We are delighted to facilitate a new network for charitable trusts in Wales to discuss, share, and collaborate on their arts work. We are excited and grateful to have received funding from the Arts Council of Wales for this important project.
For more information on this project or to join the network, please contact us.
Following the announcement of CTPNA, 16 charitable trusts in addition to two representative bodies joined this new network.
During a productive re-engagement session in December 2020, the group identified key areas of collaborative working centred around increasing arts participation, strengthening business model, and effective collaborations. This was followed by the establishment of a virtual networking platform on Slack where the group started sharing resources on working under Covid-19.
As Wales went back into lockdown over Christmas 2020, and with the lockdown extending well into the first months of 2021, CTPNA adapted its work and decided on plan for more peer to peer sessions instead of one virtual seminar. Below is an update on the upcoming peer to peer sessions, which are free to attend for any charitable trust colleagues:
| Date | Topic |
| Thursday February 25 14:00-15:30 | Increasing Arts Participation Work under Covid19 – ways of keeping audiences and communities engaged: what worked and what did not work? Experience of current funding programmes and what works / doesn’t work |
| Thursday March 4 14:00-15:30 | Effective Remote Working Mental health of staff and volunteers Best practice of remote stakeholder and staff engagement |
| Thursday March 11 14:00-15:30 | Strengthening business models Scenario planning – what to expect in the next 6-9 months, how to plan relevant events and activities, sharing of strategic aims and objectives Inclusion of staff and volunteers in business planning |
| Thursday March 18 14:00-15:30 | CTPNA in Action Different CTPNA colleagues present their work in more detail (i.e. sharing of best practice and/or previous challenges) based on discussions in the first two sessions; Joined by guest speakers to show examples of topics discusssed in the first three sessions |
On the 23rd of January 2020, Community Leisure UK (CL-UK) organised a seminar that gave a platform to Welsh charitable trusts to discuss their work, share best practice and discuss challenges regarding the development and delivery of public arts and cultural services and the management of arts/cultural facilities. The common denominator for this seminar’s participants therefore was the unique business model of the organisations; being a charity or social enterprise that manages arts and culture for their community, reinvesting profits back into the organisation to increase access and deliver quality services i.e. organisations that are commonly referred to as Culture Trusts.
The day itself led to insightful discussions on the role of arts and culture in communities and in reference to the Journey to A Wales of Vibrant Culture and Thriving Welsh Language, the positive impact of arts and cultural activity on health and wellbeing, adopting digital technology, and creating sustainable business models looking at financial sustainability. A summary of the day’s discussion is enclosed to this project proposal for reference.
The discussions were incredibly valuable for participants as there was a real opportunity to make themselves heard, discuss their business models, challenges to the sector, and to exchange best practice on reaching and developing diverse audiences. Some of the feedback from the post-event evaluation form demonstrated this:
“Have not talked to people in a similar position to myself for probably five years. Much has changed.”
“[I liked] The informal setting. The opportunity to have discussions around the topic areas.”
Participants concluded that there is a need for forums like this seminar to talk about the impact of arts/culture, to raise awareness of what good work is being done, and to bring people from across sectors together to recognise the potential of arts and cultural activity.
With this new funding, we can build on the great work started in January by launching a new informal networking group for charitable trusts delivering and managing arts programmes in Wales. This network is open for all interested arts charities and social enterprises in Wales.
The objective is to establish an organised, though informal, network that shares best practice, works collaboratively, supports one another, and engages partners to raise awareness of the wider benefits of artistic and cultural activity. With funding until the end of March 2021, the next few months will see the following actions to get the network up and running:
Network participants will benefit from:
Sessions will be virtual to respect Covid-19 regulations, and to make the network more accessible. This network is open to all independent charities and social enterprises managing arts services and facilities, taking a wide interpretation of the arts, including, but not limited to theatres, performance venues, and participatory arts activities organised from these and other multi-purpose venues across Wales.
