established by royal charter in 1946, as the welsh arts council (), its english name was changed to the arts council of wales when it was established by royal charter on 30 march 1994 (the welsh name remained the same), upon its merger with the three welsh regional arts associations. it became accountable to the national assembly for wales on 1 july 1999, when responsibility was transferred from the secretary of state for wales. the welsh government provides acw with money to fund the arts in wales. acw also distributes national lottery funding for the arts in wales, allocated by the department of culture, media and sport (dcms).