STAFF and volunteers at two charities in South Wales are celebrating after their organisations were awarded a £44,000 in grants to expand and evolve programmes that help create career opportunities in the creative industries for local people.
Pathfinders Cymru and Citrus Arts were awarded the grants by the Regional Creatives Fund, launched by Amazon, and plan to use the funding to support hundreds of people from underserved communities in Wales.
Citrus Arts received £30,000 and Pathfinders Cymru secured a £14,400 as part of the Regional Creatives Fund.
The Regional Creatives Fund aims to increase access to careers in the creative industries for people from underserved communities. Creative Access, the UK’s leading inclusivity organisation in the creative industries, defines underserved communities as a population proven to be under-represented in the sector.
Citrus Arts, which uses the travelling circus model to build creative community life in Rhondda Cynon Taf, has been awarded Amazon Regional Creatives Fund support for its Artworkers training programme.
The charity creates outdoor arts spectacles that help communities address pressing issues, runs circus classes for all ages at Hopkinstown Community Hall, and delivers Rage Rage | Oes Oes—a programme of creative rebellion for over-50s.
Artworkers is a hands-on, full-time, paid outdoor arts training programme for young adults not in education, employment, or training. Led by inspiring tutors from across the UK’s outdoor arts and circus scene, the annual programme equips young people for viable arts careers while nurturing Wales’ next generation of outdoor arts practitioners.
With Rhondda Cynon Taf having one of the highest proportions of economically inactive young people in Wales, Artworkers also boosts the local economy by providing crews and creative workers for outdoor events and festivals.
The Regional Creatives Fund will support the 2026 Spring programme, working with 24 young people over eight weeks. The grant will cover top-class tutors, essential materials, and equipment hire to teach young people how to stage, manage, and deliver outdoor events.
Pathfinders Cymru, a South Wales charity supporting young people with learning disabilities and neurodiversity, has been awarded a Regional Creatives Fund grant to expand its Pathways Through Pixels – Digital Storytelling and Creative Future programme.
The programme will provide inclusive training in storytelling, digital design, and multimedia production, helping young people build confidence, explore identity, and discover career pathways in the creative industries.
Building on the success of its recent STEM in Film project, which equipped young people with industry-standard skills in narrative storytelling and music production, the charity will use the Regional Creatives Fund grant to fund essential equipment, voice actor training and performances. It will also fund SEN tools, printed visual aids, alternative formats, flexible resources and more.
Bethan Knight from Pathfinders Cymru said: “It’s fantastic to receive this grant from the Regional Creatives Fund and everyone at Pathfinders Cymru is over the moon to get this brilliant support from Amazon.
“The Regional Creatives Fund grant will help our Pathways Through Pixels project to reach more people in our community, helping to create pathways to creative industry careers where they don’t currently exist.”
Beth House, Executive Director at Citrus Arts, said: “Artworkers is a fantastic opportunity for young people in Rhondda Cynon Taf who have perhaps not yet found their pathway, to work alongside their peers, guided by inspiring creative professionals, and gain practical, transferrable creative skills.
“More importantly, through the process of participating in the graft of outdoor arts life, they create work they can be proud of, en route increasing their confidence, self-esteem open their imaginations and make new friends.”
Joedi Langley, Head of Creative Wales, said: “It was a pleasure to be a part of this important judging panel for the Regional Creatives Fund, that will allocate much needed funding across the UK, creating new opportunities for underrepresented groups to develop their creative skills.
“I’d like to extend my congratulations to all of the recipients and the two Welsh recipients in particular: Pathfinders Cymru, a charity based in the Swansea Valley offering fun and inclusive activities for young people with learning disabilities, and Citrus Arts, a community-focused charity in Rhondda Cynon Taff that uses circus, theatre and dance to bring people together. Llongyfarchiadau!”
Paul Firth, Director, Global Music Industry, Amazon Music and Regional Creatives Fund judge, added: “Pathfinders Cymru and Citrus Arts do incredible work in the community, and we were blown away by their commitment to upskilling people in underserved communities for careers in creative industries.
“Amazon is passionate about creating opportunities for people in Wales to have access to creative industry careers and we’re excited to support these brilliant charities as they expand their programmes to have an even greater impact on the local community.”
Grants were awarded by an independent judging panel. The panel included senior leaders from Amazon, The National Theatre, Creative Wales, Arts Council England, the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Help Musicians and Music Minds Matter.
Funding applications were assessed across five key areas. Strong proposals reflected the fund’s spirit with energy, optimism, and a clear creative purpose; delivered real impact through skills, access, and industry links; showed a smart, achievable plan with confident delivery; centred inclusion by amplifying underrepresented voices; and built on existing programmes to grow what’s already working.
In addition to financial support, the Regional Creatives Fund will also use Amazon’s network of creative industry professionals to offer charities pro bono upskilling programmes for their organisations as well as their beneficiaries – including mentoring, work experience, placement opportunities, and digital training. Support will be provided by creative minds from Amazon Music, Prime Video, Amazon Games, and more.
Amazon has invested over £4.2 billion in the UK’s creative industries since 2010, with over 2,000 people permanently working across our Film and TV, music and audio, books and publishing, fashion, and gaming businesses, and supporting 16,000 additional jobs.
Amazon’s creative industries footprint extends across the entire UK: from acquiring the historic Bray Film Studios in Berkshire last year, which will house the production of the next season of Citadel; to the long-term contract with Shepperton Studios for exclusive use of new state-of-the-art production facilities at the Surrey studios where The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is currently filming; Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock in Wales; Harlan Coben’s Lazarus in Manchester; productions at First Stage Studios and Leigh Studios in Edinburgh; and multiple productions on location in and around London such as the live action movie Masters of the Universe.
The Amazon Literary Partnership has been awarding grants to inspiring non-profit literary organisations, writing centres and community engagement programmes groups since it was first launched in the UK six years ago. While each has a different focus, all have a shared goal of uplifting and offering opportunities to aspiring writers at any stage of their creative journey, and empowering those from underrepresented communities to experience and contribute to the magic of storytelling through the written word.
Amazon Music is committed to expanding access to UK music talent through a series of targeted initiatives. Partnerships with organizations including the BRIT Trust, Amplify, and the Association for Independent Music support new creative professionals entering the industry. The Step-Up Fund, a collaboration with the Featured Artists Coalition, will launch its fourth year in 2025. This fund provides financial support to emerging independent artists by offering development grants. Since its inception, Step-Up has distributed £250,000 to more than 30 UK musicians, including both bands and solo artists across multiple genres. These grants enable artists to fund new recordings, touring costs, marketing campaigns, PR activities, video production, and content creation.
As part of its global strategy to shape a more inclusive audio-storytelling industry, Audible is partnering with multiple institutions in the UK to support creative development programmes, from funding scholarships and classes at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA), to sponsoring the Barbican Young Poets Program and Women’s Prize for Fiction Discoveries Programme.
