The Arts Division

The Arts Division is situated at the Civic Centre and comprises of one full-time Arts Development Officer post.  It is part of the Leisure, Culture and Environment Service, working in close collaboration with Rhondda Cynon Taf, Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan local authorities, via a Memorandum of Understanding, as ArtsConnect. 

The ArtsConnect Shared Vision is to provide a quality and cost-effective arts service for residents of, and visitors to, the respective local authority areas through effective collaboration and a cohesive approach to planning and delivery.

 
Mission Statement
The Arts in Merthyr Tydfil will be central to community development and regeneration in the County Borough, seeking to make the arts accessible and understandable to the people of the area being both active and proactive in each individual part of the County Borough and in doing so will compliment the County Borough Council’s Vision and Aims particularly in the fields of Leisure, Lifelong Learning and Economic Regeneration.

Why The Arts?
The arts are exploratory, they are intrinsic to daily life, and we are all in some way touched by them whether this be seeing an attractive painting on the walls of a doctor’s surgery or being lifted by a favourite song on the radio or relaxing watching a film in the cinema. Even if we are not aware of it, the arts impact upon our lives, emotions and even our social interaction without us thinking about it. They can also be ways in which we express ourselves, escape from mundane tasks, communicate with others or develop a sense of identity. The arts therefore encompass, but are not exclusively the following forms:

• Visual arts – photography, film, sculpture, painting etc.
• Drama – theatre, pantomimes etc.
• Dance – ballet, jazz, disco, contemporary, physical theatre, tap etc.
• Literature – creative writing, poetry, storytelling, journalism etc.
• Craft – applied arts, pottery and ceramics, glass-wear, leatherwear,  textiles, jewellery, work in wood, metal, stone carving etc. Plus hobbie crafts.
• Music – songwriting, playing instruments individually or in groups, singing, choirs, rock bands, music technology, DJ mixing etc.

Arts, Culture and Media Forum

Merthyr Tydfil Arts, Culture and Media Forum was started by Merthyr Tydfil CBC’s Arts Division in 2002, as the “Arts Forum”. In November 2005 the name of the forum was expanded to include “Culture and Media”, together with setting a clear terms of reference for the group.

The Arts, Culture and Media Forum is supported by Merthyr Tydfil CBC’s Arts Division, Communities First and Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil, together with regular attenders from local arts and community groups, the University of Glamorgan, Arts Council of Wales and others.

H4A - Head For Arts
Head for Arts stimulates creativity in communities across the Heads of the Valleys area by providing high quality grassroots arts activities and inspirational arts experiences.

Head for Arts is a community arts organisation that works across the Eastern Heads of the Valleys areas, covering the county boroughs of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Torfaen.  Established in April 2008, Head for Arts has an administrative base in Llanhilleth Miners Institute but programmes arts activity in various venues across the entire patch.

Head for Arts is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government through the Arts Council of Wales and is supported by a partnership of the four local authorities involved.

For more information please contact H4A:

kate.strudwick@head4arts.org.uk / bethan.watkins@head4arts.org.uk 01495 357815 / 01495 357816 / www.head4arts.org.uk

Merthyr Tydfil County Youth Theatre: Drama@Soar

MTCBC and H4A have been working in Partnership with Theatr Soar to provide a bilingual youth theatre for the county borough (please see What's On guide for times and dates).

Theatr Soar is a brand new theatre building in the centre of Merthyr Tudful. It comprises a 200 seat auditorium, a versatile studio space suitable for dance, arts and training workshops, and 2 music / sound rooms.

For more information please contact Theatr Soar:

01685 722176 / www.theatrsoar.com

South Wales New Music Forum
The South Wales New Music Forum brings together Arts Development Officers from several local authorities, to develop new music opportunities within the south Wales area.

Participating local authorities:

• Torfaen
• Bridgend
• Rhondda Cynon Taff
• Merthyr Tydfil
• Blaenau Gwent
• Caerphilly
• Vale of Glamorgan
• Newport
• Monmouthshire

Audiences Wales
Audiences Wales is an agency dedicated to increasing access to the arts and cultural sector in Wales.

We provide a range of tactical and strategic marketing services for a wide range of organisations, from opera companies to galleries, to amateur theatre companies and museums.

The main website is Audiences Wales and we also provide arts listings at What's On Wales.  If you would like to add your listings please contact us to receive login details.

Our primary aim is to understand our audiences and potential audiences better, so that we can work with our partners to improve marketing communications, spreading the message more widely amongst the public, and encouraging greater levels of engagement with this essential part of life in Wales.

For further information, please contact: postbox@audienceswales.co.uk / 02920 373736 / 02920 376736 / 02920 384141
www.audienceswales.co.uk / www.whatsonwales.co.uk 

Arts Strategy

A new Cultural Strategy for Merthyr Tydfil is currently under review.