Arts Council of Wales undergoes restructure to ‘strengthen sector support’

The Arts Council of Wales (ACW) is undergoing an organisational restructure which it says is ‘to enhance its support for the arts sector’.

The council said the restructure is a response to feedback from both staff and the arts community, as well as several recently commissioned reports into specific artforms such as dance, folk music and English-language theatre, all highlighting the need for the Arts Council of Wales to evolve in line with the sector’s changing needs.

The changes are primarily within the arts directorate, creating a structure of artform specific Heads, Relationship Managers and Arts Development Enablers. There will also be further capacity created within the business development team, in response to calls from the sector to offer more support in this area. The restructure therefore means a net increase of 8 staff within the organisation, though 18 existing roles have been placed ‘at risk’.

Future

“This is about investing in the future of the arts and building the arts ecology of Wales,” said Catryn Ramasut, new Director of Arts at Arts Council of Wales. “This structure will allow Arts Council staff to focus on their strengths and provide deeper, more expert support to the sector from organisational development or funding application right through to project or programme delivery.

“As part of this process, we’re also reviewing our grants structure to ensure it effectively supports the sector. We’re introducing more targeted funds, so look out for further announcements coming soon.”

Key drivers for the restructure include:

– Enhancing artform expertise and specialisation to better serve arts organisations.
– Creating clearer roles and structures to improve the experience for sector partners.
– Expanding capacity to offer more individualised and business-focused support.
– The proposals have been shared with Unite the Union, and affected staff are being supported through the process.

Funding

Chief Executive Dafydd Rhys added: “We are confident that we can deliver this restructure without impacting on the proportion of funding that goes to the sector, which is over 90%. We are committed to supporting staff throughout this period of organisational change and want to publicly thank everyone for their professionalism through this process.

“This is an investment in Wales’ cultural future that will bring benefit to the arts and the people we serve. For the arts sector, this will provide specialised expertise, clearer points of contact and tailored support that strengthens both artistic excellence and operational resilience. For the people of Wales, it will enable a more vibrant arts ecosystem with improved access to high-quality experiences across all communities and better stewardship of public resources.”

The new structure is expected to be in place by early autumn, with new roles being advertised over the summer.