Gordon Kennedy - Performance Artist, Glasgow

Dear Sir / Madam –


I am a writer and performance artist from Glasgow, and recently visited Wales to attend a workshop at Giving Voice Festival, run by the Centre for Performance Research at Aberystwyth.

I am aware that the Centre is currently funded by yourselves, and would like to congratulate you on your support for this excellent resource.

I was delighted in particular, by the intensely practical and applicable basis of the workshop training, and by the way in which the practical, theoretical and performance aspects of the festival as a whole informed and cross- pollinated each other. The environment provided by the CPR was intensely stimulating, and I have to say I have not encountered anything quite like it elsewhere.

I understand that you are presently considering withdrawing funding from this institution, and feel bound to say that this would represent a major blow to the performing arts, both in Wales and further afield. A few countries can boast a broad-based voice festival of this stature, attracting such a calibre if international coaches and performers – and that fact stands as testament to the international status of the Centre.

Events such as this, and institutions such as the CPR, are the seedbed of artistic practice.

It would seem strange, entrusted with the stewardship of a house, to invest in the windows, doors and furniture, and remove the foundations.

Best Wishes
Gordon Kennedy