This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/south_east/6081982.stm

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Money for valleys culture centre Money for valleys culture centre
(about 1 hour later)
A £250,000 project to promote the arts in some of the poorest parts of south Wales is set to be announced.A £250,000 project to promote the arts in some of the poorest parts of south Wales is set to be announced.
The cultural enterprise centre in Merthyr Tydfil will aim to help small creative businesses and individual artists in the south Wales valleys.The cultural enterprise centre in Merthyr Tydfil will aim to help small creative businesses and individual artists in the south Wales valleys.
Culture Minister Alun Pugh is expected to say he has set aside funds next year - despite the draft budget defeat in the assembly by opposition parties.Culture Minister Alun Pugh is expected to say he has set aside funds next year - despite the draft budget defeat in the assembly by opposition parties.
Mr Pugh hopes a new cultural centre will help build stronger communities. A feasibility study will take place to establish the needs of the region.
The minister said: "Merthyr has a rich cultural heritage and its people want to participate and experience the arts. Broadcaster Mario Basini, author of a forthcoming book on Merthyr, said the town had produced an "endless string" of musicians, poets and novelists - but did not even have a cinema.
"Yet local access to culture has been poor. A culture centre for Merthyr and the heads of the valleys area is long overdue. If you simply hang a few pictures on the wall and wait for people to come in, they won't, quite frankly Broadcaster Mario Basini
"Culture and the arts has an important part to play in building stronger communities." "We've got a town of 55,000 people but if you want to go to the pictures you've got to go down the valley," he said.
English language theatre But Mr Basini said there was no point in having an cultural centre if people did not visit it.
The assembly government said a feasibility study would take place to establish the needs of the community and future opportunities for the region. "You really do need an arts centre in Merthyr, not just for Merthyr but for the rest of the valleys. But what we must do is get people in there immediately," he said.
"If you simply hang a few pictures on the wall and wait for people to come in, they won't, quite frankly."
Alan Pugh said a culture centre for Merthyr and the heads of the valleys area is long overdue.
"Merthyr has a rich cultural heritage and its people want to participate and experience the arts," he added.
The new facility will combine a theatre and arts centre and will involve the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) working with the Heads of the Valleys Partnership, Merthyr Tydfil Council and the University of Glamorgan.The new facility will combine a theatre and arts centre and will involve the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) working with the Heads of the Valleys Partnership, Merthyr Tydfil Council and the University of Glamorgan.
The chair of ACW, Professor Dai Smith, and Mr Pugh are to visit the town on Wednesday to meet a group aspiring to be theatre promoters. Creative businesses
ACW chairman Professor Dai Smith and Mr Pugh are to visit the town on Wednesday to meet a group aspiring to be theatre promoters.
Similar arts centres have been completed in both Caernarfon and Newport.
Mr Pugh will also announce £250,000 will be provided to support the development on English Language Theatre in Wales.Mr Pugh will also announce £250,000 will be provided to support the development on English Language Theatre in Wales.
This is in addition to the £500,000 that Mr Pugh announced would be available at ACW's conference in November 2005. This is in addition to the £500,000 announced at ACW's conference in November 2005.
Proposals developed by ACW for English Language Theatre in Wales will be discussed in the assembly's culture committee on Thursday.Proposals developed by ACW for English Language Theatre in Wales will be discussed in the assembly's culture committee on Thursday.
Developments have been completed in both Caernarfon and Newport.
The Galeri scheme in Caernarfon has been constructed on a brown field site in the town's dock area and the award-winning building is home to a range of thriving creative businesses.
The assembly government hopes that a comparable development would achieve similar results in Merthyr Tydfil.