) RCTCA is to be a key partner working with Rhondda Cynon Taf Borough Council Cultural Services on the redevelopment plans for the Park and Dare Theatre in Treorchy. These plans for the theatre will impact greatly on the overall Community Regeneration Town Strategy for Treorchy directly involving all members of this community. JE/Rhondda Cynon Taff Community Arts January 2004