CEU 05
Senedd Cymru | Welsh Parliament
Pwyllgor Diwylliant, Cyfathrebu, y Gymraeg, Chwaraeon, a Chysylltiadau Rhyngwladol | Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Diwylliant a'r berthynas newydd â'r UE| Culture and the new relationship with the EU
Ymateb gan: Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru / Celfyddydau Rhyngwladol Cymru | Evidence from: Arts Council of Wales / Wales Arts International
Introduction
1. The Arts Council of Wales is the official public body responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. We are accountable to Senedd Cymru Welsh Parliament and responsible to the Welsh Government for the way the money they provide to fund the arts in Wales is spent. We are also a Lottery distributor for the arts in Wales.
2. This evidence is submitted by the Arts Council of Wales, informed by the knowledge and experience of Wales Arts International (WAI). WAI host the UK’s mobility information point Arts Infopoint UK on behalf of the Arts Councils / Arts Development Agencies and the devolved governments of Scotland and Wales.
3. During the course of the membership of the European Union, the arts in Wales benefited significantly in 3 specific ways:
i. Freedom of Movement of people, goods and services
ii. Direct funding that co-invested in creating the capital infrastructure that is the backbone of the arts in Wales today as well as funding that encouraged transnational collaboration
iii. Participation and perceptions in terms of network and events to position and engage artists with partners in 27 countries and in international programmes with the rest of the world
Freedom of Movement
4. From a freedom of movement perspective, for artists and creative workers from Wales working in EU countries, the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU is that without freedom of movement, artists need to understand the regulations for whichever EU member state they are travelling to – both in terms of border entry/visas and any work permit regulations relevant to what they are planning to do and how long they are planning to stay.
5. This is made more complex when artists or companies are touring as there’s a need to understand different rules in different countries.
6. The Schengen area rule of allowing maximum visitor stays of 90 in 180 days can be prohibitive for touring companies and individual creative workers. Anecdotally we have heard that has impacted in particular on the music industry and UK crew who would have previously been booked to work on lengthy European tours.
7. The existence of the Common Travel Area has gone some way to enabling the movement of people between Wales and Ireland to continue, which is helpful in the arts sector when working cross border on some short term and longer-term projects.
8. Equally, artists and creative workers from the EU who come to work in Wales have had to understand the new UK border entry requirements and routes that apply to them, as have some of the venues and festivals here. These have generally been through Permitted Paid Engagement; Creative Worker Sponsorship and also some festivals have looked at the Permit Free Festival route.
9. Overall, we are being told by the sector that there is an increased administrative and financial burden on especially individuals and smaller companies (as we have in Wales), due to the processes involved and the associated costs.
10. In a recent survey from UK Music, almost one in three music creators who responded to the survey said their earnings had been affected since the UK’s official exit from the EU, and 43% of those hit by Brexit said it was no longer viable for them to tour the EU.
11. These issues will also have an impact on emerging bands and musicians in particular, on the offers and opportunities to tour internationally.
12. Some organisations funded by the Arts Council of Wales have direct experience of the increased administrative and financial burden on them when touring in the EU, including NoFit State; Hijinx and National Dance Company Wales.
13. At a cultural level, there is a willingness to continue with collaborations between individuals and companies in Wales and the EU - but there is also a perception and sometimes a nervousness expressed that working with the UK/EU will be more problematic.
14. From a linguistic perspective, there is a significant loss in terms of multi-lingual projects coming into Wales supported by the Creative Europe programme. There is also a gap for the Welsh language in terms of the support available for collaborations between minority languages, through Territorial Cooperation projects (Interreg). Whilst there is good will from other minority culture within the EU, and a sympathy toward Welsh language and culture, it’s both more expensive and harder in term of barriers for our artists to be involved in projects funded by the EU.
15. The new trading arrangements with the EU have had an impact on the cultural sector, in particular those who are moving goods temporarily. For example, those moving theatre sets and props; musical instruments and equipment; artworks for exhibitions etc.
16. In many cases, where goods are being temporarily imported/exported and not being sold, no customs duties are due. However, there is often confusion surrounding this temporary admissions process and whether an ATA carnet is needed or not.
17. The ATA Carnet is expensive, and not always applicable to artists, there can be low confidence with artists preparing to use a carnet. The performing arts sector used it regularly and for large scale sets of regular performances or larger organisations it is suitable. However, for smaller organisations or individual artists, including visual artists, or emerging artists – it is not always suitable.
18. Musicians in particular, need to be aware of travelling with an instrument containing protected materials such as ivory, will need a CITES certificate when crossing the EU-UK border. (this is applicable to props/costumes too)
19. BBC National Orchestra of Wales told us: “we have to commit more resources (time and expertise) in relation to CITES requirements, cargo and freight. Similarly, there are additional costs where items need to be imported/exported – e.g. if we are ordering equipment from EU countries. This is usually an additional 20% of costs”
The availability of guidance and support for the sector relating to the new relationship between the UK and EU
20. Since the UK’s exit from the EU, there is a number of places offering guidance and support for the cultural sector, but there are also gaps in that provision.
21. Wales Arts International/Arts Council of Wales leads on the Arts Infopoint UK initiative, in partnership with Creative Scotland, Arts Council England and Arts Council Northern Ireland. Arts Infopoint UK has been supporting the sector in looking at some of the practical issues for artists – with a focus mainly on incoming to the UK, but also with outgoing mobility to the EU as many practical questions have been raised by the sector.
22. Arts Infopoint UK offers free, practical information to support and help artists, creative professionals and organisations to understand the rules and administrative requirements for creative visits to the UK. This support has been in the form of resources (webinars, online guides etc).
23. Some of the events and webinars have had a focus on practical aspects such as visas or carnets, whilst others have looked at international funding opportunities (eg the Four Nations International fund).
24. Arts Infopoint UK is part of a wider network of Mobility Information Points across the EU and beyond. This group sits under the umbrella of the artist mobility network On the Move, which Wales Arts International/ Arts Council of Wales is a member. The other mobility points provide practical information for artists travelling to their countries. Seven of them are based in EU member states. In particular, Touring Artists in Germany and Cultuurloket in Belgium have developed guidance and resources specifically for post Brexit questions.
25. In parallel, many of the UK sector lead bodies have set up specific support and guidance for their members. The music industry in particular has been at the forefront of this. Those who have developed resources include ISM (Independent Society of Musicians); MU (Musicians Union); Arts Admin; ABO (Association of British Orchestras); Xtrax (Outdoor Arts); Help Musicians UK.
26. The UK Government has a page on their website for visiting the UK as a creative professional
27. PEARLE (Live Performance Europe) has several resources on their website that are useful for UK based creatives working in the EU.
28. Overall, there is guidance available but for example the Mobility Information Points do not exist in every country so it can take a lot of time for individual artists and companies to find the information they need. Support, in terms of the financial support needed to cover the costs of the additional administration is needed.
29. This is a complex, multi-layered issue, and further research work and data monitoring capacity would be needed to assess the impact of the exit from EU funds, especially the investment made into the arts infrastructure in Wales by EU Convergence & Objective Funds to compare with the UK Levelling up programme. There isn’t currently a mechanism to do this.
30. The arts sector in Wales undoubtably feels the loss of both Creative Europe funding and access to participation in these projects and networks. In addition, the Creative Europe programme now has a mobility strand (Culture Moves Europe) which artists from Wales are unable to participate in.
31. In a similar way in which the UK has agreed to associate to Horizon Europe (funding and research programme) the UK would be able to participate in the Creative Europe programme, as the programme currently includes non-EU members.
32. In 2020, The Deputy Minister for Culture, Dafydd Elis-Thomas and the Minister for International relations, Eluned Morgan, wrote to the UK Government at the time to urge reconsideration of UK participation in Creative Europe, suggesting Wales could request for third country regional membership.
33. Whilst a programme has been developed to support international study exchanges (Taith), no alternative to Creative Europe has been established either in Wales or across the UK. Wales Arts International continues to run the International Opportunities Fund programme, and the 4 UK Nations Arts Councils and agencies have set up the 4 Nations International Fund, but these are small funds where the ask is consistently way above what the funds are able to support.
34. Whilst it’s difficult to establish the impact of what may have been invested should the UK still be members of the EU and Creative Europe specifically, for key organisations whose raison d’être is to network across the EU, like Literature Across Frontiers, the most successful recipient of Creative Europe in Wales, the impact on their ability to connect writers based in Wales with their European network has been significant. It’s unsustainable that the already over-stretched public funding in the arts in Wales bridge the gap in activities previously funded by the EU.
35. When still members of the EU and part of the Creative Europe programme, the Creative Europe Desk in Wales was co-hosted by Creative Wales and Arts Council of Wales. This was a very useful model and something that Arts Council of Wales would be keen to explore as part of the new MOU with Creative Wales.
36. Arts Council of Wales invests in some initiatives to allow artists in Wales to continue to engage with European networks through our own membership of Culture Action Europe, IETM, Res Artis and On the Move and events such as WOMEX and Tanzmesse.
37. However, with increasing costs and reduced public funding available, there is a real threat to the participation of organisations from Wales in key European networks leading to perceptions of dis-engagement. Perceptions around the challenges to mobility of artists also endangers the position of Welsh artists to be considered / selected for work in the EU, where artists from member states are perceived to be easier to employ. Equally, this affects decisions on international artists touring Europe to consider twice coming into the UK.
38. Disengagement in European networks leads to a decrease in knowledge and intelligence within the sector in Wales of the opportunities that are available for artists in Wales to work internationally. Artists may be missing out in both the professional development opportunities and the investment from outside of the UK.
39. There is also a real impact in term of the wider cultural perceptions of Wales as a nation, which Welsh Government and the Arts Council of Wales are addressing through the co-funding for the cultural relations campaigns by Wales Arts International.
40. For example, perceptions of the UK in France have been at an all-time low. Running the Wales in France cultural programme during the rugby world cup was a golden opportunity to change perceptions, although much more is needed in terms of cultural diplomacy to counteract the negative perceptions of the UK in France. The UK-France spotlight leading up to the Olympics in Paris in 2024 will be one such opportunity as will be the six projects funded through the Wales in France Fund, a joint investment by Arts Council of Wales, British Council and Welsh Government.
41. Remaining connected via formal and informal networks is crucial for artists and organisations from Wales to continue to work internationally. Membership of many EU networks is open beyond EU countries, so there is the opportunity to join these networks. However, to actively participate in them and realise all the benefits, investment (time, travel costs etc) is needed. There is currently no support for this outside of WAI’s International Opportunities Fund.
Any changes to the UK-EU relationship that might improve cross-border working for the culture sector
42. Many of the UK sector lead bodies, especially in the music sector, have been lobbying the UK Government for a visa waiver for the cultural sector when touring in the EU/UK and for the reduction in administration burden especially for the temporary movement of cultural goods.
43. Recent reports and recommendations include Let the Music Move from UK Music; Paying the Price from the ISM. While they are music specific, the issues cut across much of the performing arts sector.
44. Arts Infopoint UK partnered with On the Move for a webinar on EU/UK exchanges in the Visual Arts, resulting in a policy paper with recommendations on the EU side.
45. Wales Arts International/Arts Council of Wales would like to reiterate the support needed for the UK to once again participate in the Creative Europe programme. It’s disappointing that this isn’t currently included in the Committee’s Priorities and Strategy for the 6th Senedd 2021-26. Support for this would be of huge benefit to the cultural sector, offering new opportunities to artists, and signalling a willingness and commitment to restoring our confidence in cross UK/EU cultural collaborations.
46. As a longstanding member of the On the Move network, Wales Arts International/Arts Council of Wales will be hosting the 2024 General Assembly in Caernarfon 24-26 April 2024. This would be an excellent opportunity to join with the network’s members and experts in cultural mobility to discuss some of the practical steps forward in our new relationship with the EU. This could be an opportunity for the Committee to engage with the network whilst it is in Wales – meeting point 41 of the Committee’s Priorities and Strategy for international relations.
Arts Council of Wales / Wales Arts International
12 October 2023