ReutersHollywood star Matthew Rhys has said he is shocked at the severity of cuts to arts funding in Wales.
The Welsh actor said the sector is “absolutely not” getting the support it needs to thrive, describing its prospects as “very bleak”, and fears that artistic careers for young people will Roads are being closed.
Earlier this week Welsh Ministers and Arts Council Wales announced an additional £3.6m of emergency funding. to protect jobs, which he said was “broadly welcomed” by the sector.
The Welsh Government said the arts played a “significant role in enriching our communities and influencing future generations” and would publish a draft budget for its overall spending next week.
Speaking from the set in New York where he is filming the Netflix series for next year, Rice said: The decision by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff to close its junior conservatoire this year left him “speechless”.
This means hundreds of children are missing out on music lessons.
Rhys, who grew up in Cardiff, is perhaps best known for his role in the detective series The Americans, for which he won a Primetime Emmy, and he starred in the recent TV remake of Perry Mason.
He is an honors fellow at the college, where he occasionally returns to speak to students, and said it was going there as a 16-year-old that set him on the path to acting.
“If there’s one thing I think Wales has always done well, it’s nurturing the arts in the youth of Wales,” he said.
“There’s no downside to doing any kind of art when you’re young. It just opens doors, broadens horizons and helps you, I’m sure, down the line.
“And to end core funding like that, I think, is tragic.”
He said it was “annoying” that the arts have historically been treated as second fiddle to the more scientific industries.
“It’s a kind of blind ignorance that the arts are always, I think, treated as a second-rate subject with a degree.
“What’s disturbing right now is how much the arts are being attacked. As we have seen with Welsh National Opera (WNO) and National Theater Wales..
“I don’t believe such institutions can survive, the way the government is treating them now.”
GoogleCollege principal Helena Gaunt said closing the junior conservatoire was a “very difficult decision” she had to make due to a lack of funding.
She is calling for increased funding for the arts.
“We say a lot that this is a cultural nation, and if we really want to continue to be a cultural nation we have to invest in that — and that includes college,” he said.
Last year the WNO had a 10% cut from its application for standalone funding from Arts Council Wales, while the National Theater Wales lost all its core funding.
Arts Council Wales funding from the Welsh Government This year it was reduced by 10.5%.
Tim Rhys-Evans, the college’s director of music, said he had frequent conversations with students worried about their future.
“We have a lot of conversations about the state of the arts world,” Mr Rhys-Evans said.
“Will there be jobs for them when they leave here? I tell them the world always needs creators.”
He said Wales would be just a “tiny blob” on the world map if it didn’t have a culture.
“The difference we’ve made in the international arts is something we all need to be really proud of, and make sure it’s still here for generations to come.”
Ms Gaunt said it was “vital” for the college – which turns 75 this year – and “rebuilt to previous levels” for more extensive funding levels for the arts sector. go
He said: “Relatively small increases in funding can achieve and contribute to much in our communities.”
The Welsh Government said: “The arts sector makes a vital contribution to our social, cultural and economic fabric – enriching our communities and influencing future generations.
“Our draft budget for the next financial year will be published next week.”