Gary Raymond co-founded Wales Arts Review in 2012. It was born out of a conversation in a pub during half-time of a football match that was on the tele. Twelve years later, Wales Arts Review is read all around the world by hundreds of thousands of people. It has published the finest writers and artists of several generations that Wales has produced, and on a stunning range of topics. Over the next few weeks, this series will aim to explore and celebrate the life of the magazine.
If you missed the full introduction to this series, you can find it here.
Some questions that have come in over the last week from different quarters that I think need addressing.
Is Wales Arts Review really closing down?
It absolutely is. I have written about this quite a bit. I don’t want to bore anyone. But here’s the nub of it.
Wales Arts Review is closing down because the funding model as offered by the Books Council of Wales was not fit for purpose. We tried to engage with the Books Council on this but we were unsuccessful in our efforts to create a dialogue. We decided that a grossly underfunded WAR in a culture of funding that stifles innovation, growth, and progressive thinking was too much to ask of us. So we are closing.
Why can’t you just do it for no money?
Perhaps would could have done. But we have decided not to. That is our prerogative.
Thank you everyone for those questions via email and in person.