Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee

Policy Review: The Contribution of arts and sport to community regeneration

Wales Assembly of Women

The contribution of Arts and Sport to Community regeneration.Thank you for your invitation to comment on the contribution of Arts and Sports to Community regeneration. Our representative in the Voluntary Sector Ministerial meetings has contributed to the joint response, and we should like to support the views expressed. In particular, we must emphasise the importance of this area of activity for many women who have benefited greatly from free access to public/municipal galleries and exhibitions. In the past these were among few opportunities open to them for relief from their daily routine responsibilities. Those with real artistic talent however, found it difficult to gain recognition for their work, at first limited to expression in botanical illustration. Even this was only a minority with a supportive or reasonably well educated family background. Progress has been slow during the twentieth century. More young women were able to gain entry into Colleges of Art, but few national collections or private galleries have more than a small number of works by women. There are recent signs of awareness of such discrimination, but it is essential that official support is given to strategies that remedy the persisting deficit.We are particularly conscious of the investment by WAG in community regeneration, where our members have found commitment from women and Œhard-to-reach¹ groups. On the Gurnos estate, for example, a ceramics workshop has been undertaken mainly by women without previous training or skills. The Arts Council has previously funded a project to support arts workshops in isolated communities, eg Fernhill, where women experienced marginalisation with little chance of relief. The project facilitated their involvement with their children in creative activity with their local primary school. Similar experience has been shown also in constructive activity with young mothers in Surestart projects. It is essential that such enterprise is stimulated, not only for cultural and social enjoyment but also to promote social cohesion as a means of supporting Health and Well-being activities. Cross-cutting policies need also to be developed in education: many schools find it difficult to provide worthwhile art or sports activities. We are concerned that older people, many of whom are women, should not be discouraged by some Lifelong Learning policies which appear to demand certificated outcomes of courses in which they take part in Community Centres. While Culture and the Arts represent a pinnacle of human philosophy and achievement, they are also vital for spiritual refreshment and can enormously contribute to fending off the onset of the sort of mental depression and isolation suffered by older women. We ask that the allocation of funding should be subject to gender audit to ensure that there is fairness in the distribution of resources. It is pleasing to note that at last Nicole Cooke is acknowledged for her world status as a champion cyclist, though we understand that financial support is minimal compared to what men receive in similar circumstances, and hope that WAG may be able to remedy the situation. Not all girls and women share Nicole¹s enthusiasm for strenuous physical activity, and we hope that dance and aerobics etc, which many women enjoy, can be facilitated as widespread and mainstream provision. The cost is low compared with the maintenance of football pitches and sports pavilions! Principles of social inclusion need to demonstrate awareness that whereas women are largely depended upon to maintain family life, many are more likely also to be living in poverty, especially if they have children and would benefit greatly from a more equitable distribution of community funding. For this reason also, we should welcome measures that ensure their fair representation and active involvement in the decision-making processe.