About Us
Fio exists to create positive change in the arts and cultural sector in Wales. Our vision is that people from the Global Majority are embedded and thriving in all aspects of theatre ad arts in Wales. We support Global Majority people of all ages to shape culture in Wales. We do this by providing pathways and opportunities to develop, create and experience exciting theatre and arts. We represent contemporary diverse Welsh culture and identity. We remove barriers and offer inclusive, intersectional visions for the future
Founding
Fio was founded and registered as a charity in 2016 as a catalyst for change in response to the lack of diverse artists and repertoire in theatre in Cardiff.
“Fio:
- Inspired by Latin, meaning to belong, to create, to grow.”
In 2021, Fio identified a critical challenge within the Welsh cultural sector: the lack of Global Majority creatives across all roles, from directors to stage managers, producers, facilitators, and senior leaders. To tackle this, Fio redefined its focus on ‘People, Projects, and Productions,’ ensuring a clear connection between these strands.
Fio launched Arise – Wales Creatives in partnership with Wales Millennium Centre, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, SDUK, Stage One, and buzz culture. This initiative supported 20 participants with paid monthly training sessions to address the underrepresentation of GM creatives. Another key project, Winter Sparks (in partnership with Women Connect First and Now In a Minute Media), engaged young Muslim participants in exploring local socially relevant issues, leading to powerful artistic responses. This project strengthened community engagement and inspired future creatives.
Fio’s production Landing Bolts—a site-specific, multi-artform show set in a skatepark—was developed over two years with extensive research and support from Arts Council of Wales, Genesis Foundation, and Cardiff Council. This groundbreaking work not only tells a fresh, contemporary story that enriches the Welsh theatrical canon but also prioritises the development of the people creating it and Fio’s process for making impactful, long-term work.
At Fio, we don’t just talk about the need to change. We drive forward action and allocate resource in order to create opportunity, make a difference and dismantle structural racism. Through our focus on People, Projects and Productions all underpinned by wellbeing, we provide safe, welcoming spaces for ethnically diverse people to find their creative energy. We develop early-career Global Majority people into Wales’ ethnically diverse creative workforce of the future. We make theatre that represents the communities we work alongside and tell stories that resonate with and articulate contemporary diverse Welsh experience. We provide pathways for people to run the arts organisations of the future. Through our lived experience, we understand deeply the barriers to progression, and are poised to offer solutions to end the inequalities and inject change and fresh power into the Welsh cultural sector.
