An IWA Report - Creative Crossroads: Sustainability and Well-being in Wales’ Creative Sector

The Arts Council of Wales, Creative Wales and the definition of the creative economy The creation of Creative Wales as an arms-length body dedicated to the area grouped under the term of ‘creative industry’ sets Wales apart from the other devolved nations. [...] The divisiveness of the language used to describe the activities included in the creative sector, and of the concept of creative economy, was a topic frequently brought up throughout each panel at the event. [...] The representatives of the Arts Council of Wales, meanwhile, also acknowledged a disparity in the quantum of available funding, noticeable in the outcome of the Investment Review,5 and current demand. [...] On the other, the discussion dived into the role of culture in helping think through the permacrisis, and the role of the creative sector in devising solutions and offering narratives offering a way forward. [...] Sustainability challenges link up the creative sector with others, with the lack of public transport one of the obstacles to creative industry practitioners in Wales, where film productions, for example, use up more diesel than in the rest of the UK.16 As one panellist noted at the beginning of the day, skills will be key to this discussion, as ‘most jobs for the future don’t exist yet’.