Future Wales Fellowship | Arts Council of Wales

This is not a specific piece of work but a special project which is a partnership between the Arts Council of Wales, Peak Cymru, Natural Resources Wales, the National Trust and the Elan Valley Trust. The Future Wales Fellowship provides a grant of £25,000 each to 8 solo artists or creative individuals, enabling them to spend 16 months creatively researching the theme of "connection to nature". It is an opportunity for them as artists to challenge their understanding and relationship with nature but also to encourage us to reconnect with it.

In the video below, Dafydd Rhys – Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Wales – explains the aim and benefit of the partnership.

In the video below, Clare Pillman – Chief Executive of Natural Resources Wales – analyses the role of the arts in presenting and discussing ideas and emotions associated with life's biggest challenges.

As well as pushing boundaries in terms of the work the artists create, it is also important that the structures and organisations that are there to support artists to change and to develop their ways of working. In considering the scale and intensity of the climate crisis, we must continue to develop more creative ways of sharing information to broaden our understanding of what is happening around us. One way to do this is by collaborating across borders and sectors with others who might not be considered traditional partners. So, it is great to see the arts and nature organisations working together in such a way.

One of the artists selected for the 2023-25 Future Wales Fellowship was Manon Awst. Manon creates sculptures and site-specific works interwoven with ecological narratives and is interested in the relationship of people and landscape over time, and the way materials adhere to and transform settings and communities. I have admired Manon's work for a long time so it was lovely to see that she was part of this project. In the video below, see an example of the type of work she has been inspired to create as part of the project.