Cauldrons & Furnaces June 2011
Cauldrons & Furnaces @ Blaenavon World Heritage Day – 25th June 2011
Whether you like to compose music, take digital photographs, get your hands messy in craft projects, write your own poetry or simply be an audience member, Head for Arts’ programme of activities at this years’ Blaenavon World Heritage Day had something for everyone.
These creative activities were designed to encourage people to get involved in the arts, to try something new and to give them a taste of some of the activities that Head for Arts will be developing in the North Torfaen area over the next year as part of the “Cauldrons & Furnaces” project.
During this hectic day, Head for Arts held participatory workshops on the Ironworks Site and at the Heritage Centre, hosted a dance performance in the town centre and organised for local school children to perform a carnival dance piece in the parade. Overall the day was a great success and with over 150 people taking part in arts activities.
Head for Arts now has its sights set on the site-specific performance that will be taking place in Blaenavon Ironworks Site on 29 &30 June 2012. If you would like to be involved in this spectacular event which is part of a series of projects celebrating the Cultural Olympiad in Wales then please get in touch!
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Blaenavon Ironworks Starts the Countdown to 2012
On Saturday 25th June, Head for Arts is igniting creative sparks at the Blaenavon Ironworks that will flare into a spectacular site-specific performance next year as part of the Power of the Flame funded by Legacy Trust UK, celebrating the Cultural Olympiad in Wales and creating a lasting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“Elemental” is one of eight “Cauldrons and Furnaces” projects being developed in key CADW sites across Wales. This year Head for Arts is inviting people to have a taste of what is in store for them at the Ironworks next year and to get involved themselves.
Throughout the morning the Ironworks is hosting a range of free activities and open workshops, linking with Blaenavon’s World Heritage Day celebrations in the town and at the Heritage Centre. The artwork, craft, images and sound recordings created at these drop-in sessions will all then be woven into the big performance in 2012.
A “golden treasure” will be won by just one lucky visitor. To qualify for this, and other prizes from the magic cauldron, visitors will just need to bring either a short poem about fire, a piece of flame coloured material, ribbon or foil – or a metal object that makes an interesting sound. All these will contribute to the artworks being made on-site on the day.
Activities include a chance to add to a piece of digital music that uses an intriguing selection of sounds collected from the Head of the Valleys; helping to build a wall of words as part of the “Written on Stone” poetry project and an opportunity to have hands-on experience of the extraordinary “Industrial Gamelan” – where discarded tools and machine parts have been transformed into a magical musical instrument.
Visitors are also encouraged to bring their mobile phones and digital cameras and join in a quest to capture “secret” images of unusual aspects of the site that might normally be overlooked. Later on, these will be combined with on-site voice recording to make a digital story that will be screened later in the day.
In the town centre in the afternoon other Elemental projects will contribute towards the World Heritage Day celebrations - including a creative dance performance by young people from West Monmouthshire School and carnival dance by pupils from Hillside and St Peter’s Primary Schools.
Nearby, Blaenavon’s Heritage Centre will host performances from the North Torfaen Youth Theatre and Celtic Cafe Youth Folk Band, with print-making drop-in sessions to create a banner for the Elemental performance in 2012.
At 4pm there will be a screening of the digital story made over the course of the day and this too will be integrated into the big performance next year.
