Y Pwyllgor Diwylliant, y Gymraeg a Chwaraeon

Adolygiad Polisi: Cyfraniad y Celfyddydau a Chwaraeon at Adfywio Cymunedol

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

Re: Policy review on the contribution of arts and sport to community regeneration. As requested, this response is structured around the following terms of reference: Review and consideration of -

1. the links between arts policy, sport policy and community regeneration policy
2. how local arts and sports projects can contribute to community regeneration
3. support mechanisms for community-regeneration related arts and sport projects
4. best practice in community -regeneration related arts and sport projects.

1. The Links Between Arts Policy, Sport Policy And Community Regeneration Policy. Rhondda Cynon Taf’s Community Plan, A Better Life, includes Social and Cultural Identity as a theme, with specific aims around increasing access to cultural and recreational activities, improving quality of life and and improving skills. Community regeneration policies include references to the importance of the arts to the life of the community - how arts activity can contribute to a sense of place, of belonging within a community, individual and collective community pride and identity, of personal and shared achievement and co-operation. Within the context of the community plan, and the lifelong learning strategic plan, The draft aims for the RCT Cultural Plan, reflected in the Business Plan for Cultural Services, include:-

• To develop local creative skills, helping to raise standards in schools and increasing the employability of local people.
• To celebrate local cultural identity, encourage innovation and provide creative direction for the regeneration of the county borough.
• To encourage a sustainable, co-ordinated and partnership approach to cultural development in order to minimise financial risk, maximise local resources and encourage inward investment.

Arts and sport policies are also linked through the New Opportunity Fund Sport in Schools programme as dance and physical theatre are recognised as a means for engaging children and young people in physical activity. The Valleys Dance Initiative across Rhondda Cynon Taf, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Torfaen, Merthyr and Bridgend County Borough Councils will address the opportunities afforded by the policy links between these two areas. 2. How local arts and sports projects can contribute to community regeneration. The arts and sports can contribute to community regeneration by:- Raising Standards in Schools, by

• enriching the curriculum
• motivating reluctant learners
• encouraging discipline and perseverance
• raising confidence and stimulating pride.

Improving Quality of Life, through

• providing opportunities to experience a broad and diverse range of cultural and recreational activity,
• developing tastes and expectations
• broadening horizons.
• providing opportunities to socialise and come together as communities.

Increasing the life-chances of vulnerable children and young people, particularly those looked after. For disadvantaged sectors of the community, the arts have a profound importance, because the arts

• are first and foremost about communication, and vulnerable people are often not listened to or able to use their 'voice’
• can validate people’s experience, anmd help raise confidence
• create a sense of power and control in a world in which vulnerable people can feel powerless.
• can help people re-engage with the world and people around them

Transforming our Local Environment

• Through high quality urban design, streetscaping and architecture
• Providing landmarks to create identity and sense of place
• Improve legibility, orientation and way-finding by creating visual connections.
• Create 'human presence’ through artworks to improve hostile areas
• Engaging local people in Planning processes

Promoting the Economic Vitality of Localities

• Creating a sense of place and a distinct cultural identity
• Stimulating daytime and evening economies
• Increasing the visitor and tourism 'offer’ by offering a range of locally distinctive experiences
• Encouraging inward investment, and harnessing external funding for local communities
• Creating employment opportunities for local people within creative industries and related businesses

3. Support Mechanisms For Community Regeneration Related Arts and Sports Projects. a. Directly-managed Council Provision, consists of:-

• Cultural Services’ Arts Development Unit, consisting of 6 FTE officers delivering a range of development programmes across all artforms, with advice and information services,etc.
• Cultural Services’ 3 theatres, delivering a broad range of performing, visual and media arts activity, through performances, exhibitions, training, workshops and research projects.
• Community Leisure’s Sports Development Unit, consisting of 11.5 FTE
• Community Leisure’s 13 sports, swimming and leisure centres, and 3 community recreation centres.
• Development and Regeneration’s Community development and Town Centre Development teams, Area Regeneration Partnership Co-ordinators and Communities First teams all provide support to projects and organisations.

b. Community-based arts and sports provision, consists of:-

• Community regeneration organisations with arts programmes including:

Blaenllechau Community Regeneration (Bell Centre), Gilfach Goch Community Association, Llanharan Community Development Project, Cwmparc Community Welfare Association, Valleys Kids, Arts Factory and Cwmaman Institute.

• Arts organisation based in a particular community and serving the whole of the area including: Rhondda Cynon Taff Community Arts, Spectacle Theatre, Creative Vision, Arts Aspects; The Pop Factory, Valleys Arts Marketing, the Model House
• Locally based voluntary arts organisations including: brass bands to choirs, drama societies to writing groups, photographic clubs to visual arts societies, dance groups to rock bands.
• Individual artists living and /or working in their communities, contributing in a variety of ways to the life of their community.

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council recognises its community leadership role and works to support community regeneration-related arts and sports projects through the following mechanisms:- Facilitated Networks and Partnerships: In Rhondda Cynon Taf, these include:-

• Arts Development Network - for Community Arts organisations,
• Sonig Youth Music Networks- for community Youth Music providers,
• RCT Digital Media Forum - for organisations, groups and artists using digital media to engage communities.
• Valleys Arts Marketing - for marketing and research support for valleys arts venues.
• Area Regeneration Partnerships

Provision of Information

• Arts Development Database (in development) - includes project case studies, evaluation tools, artists, advisory bodies, and other resources.
• Communication systems - websites, local media, word-of-mouth, community newsletters, meetings and fora

Training and Professional Development Opportunities: In RCT these regularly include:-

• Conferences and seminars
• Accredited arts training for Youth Workers
• Work placements
• Informal mentoring

Funding: There is no small arts grant scheme in Rhondda Cynon Taf, but financial support is offered through:-

• Service Level Agreements with key strategic organisations such as Rhondda Cynon Taf Community Arts, Valleys Arts marketing and Spectacle Theatre.
• Grant assistance, via COMVOL
• Partnership funding for joint development projects

In-kind Resources: Rhondda Cynon Taf Cultural Services provides the following:-

• Free use of venues, or reduced rate leasing/hires
• Professional artists, arts organisations or events to support projects, for example via the Night Out Scheme or Live Music Now.
• officer-support, via attendance at meetings, advice, project assistance and advocacy
• equipment and materials for projects
• Assistance with applications to Arts Council of Wales, Lottery Funds, Objective One, Coalfields Regeneration Trust, ELWA

Accessing the support of National Agencies and Advisory Bodies- including Arts Disability Wales, Community Dance Wales, Community Music Wales, Voluntary Arts Wales, Drama Association of Wales, Welsh Academy, Artworks Wales, 4. Best practice in community regeneration related arts projects. In terms of best practice in meeting the community regeneration agenda, critical success factors for community-regeneration related arts projects include:-

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

Clarity of Purpose	A clear set of aims and objectives that articulate its role in relation to that of participants, funders, partners and other beneficiaries
Evaluation	Able to demonstrate the positive impact of its activities in line with the needs and demands of its constituency.
Co-operation	Clear and honest co-operation and commitment from those involved
Ownership	Participants, partners and funders must feel that they have a real stake in policy, management and implementation.
Orientation	The needs and aspirations of the community must be clearly identified and understood.
Function	Needs a strategic approach, yet able to deliver a high quality service on a local level, both collectively and individually. Projects should work to the highest possible standards in process and outcome, and within the context of current legislation and policy-frameworks relating to both community and cultural development.
Management and Viability	Sufficiently resourced in terms of finance and staff, with access to appropriate equipment and facilities. Good management systems should be utilised, to maximise efficiency and effectiveness.
Artistic Quality	Projects should demonstrate imagination and creativity, and awareness of their place within the local, national and/or international cultural landscape. Where appropriate, projects should be innovative, taking the artform, or the community, in a new creative direction.
Documentation and Celebration	Projects should be accurately recorded and documented, both for audit purposes and to help archive and celebrate the social and cultural heritage of our communities.

Case Studies: Sonig - Youth Music Industry Development Programme One of the most exciting elements of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s Cultural Services department. This is an holistic capacity-building programme which creates a 'route-map’ for young people into the music industry and supports the supply chain from creation to distribution. Includes 'entry-level’ work with disaffected young people, and business support to local bands, through projects such as the Virtual Music Industry, Soundwalks, Songwriters Clubs. In addition to the Welsh Music Foundation and Community Music Wales, the project brings together local organisations such as the Pop Factory, Coleg Morgannwg, Muni Arts Centre, schools, the Youth Service and the Youth Offending Team. Sonig also brought the Monserrat Allouiagana Singers to team up with Cwmbach Male Voice Choir and the Showcase Youth Choir to sing individual sets, with the evening culminating in a finale with all three choirs singing songs together in the English, Welsh and Monserrat languages. The Acoustic Nights, regularly attract 90 young people, enabling them to come together to perform their own original compositions in front of a supportive peer audience. Digital Media Programme Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council provides this unique programme - the only of its kind in Wales- through the Arts Development Unit. The programme consists of research, commissions, exhibition, training and participatory activity. For example,

• "Coal faces and Pit heads" an award-winning project for children and ex-miners living in Hirwaun in the in the Cynon Valley resulting in the production of a CD-rom on their shared community history
• "Not ready for Drowning" - an award winning digital video project involving young people engaging with the Valleys Kids community project, in Penyrenglyn in the Rhondda, exploring life on their estate
• "Open the Box" - a group of disabled people living in and around Pontypridd created a CD-rom in which they explored their self-image and personal histories

The programme has recently begun to work with the Muni Arts Centre and the University of Glamorgan, to enable digital media students to contribute to the redevelopment of the building and its activities, and provide vital work experience for students in engaging with communities. Arts and Town Centre Regeneration Initiative Cultural Services (Lifelong Learning Division) and the Town Centres Team (Development and Regeneration Division) have come together under a unique partnership designed to utilise the arts to regenerate town centres throughout Rhondda Cynon Taf, and engage young people in the decision-making process. The first project, Treorchy Gateways, enabled young people to better understand the opportunities offered by the Treorchy Regeneration Strategy, by enabling them to design 'gateway features’ for the town. Introducing the young people to examples of public art and regeneration schemes through visits to Swansea and Cardiff Bay, and enabling them to draw up the brief for an artist have helped the young people to engage with this major redevelopment scheme. For the partners on the Town Centre Forum, including local schools, businesses, Elected Members, Park and Dare Theatre, and voluntary groups, the project has helped provide a useful young person’s perspective to help shape the future delivery of the strategy. The partnership between Cultural Services and the Town Centres team is to be consolidated by the development of a post and a joint action plan, focusing on improving town centres through the intervention of artists in urban design, public art, festivals and events Rhondda Cynon Taf Theatres The theatres in Rhondda Cynon Taf provide a range of music, dance, drama, cinema and visual arts programmes, through professional touring companies and supporting the work of a huge range of community and voluntary activity. The importance of these venues in the lifeblood of the their communities should not be overlooked. Between them they provide 2500 events and activities, with attendances ranging from 190,000-250,000 annually. They are also the focus for a broad range of other community activity, from hosting the Welsh Blood Service to local meetings, training sessions, church meetings and a range of recreational activity. Venues directly-managed by the council include, the Muni Arts Centre, Park and Dare Theatre and the Coliseum Theatre, Aberdare. Valleys Kids ArtWorks Valleys Kids is a community regeneration charity which works in three deprived areas in the Rhondda Valleys with children, young people and adults. Valleys Kids' ArtWorks is a Lottery-funded development programme. Through devising plays the ArtWorks team provide the young people they work with the opportunity to address social issues. The use of drama provides a filter, the young people are acting out someone else's lives. Theatre allows them to work together socially in a situation where they are not competing. This is the kind of input that drama and theatre can offer. The work that the ArtWorks team does encourages personal development and self-esteem, contributing to crime prevention, reduction in drug abuse and reducing peer pressure. Bringing touring theatre groups into the Valleys provides accessible and affordable performances to all. Developing a wider interest in and the making for a vibrant community. The work of local arts projects has an educational role. Often young people who have not been expected to achieve are encouraged to do so by developing their passion for the arts. There are a number of individual examples of achievement such as one member attending the prestigious Laban School of Dance and another going on to further education. Dean Wong, one of the youth theatre members, has recently starred alongside Brenda Bletthyn in a feature length film which is to be released next year. Many of the young people of the project are the first of their generation to attend FE and universities. The filmwork which is undertaken allows the young people we work with create their own films. Producing the film SafeHouse also gave them the opportunity to work alongside local celebrities such as Boyd Clack and Brian Hibbard. The film Safe House received international acclaim at the film festival Rain Dance which was held in London. Events such as the Valleys Kids MIDAS Awards which was held at the Coal Exchange in Cardiff Bay gave the young people an opportunity to showcase their work to a wider audience including business people from the Cardiff area. The prestigious venue furthered the experience that they are doing something special. ArtWorks has been involved in a number of overseas exchanges. This highlights how the expertise of the Artworks team is recognised on an international level. A visit to Bosnia which focused on helping young people cope with life's difficulties, allowed parallel lessons to be drawn between war torn areas and areas of social degeneration. Many young people in deprived areas have very little opportunity to play creatively. Much of the work that we do with younger children is 'in role' allowing them to imagine future situations and resolve difficult dilemmas. These are skills that are critical to social development. Young people educated and empowered to think for themselves and to put themselves in other people shoes are equipped to make decisions for the future. Rhondda Cynon Taff Community Arts RCTCA are a local community arts organisation based at the Park and Dare Theatre in Treorchy. The organisation is funded by Rhondda Cynon Taf Cultural Services and the Arts Council of Wales. The activities provided by the organisation promote and encourage participation, boost confidence, and celebrate diversity and identity. Please see attached for a more comprehensive account of their contribution to community regeneration. Craft Angels Network This is a mentoring scheme for arts graduates, and artists with no formal qualifications enabling them to develop teaching and workshop facilitation skills. In addition to enabling participants to learn about the different needs of groups, including young people, and people disadvantaged by poverty or disability, it also covers basic business skills. The project aims to increase the numbers of crafts people with the skills to work with community groups, for whom participation in the project is free. The project is managed by the Model House Craft and Design centre in Llantrisant, with the support of the Arts Council of Wales. Polly Hamilton Head of Cultural Services
Lifelong Learning Division of Education and Children’s Services
Response on behalf of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council and local partners including Rhondda Cynon Taff Community Arts, Valleys Kids, Model House Craft and Design Centre