Future Wales Fellowship
Over the last two years Simmy has been carrying out a series of activities as part of the Future Wales Fellowship.
The Fellowship was developed in response to the shared vision of the Creative Nature Partnership which was signed in 2020 between the Arts Council of Wales and Natural Resources Wales. Inspired by the need to take action in response to the climate and nature emergencies, this joint vision was about growing the relationship between nature and the arts, with the intention of nurturing creative talent and supporting more people from different backgrounds to access to nature and the arts. It was also about developing a deeper understanding of the value of the creative activity to nature and vice versa - and so other organisations with experience and expertise in this field, National Trust Cymru, the Elan Valley Trust, and Peak Cymru, were welcomed to join the second iteration of the programme. In order to realise this vision, the Fellowship was shaped as an opportunity for eight artists or creative individuals to spend 16 months carrying out creative research on the theme of “connection with nature".
Video of Lammas / Gwyl Awst Pilgrimage
Simmy's Reflections:
My Fellowship journey has been an exploration of how to bring reverence for nature into the concert space. In a world increasingly shaped by capitalism and disconnected from the sacred—from ceremony, deep reverence, and a reciprocal relationship with the natural world—I sought ways to restore these practices through the power of music and storytelling. My ambition was to reintroduce these traditions in a way that feels inclusive and relevant to our times.
I have been privileged to walk this path alongside Angharad Wynne, a storyteller and wisdom keeper of these lands. Through her, I have come to understand the profound power of myth and story in grounding us to the places we call home. This journey has led me deeper into the myths, lore, and traditions of these lands, enriching my own practice of connecting to the web of life through these ancient ways. For our local community, Angharad and I have hosted workshops, an epic Lammas/ Gwyl Awst pilgrimage and feast, and a winter gathering around the fire for Gwyl Y Golau/ Imbolc. Each of these experiences was designed to inspire connection, reflection, and a deeper relationship with the natural world.
Through spending time with my community, one realisation became clear: the most powerful way to use music to inspire reverence for nature isn’t in the concert hall—it’s in nature itself. Bringing music directly into the landscape creates an immediate and profound sense of connection; it simply feels right. I have been taking my violin into nature more and more, singing and dancing with the echoes of forests and quarries, composing songs up in the hills in my van, with the sunset and cows for company. During our pilgrimage to Llyn y Fan Fach, I played my violin at various points, improvising with the hills, the trees and the water, in the presence of community. It was a deeply moving experience.
Another important learning from this journey is that reverence for nature doesn’t take a single form —everyone has their own way of connecting. Witnessing this has been both humbling and inspiring. It has also reinforced the importance of staying true to my own way of relating to the natural world and being unapologetic about it. If I want to help others deepen their connection, I must fully embody and live this practice myself. As I have deepened my own connection to the natural world, I have become even more confident about sharing it openly and honestly, recognising the essential role it plays in my creativity and expression.
This Fellowship has been a profound, lifechanging experience—one that feels like the beginning of a lifelong journey. One of the greatest lessons I take from this research is that living in true reverence for nature is an ongoing practice—one that requires both discipline and devotion. But when we commit to it, when we truly attune ourselves to the intricate cycles of life, we open the door to deep wisdom, joy, boundless creative expression, and a profound sense of belonging. In the words of Mary Oliver ‘attention is the beginning of devotion’.
