A Culture Act for Wales?

With changes on the horizon as a new government takes office in Cardiff, 2026 marks an interesting, if expectant, moment for people in the Welsh culture sector.

For anyone not familiar, a simplified narrative of recent cultural policy in Wales looks something like this. After a decade of cuts, arguably exacerbated by limited strategic guidance for the sector, Wales currently has one of the lowest levels of cultural funding in Europe.

Amid the growing volume of sector advocacy voices and a rapidly expanding public evidence-base documenting impacts – including Bangor University’s report attributing £588m health and productivity benefits to the arts – efforts are now underway to plan for a better future.

A new Green Paper by The Audience Agency – Culture for Future Generations – commissioned by the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner of Wales, was published in February exploring options for a Culture Act – something also being explored in Scotland.

Concluding that existing legislation has not protected culture effectively, the paper drew inspiration from Spain’s Cultural Rights Plan and, in response to findings from an extensive consultation, it recommended a range of statutory and non-statutory policy options to enact significant positive change in the way Wales defines, engages with and supports cultural life.

Now, as a new government forms, advocating the value of Welsh culture, it seems possible some of our recommendations will be put to the test. Good news for organisations – good news for audiences.

Support for audience work

But what about those audiences? Since 2019, the Arts Council of Wales has been promoting evidence-based audience work by supporting organisations through Audience Insight Wales. Delivered by The Audience Agency, the national insights programme is based on a tried-and-tested model and aims to evolve for and with organisations in Wales in a user-centred way.

The programme provides those working in arts organisations with access to on-tap audience development expertise from consultants, a varied range of data tools and insight, and national evidence. It is available to any arts organisation in Wales, not just those receiving multi-year funding.

Accessing the programme is a choice, not a requirement, allowing organisations to seek guidance, advice and evidence when it’s needed most (eg to strengthen a funding bid, sharpen marketing campaigns, or demonstrate social impact).

In the last year alone, 92 arts organisations took advantage of the programme, in 303 different instances, via a diverse range of services to suit their unique needs, data access and operational styles.

Against a challenging backdrop for Welsh arts, this organisation-first, collaborative and long-term approach to data-led skills development and capacity building has aimed to nurture a sector where no organisation, no matter its resource, is excluded from the opportunity to deliver strategic, audience-focused ways of working, underpinned by evidence and local knowledge.

And wherever they might be starting out, the newest generations of arts marketing professionals and leaders have access to the same skills development opportunities and specialist advice as those working in more established institutions.

Improving ticket sales

Audience Insight Wales also provides important national evidence on how audiences are changing at a larger scale. Findings from a recent Audience in Wales report showedastronger performance in ticket sales.

Interestingly, while facing acute challenges, the audience work done by professionals across the sector in Wales seems to have been paying off, with ticket sales across Welsh venues outpacing the UK-wide five-year trend. Despite only a relatively small rise in programming compared to that across the UK, ticket sales in 2024-25 were 26% higher than in 2019-20, while ticket sales grew only 6% UK-wide.

The growth in ticket income has also been considerable in the same period. Although the 58% increase is a lower 27% increase in real terms, this does mean that the average ticket yield has held up (while it dropped 3% across the UK cohort). Overall, this represents a strong performance by Welsh venues.

Serving communities

The data also shows how well some organisations in Wales are serving their communities – bringing in both less engaged family and older audiences.

While Wales’ largest venues are generally engaging more of the Audience Spectrum groups Commuterland Culturebuffs and Dormitory Dependables – older audiences with high-medium engagement, the picture differs for mid-scale venues that are reaching more families and less-engaged older audiences – higher proportions of Trips & Treats and Home & Heritage.

Smaller venues are slightly different again, with greater connection with younger generations, and particularly those from highly engaged cultural segments – Experience Seekers and Metroculturals.

To read the full report visit Audience Answers, or there will be an opportunity to hear more and influence the content for next year’s report at The Audience Agency’s next TEA Break session on Wednesday 20 May. Book for free here.