Beacons Cymru: CICH stories

In this series of CICH stories, we speak to a range of artists who have been involved in the project, working to build a more democratic and inclusive future for the sector in their region.

Since summer 2023, Cardiff University’s Centre for the Creative Economy has been working in partnership with Monmouthshire, Newport and Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) local authorities on a new Creative Industries Cluster Hubs (CICH) project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). 

For this CICH story, we spoke to Director of Beacons Cymru, a Wales-wide music industry development organisation supporting the next generation of young people aspiring to work in the music industry.

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Posted by: Creative Cardiff

Date: 11 June 2024

Spike Griffiths, director of Beacons Music, spoke to us about the organisation's industry events that happened as part of our Creative Industries Cluster Hubs programme.

“We were approached by Lyndy Cooke from Handheld events, who was part of the CICH Newport and CICH RCT teams. She initiated a conversation to learn more about young creatives, which led to our involvement.

“We held two full day music industry events for young people. These events took place in Coleg Gwent, Crosskeys and Coleg Y Cymoedd, Nantgarw. From them, we gained access to new young people who expressed an interest in pursuing a career in the creative and music sector.

“These events enabled us to speak with young people, who all conveyed how difficult it is for them to find routes into the sector. The locality played a large part in that disconnect, stifling new opportunities for these young people.

“It showed the importance of connectivity; we need to be connecting young people with like-minded individuals or SMEs that could facilitate or help them navigate initial routes into the sector. This needs to happen frequently and consistently. More things like the events we held would be great.”

Watch a video from one of the events here:

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Jess Networking at a Creative Cardiff event