WAHWN News

Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru announce year of activity

This new development has been made possible thanks to the support of the programme HARP ( Health, Arts, Research, People), financed by the Arts Council of Wales, and Y Lab (Cardiff University and Nesta). Ar y Dibyn gives people affected by addiction – whether they themselves are living with addiction,or supporting other people with their addiction – the opportunity to come together and share those
stories in a creative way and through the medium of Welsh. With the artists Iola Ynyr and Mirain Fflur at the helm, the aim of the workshops is to promote creativity to celebrate the possibilities of addiction, rather than the obstacles it presents, and to develop heart-felt creative work to share more widely. Iola Ynyr, lead artist and founder of Ar y Dibyn, said: “It’s a pleasure to begin another series of Ar y Dibyn workshops within a year of activity funded by HARP. It takes great courage to participate in activities such as these after periods of isolation in the grips of addiction. But we offer an environment of acceptance without having to reveal any details.
Creativity is the tool we will be using to open the door to our inner treasure. We look forward to discovering what will be created by our participants over the coming year!”

This year of activity will expand on earlier projects held face to face at Galeri, Caernarfon, and online during the lockdown periods. One participant who took part in a workshop at the end of 2020 said: “Fear held me in a tight grip, and I didn’t mention to a living soul apart from my husband that I was attending the workshops. Fear, shame, nervousness… but by the end I was looking forward to the
next session. I hadn’t realised that there was an intention to create a film or script or anything – I had no end goal in sight, I just wanted to give myself some time and space to recover, to be in a room with people who were similar to me, people who understood, and to have the opportunity and the permission, in a way, to be myself, in my own language.”

With support from the North Wales Area Planning Board for Substance Misuse, Adferiad Recovery and Stafell Fyw, Ar y Dibyn also highlights the importance of the relationship between the arts and the fields of health and well-being, and responds to the need to develop the support that is available through the medium of Welsh. Professional health specialists are at hand in every creative session to give support as required. Rhian A. Davies, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru’s Executive Producer, said: “We are very grateful for this grant provided by Nesta, as part of their HARP (Health, Arts, Research, People) scheme, to develop the Ar y Dibyn project that gives people throughout Wales living with
addiction an opportunity to come together to share their stories in a creative way and through the medium of Welsh. Our ambition is for the project to become permanent – in collaboration with partners in the health, care and third sectors, both current and new – and to show the importance of the role of the arts in recovery and health, and the health and well-being of Welsh-speakers.”The HARP programme also focuses on giving the arts an opportunity to play a leading role in the health and well-being of the people of Wales. Rosie Dow, HARP’s Programme Manager for the Arts and Health, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, Iola and their partners to explore how Ar y Dibyn can reach as many people affected by addiction as possible. We know that there is a team’s combination of passion and expertise will really help to change peoples’ lives for the better.

HARP is all about how innovative projects like this can grow and become embedded in health and care in the long term, so we look forward to exploring with the team how that might be possible.” The first series of Ar y Dibyn workshops in this new year of activity started on 6 July 2021 – but a warm welcome is extended to any participants or artists who are interested in joining the project. Go to theatr.cymru/arydibyn for information.

For press enquiries, please contact:
Ceri Williams, Marketing and Communications Manager, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru
ceri.williams@theatr.com | +44 (0)1267 643187 | +44 (0)7903 842617
theatr.cymru | @TheatrGenCymru
Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru
Placing Welsh theatre at the heart of the nation is the vision of Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru. We
create and present theatre productions with the aim of exciting and entertaining our audiences, and
firing their imagination. We also create opportunities that are a means of nurturing and inspiring the
next generation of Welsh theatre artists, together with opportunities for people in all parts of Wales
to experience the transformative effect of creativity in their lives.
The company’s main office is in Carmarthen. It is a registered charity, charity number 1106032 /
registered company number 4784488.
Literature Wales
Literature Wales is the national company for the development of literature. Our vision is a Wales
where literature empowers, improves and brightens lives. Literature Wales is a registered charity,
(number 1146560) and works with the support of Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Government.
Lleucu Siencyn is the Chief Executive.
Literature Wales works in Welsh, English and bilingually across Wales. We have offices in
Llanystumdwy and Cardiff. Our patron is Philip Pullman.
Our mission is to inspire communities, develop writers, and celebrate Wales’ literary culture by:
increasing the accessibility and impact of creative writing for participants in Wales; enabling early
career writers to engage with opportunities to hone and diversify their skills; and strengthening the
range, reach and reputation of Wales’ writers.
Our projects include: Wales Book of the Year; National Poet of Wales; Bardd Plant Cymru and the
Children’s Laureate Wales; Her 100 Cerdd; Writer Commissions; Representing Wales: Developing
Writers of Colour; and creative writing courses at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre.
We also work in partnership with a range of organisations within the wider cultural sector, including
the eight Arts Council of Wales funded National Companies.www.llenyddiaethcymru.org / www.literaturewales.org
Twitter: @LitWales / @LlenCymru
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LlenCymruLitWales
Instagram: llencymru_litwales
Adra (Tai/Housing)
We are Adra. We provide quality homes in north Wales.
Our company looks after 6,300 homes and provides services to over 14,000 local customers. Our
goal is that these are affordable and reliable.
Improving the wellbeing of our communities is also important to us and we do this by protecting,
promoting and supporting them to develop. Our focus is on health, environment and safety and we
work together to provide skills, training and opportunities for the people who live here.
Our culture and heritage are also very important to us, especially our work to promote the Welsh
language.
As an ambitious and flexible company, we operate with a commercial mind and a social heart. We’ll
work in enterprising, innovative and flexible ways to meet future challenges. This will help us to
prevent problems before they happen and the best way to achieve this is by working in partnership.
All our money is invested back into our communities and we don’t make a profit. Our team includes
320 highly committed and professional staff who put the customer at the centre of everything that
we do.
North Wales Area Planning Board for Substance Misuse
The North Wales Area Planning Board is a partnership of all agencies in North Wales involved in
tackling and reducing the harms associated with substance misuse. The Board is responsible for
planning, development and commissioning services and coordinating funding from the Welsh
Government and other sources to ensure that people living in the region have access services that
meet their needs and which improve their wellbeing.
Adferiad Recovery
Adferiad Recovery responds to the needs of people facing a range of co-occurring health conditions
and complex social circumstances – people who are seldom seen and seldom heard.
Our comprehensive and coordinated therapeutic model employs the very best practice from mental
health, substance misuse, criminal justice and related services. Adferiad’s combined team works
holistically to address treatment for co-occurring conditions and dual diagnoses.
We work with our clients to engage and support them throughout their recovery. We use proven
mutual aid, peer mentoring and social prescribing approaches to help people take control of their
lives, create their own plan for recovery, and work towards independence and prosperity.
We work across barriers to the benefit of our clients. We develop partnerships with commissioners,
fellow providers, practitioners and researchers who share our ambition to transform the lives and
prospects of some of Wales’s most vulnerable people.adferiad.org.uk
Stafell Fyw
We are a community-based recovery centre that has an “all addictions” approach (e.g. gambling,
alcohol, sex, drugs, eating disorders etc), and welcome anyone who needs support taking that first
step towards recovery or wanting to maintain their on-going recovery. We also welcome and
provide support for family members, partners and friends who have been affected by these
addictions. All information disclosed will be treated in the strictest of confidence. All our services are
free, offer a loving, non-judgemental and open environment in which people can help each other
and become givers