Welsh Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones is that rare beast, a politician who doesn?t talk politics, as Catherine Rose discovers.
“Ah, well, I wouldn’t call myself an artist,” is the first thing that Alun Ffred Jones, the Welsh Assembly’s new Heritage Minister, insists upon. However, in politics today, he is the nearest thing we have got, given his background in youth theatre, drama criticism and directing films and long-running Welsh-language drama series for HTV and Nant Films. He may not be the Vaclav Havel of Wales, but when I asked him whether more artists and arts professionals ought to go into politics, he agreed, adding that “there are far too many solicitors getting involved, and not enough people from other walks of life”. However, politics are now well and truly involved in the arts. Since devolution, Wales has had responsibility for its own culture and heritage policies, as have the other three UK nations. I wondered whether the minster felt this was good for Wales. “I would say that it’s healthier,” he says. “The fact that these different countries have their own cultural identity is a bonus for everybody.” He points to a number of international artists whose profile has kept Wales squarely on the world map – Bryn Terfel being the most obvious.
I try to pin him down on whether he feels the lack of a UK-wide culture body is a problem in terms of developing policy. Is it hard to network across the four nations, not only in terms of the arts world, but in the related fields of the culture industries and education? Jones feels that individual UK nations should forge their own paths. “I don’t see why we should have homogenous policies anyway,” he says, though he is about to meet his opposite numbers in England and Scotland to “keep up those contacts”. He points out that “most heritage spending takes place outside Government of course – thank the lord – and they will have their own networks. I think that we should maintain cultural and Government links with people from all over Europe, for that matter. It’s not a case of being insular.”
Judicious pruning
As the four nations have developed their own policies and structures, there have been difficulties along the way. Following the 2006 Stevens Review, a Cultural Advisory Board has been set up, chaired by Jones. “The Arts Council of Wales will stay,” he affirms. “The Advisory Board… is supposed to take the strategic view of the arts in Wales. Get some joined-up thinking going.” He will also be hanging on to the arm’s length principle, which, with a chuckle, he calls “wise – very wise”. But he says that the Advisory Board will enable the Assembly “to perhaps think strategically and, if occasion demands, change course”. Other new plans include the awarding of Beacon Company status, which Jones says should “promote innovation, so that things don’t stagnate”. The first of these were announced this summer. “The problem with any body, and especially perhaps with Government-sponsored bodies, is that they become set in their ways and simply expect that things should carry on as they have in the past,” he explains. “Every now and again there has to be some docking of the branches… in order for new growth and new people and new ideas to come forth.” Jones believes that governments in general aren’t very good at cutting or replacing, preferring to add to what is already there.
Local heroes
One of the Heritage Department’s new priorities is “to place a statutory duty on local authorities to promote culture and encourage partnerships to provide cultural experiences for their communities”. I ask how the minister thinks local authorities will receive this news. He laughs again. “With trepidation, I suspect! What local government has said is ‘fine and dandy, just give us the money’, and who can blame them?” Jones has to go through the “ponderous process” of seeking Westminster’s permission to make the change, via a Legislative Competence Order (“you don’t want to know about it!”). Only then can the law be introduced to activate the proposed measures. He expects it to take “a couple of years… then there will have to be a debate with local authorities as to what it will mean to them”.
Hitting his stride, he launches into an explanation of what he hopes to achieve with this policy. “It’s interesting – if you look at arts in Wales – and it’s also true of the sporting and leisure infrastructure – and look at events that have been sponsored by the Arts Council, there’s a huge a disparity in terms of activity. Some areas seem to have something on every night and other areas are cultural deserts. That cannot be right.” He hopes that the new duty will encourage local authorities to ensure fairer distribution of provision. “That would highlight and help some of those areas to develop some infrastructure themselves, that would encourage opportunities.” Jones was heavily involved in Cyfle, the Welsh counterpart to Skillset, which itself is also very active in Wales, offering training and apprenticeships in the creative industries, which are now high on the business agenda for post-industrial Wales. Jones is keen on maximising the potential of the arts in regeneration.
Environment minister
“I think we appreciate the opportunities in terms of employment, but it’s more than that. Where you can have creative hubs of any kind, they are places that young people want to live. We know now that in terms of business development, in terms of economic investment, that is as important as setting up a business park. If people don’t want to live there they won’t come there. But if you make it a place for young people and families to live, because they like the environment and the opportunities, because there’s some action, some buzz around the place, obviously you are making places where entrepreneurs will want to live.” He cites Cornwall as an example of a place where creating a high-quality lifestyle has begun to attract economic investment. He us also wary of ‘London syndrome’, where the capital can suck “everyone with talent and ambition” into a single city. A rejuvenated Cardiff is in danger of replicating that situation, and Jones is keen to avoid it. He feels it’s obvious that the creative industries have a strong role in this, and cites Machynlleth, where the local art gallery, based in an old chapel, is seeking to expand, and Galeri in Caernarfon where young people are frequent visitors. “If you were a young person growing up you might want to come back to somewhere with that sort of excitement about it,” he points out. “It’s not about strategies, it’s about people.”