Home > Better representation needed alongside more funding to save arts in Wales, says Future Generations Leadership Academy graduate
A producer who didn’t see anyone who ‘looked like me’ growing up as an aspiring actor in Cardiff, says better representation needs to be a crucial part of saving arts in Wales.
Mason Rodrigues-Edwards has just graduated from the Future Generations Leadership Academy and hopes he can have the same impact on young people that he received from a mentor when he was new to the industry.
The 25-year-old joins 35 other leaders of tomorrow in graduating from the programme, run by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Derek Walker and his team.
The academy, which is celebrating 100 graduates in the 10th year of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, supports young people to bring about lasting social change under the legislation, which protects the interests of people today, those born in the future, and our planet.
Participants put futures thinking into action, creating future generations plans for their workplaces, mentoring Welsh leaders and informing the commissioner’s work, including his statutory Future Generations Report which is being published in April.
Mason is an assistant producer with National Youth Arts Wales, the charity for young performers and creatives from ages 11-25, with a role to “empower young people to take part in arts and see it as a viable career option”.
He is passionate about better representation in the arts, so that “more people from the global majority, and different socio-economic backgrounds” are supported to participate.
“People are seeing a different type of artist coming from Wales and that’s brilliant,” said Mason, who studied Theatre and Performance at London South Bank University.
“When I was looking into a career in arts, I didn’t see anyone who looked and sounded like me.
“Anything I was involved in didn’t happen in Grangetown or the docks.
“I went to Mount Stuart Primary School and now it has so much more exposure, but people weren’t talking about Betty Campbell when I was growing up.”
Mason said his mentorship with writer Connor Allen, the former Children’s Laureate Wales, was a changing point.
“We had similar lived experience. Meeting him made me feel like there’s a place for me. I hope young people see me like that.
“At a time the arts are under such threat and we’re being told it’s not a viable career path, alongside more funding for the arts, we need more representation in the arts to show what’s possible, or people who wouldn’t usually have had access to the arts will be left out and left behind. Representation is more important than ever so we can truly represent and welcome the full diversity of Wales.”
On March 1, St David’s Day, the Future Generations Commissioner spoke out on the need for a culture bill for Wales, so a long-term vision is created to ensure sustainable support for the sector, which Mason backs.
“People need to understand how tough it is and what we stand to lose as land of song and of so much more, if arts are continually unsupported,” said Mason.
“We don’t have as many venues as other countries and our venues are struggling. The result could be that a child grows up without ever having seen a performance on stage.
“Everyone has a part to play, whether you’re in the arts or not. In the academy, some of the best things I learned came from people outside of the industry.
“Welsh Government needs to support organisations and artists to come together and make sure arts in Wales has a future.”
This year, individuals have come from a variety of organisations across Wales including Transport for Wales, Natural Resources Wales, Principality Building Society and, all of whom graduated at the end of March at a ceremony at Wales Millennium Centre.
Participants, age 18-30, have the opportunity to become part of the academy’s alumni network, a network of 120 young leaders – the alumni have spoken at climate conferences, joined Welsh Government advisory boards, become elected officials and represented Wales on the UK Future Generations Commission.
Principality Building Society has committed £40,000 annually for the next three years to the academy, enabling one of their colleagues and four individuals from diverse backgrounds to participate.
Korina Tsioni, Programme Lead, Future Generations Leadership Academy, said: “There is a lack of youth representation in decision making in Wales, and there is more learning that needs to happen around the Well-being of Future Generations Act in Wales.
“The Future Leaders Academy helps bridge these gaps, and acts positively towards these goals, supporting people to work creatively together towards the Wales we want.
“The 36 young leaders who graduated this year are already making the world a better place, and I cannot wait to see what they do next.”
The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Derek Walker, publishes his five-year Future Generations Report on April 29 at the Future Generations Action Summit in Cardiff.
