News | Newyddion

Applications for next year’s Community Grant Scheme are now open. Grants of up to £500 are available to fund events to take place as part of Gwanwyn Festival in May 2017.

Image created by participants in Venue Cymru’s Pixelsticking workshop

Community Grant Scheme projects can include any kind of creative activity. From yarn bombs to watercolours, and photography workshops to stand-up comedy, we are interested in supporting any project that offers an opportunity for older people to participate in the arts.

Projects could promote the health and wellbeing benefits of taking part in creative activity, or challenge stereotypes or preconceived ideas of aging.

Suitcase Theatre present Shakespeare 400 during Gwanwyn 2016

We encourage applications from as many different kinds of organisation as possible, from Wales’s biggest venues to community led groups. Come and be part of Wales’s nationwide celebration of art, creativity, and growth in older age!

If you need any advice or assistance with your application please get in touch with us.

Find out more.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday 7 December 2016.

It’s only a few weeks until the start of Age Cymru’s Age Positive Week. If you’re planning any events for older people between September 25 to October 2, then we would love to hear from you.

You can celebrate positive aging in any way you like, as long as it involves older people – coffee mornings, exercise sessions, trip to the theatre, anything. Follow the link to get involved and find out more about Age Positive Week.

North Wales artist Elizabeth Ashworth has published a new book of poetry inspired by five local older people who all share a lifelong love of art.

Do Not go Gentle – Interviews and Poems on Creativity in Older Age

Do Not Go Gentle – Interviews and Poems on Creativity in Older Age is a collection of works about Dymphna Darcey, Lloyd Jones, Beverley Bell-Hughes, John Wynne Morris and Elfyn Jones.

Elizabeth from Llanfairfechan interviewed all five for her book which contains profiles of each artist from their early childhood to older age.

She also wrote pieces of poetry based on their life stories in different forms including free verse and haiku.

Elizabeth Ashworth

‘For the project I interviewed a dancer, writer, two painters and a potter who are practising their individual disciplines more productively than ever”, says Elizabeth Ashworth.

‘They have all led interesting and incredibly varied lives, share this lifelong love of art and all continue to dance, write, paint and throw pots working well into their sixties and seventies.

‘And like the Dylan Thomas poem which inspired the title of the book, they have no intention at all of slowing down in their older age and going gently ‘into that good night’.’

The Gwanwyn arts festival for over 50s, run by Age Cymru, commissioned Elizabeth to produce the book as part of its tenth anniversary celebrations.

‘Gwanwyn is a celebration of creativity and arts among older people’, says Emma Robinson, who coordinates the Gwanwyn festival.

‘Every year, we run a Wales-wide arts festival for over 50s and we support older artists working in Wales by commissioning works of art from them.

‘This year, with Gwanwyn being 10 years old, we wanted to mark the occasion by offering the opportunity for Welsh artists to create new works of art to celebrate this important milestone.

‘I’m absolutely overjoyed with what Elizabeth has produced and it has been a joy to work with such a talented individual on this thought-provoking project.’

Elizabeth Ashworth will be distributing copies of Do Not Go Gentle – Interviews and Poems on Creativity in Older Age to older people’s groups, libraries and arts centres.

Copies are also going to Age Cymru Gwynedd a Môn Ageing Well centres and writing clubs across north Wales.

As we wrap up this year’s Gwanwyn we would like to take a moment to say a monumental thank you to everyone who has helped make this year’s festival the biggest and best ever.

Big thanks to all the artists, musicians, dancers, poets, photographers, writers, actors, sculptors, knitters, free-runners, story-tellers, jugglers, stilt-walkers, drummers, saxophonists, ukelele-fiends, ravers, walkers, silk painters, gangster grandparents, puppeteers, quilters, paint-pals, yoga instructors, book binders, yarn-bombers (shhh!), soloists, ensembles, usherettes and projectionists. Thanks everyone! We hope you had a great experience.

Another big thank you to our fabulous army of organizers and volunteers, and to all the amazing people who work with us in venues, who throw open their theatres, galleries, arts centres, church halls and care homes to us each May. For everything you’ve done to make this the most magical Gwawnyn Festival so far – thanks!

Most of all we would like to thank our audiences. We really hope you enjoyed the show. Thanks for coming and we hope we’ll see you all again next year.

There’s still a few projects ongoing – Sharing Stories continues at Hay on Wye Library, Gangster Grandparents has a final couple of sessions to run at Breaking Barriers, and Re-Live Theatre’s play Belonging ends its triumphant national tour with performances at Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon on 8 June.

We’ll be back soon with more news of our series of artist commissions. Meanwhile, thanks again and have an amazing summer!

We’re entering the last week of May and we’ve had an amazing journey so far, but our 10th birthday party is far from over.

Llion Williams and Clêr Stephens in Re-Live Theatre’s Belonging

Karin Diamond’s play Belonging continues its triumphant national tour with performances in Neuadd Dwyfor, Pwllhelli (May 24), Pontio, Bangor (May 26-27), Neuadd Ucheldre, Holyhead (May 31), Galeri, Caernarfon (Jun 2) and Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon (Jun 8).

Karin Diamond and Francine Morgan in Re-Live Theatre’s Belonging

The play is funny and moving and tells the story of how two very different families survive a diagnosis of dementia. and watch an excerpt from the play here.

Critics are calling it ” and ”.

Wednesday May 25 sees Gwanwyn come to Theatr Felinfach in Ceredigion where will take to the road for one day only, entertaining audiences in unexpected locations. Presented by a group of older women, the short play is an affirmation that venturing is exciting at any age.

Lowri Morgan

Join the final performance of the day at Theatr Felinfach, Lampeter. Hwyl a Hamdden, a social and cultural group for over 50s will be welcoming special guest and famous adventurer, Lowri Morgan, for a special Gwanwyn 10th birthday celebration.

The day is FREE but please book your place as space is limited, please call Theatr Felinfach Box Office on 01570 470 697 or visitwww.theatrfelinfach.cymru or go to Facebook.com/TheatrFelinfach or Twitter @Theatrfelinfach.

Walking the Dog at Newport Riverfront

Are you into or ? From to , Gwanwyn puts everyone in the picture. Please take a look at our Gwanwyn events page for full listings of all the concerts, exhibitions and workshops still to come.

Gwanwyn Dance night at Dance House May 21

Gwanwyn’s 10th birthday celebrations continue this week with on Tuesday May 17. There will be craft workshops and a visit from Men’s Sheds Cymru, plus a special screening of The Lady in the Van featuring an acclaimed performance from Maggie Smith.

May 19 – 20 finds for a day of workshops, taster sessions and a chance to .

Llion Williams and Clêr Stephens in Re-Live Theatre’s Belonging

follows the fortunes of two families living with dementia and has opened to rave reviews in Cardiff last week. It will also be at the , before continuing its national tour. Critics are calling it ” and ”.

Gwanwyn Dance Night at Dance House May 21

Saturday sees one of the events we’re most proud of – our first ever . We’ve been working with older people’s dance groups for several years now and this special performance brings together long term Gwanwyn collaborators Rubicon Dance, Striking Attitudes and TAN Dance with the National Dance Company of Wales for an evening celebrating the passion and variety of older peoples’ dance in Wales.

Only Men Aloud

We’re delighted to have at the Coliseum in Aberdare on May 22. They’ll be bringing their powerful harmonies to a unique mix of styles, from pop to classical. Expect the unexpected: anything from show tunes to Welsh hymns! (link).

Mountain Dulcimers at the Squirrels Nest

Finally, there’s a very different kind of musical celebration going on at on May 20. Following on from their Epic Award winning Pimp My Uke project they will be holding an open day to show off their latest enthusiasm, the Appalachian mountain dulcimer. There will be plenty of music, plus food and refreshments and the chance to find out how get involved.

Whether you’re into or crochet, bookbinding or African drumming, Gwanwyn offers something for everyone. Please take a look at our Gwanwyn events page for full listings of all the concerts, exhibitions and workshops still to come.

Brit Award winners Only Men Aloud are joining Gwanwyn this year with a special matinee performance at Aberdare Coliseum on May 22. We caught up with the group’s baritone, Craig Yates, to find out his thoughts on aging creatively.

G: Why is it important to Only Men Aloud to be involved with Gwanwyn Festival?
CY: We are delighted to be performing at this year’s Gwanwyn Festival to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the festival. Bringing live music and a live show into the heart of people’s communities is very important to us. We often hear that some people don’t like travelling far, and don’t like coming to see us in the evening, so our 5pm start should be perfect. The Festival does incredible things in celebrating the creativity in older age, and we are proud to have been asked to be part of it.

G: What do you have planned for us?
CY: We have a typical Only Men Aloud concert planned for you. If you have not seen us before, this means a wide mix of styles and genres, all sung with our unique harmonies and strong voices. We will have hopefully something for everyone from Welsh hymns to classical music, to music theatre to popular music.

G: Gwanwyn is about celebrating creativity in older age. What do you think is the best way to stay creative as you get older?
CY: I think the best way to stay creative as you get older, is to keep doing what you love and enjoy, and keep giving yourself new experiences. Music is always a huge part of everyone’s life, and can be a great way to keep being creative. Come along and see us in Aberdare, and you’ll be singing along, tapping your feet, and even dancing in the aisles!

G: We’re celebrating our tenth birthday this year, what are your ambitions for Only Men Aloud for the next ten years?
CY: We’d love to keep doing what we are doing, and keep getting better and better. We always have great ambitions of touring around the world, and showing the world the music Wales has to offer – so we hope we can do just that. As long as we are happy, healthy, and still enjoying what we are doing – that will do for me.

Only Men Aloud will be at the Coliseum Theatre Aberdare on May 22.

Gwanwyn Festival’s May bulletin is packed with news and interviews from our 10th birthday celebrations.

2016 May Bulletin Cymraeg

2016 May Bulletin English

Inside:

– Gwanwyn veteran Dee Rivas tells us the secrets of what makes a great Gwanwyn event

– Rubicon Dance’s Kathryn Williams discusses our first ever Gwanwyn Dance Night on May 21 at Dance House in Cardiff

– Emma van Woerkom shares details of her Sharing Stories project into literature and dementia taking place at Hay On Wye library

– We talk to Robert Visintainer of Men’s Sheds Cymru about winning a Voluntary Arts Epic Award for their Pimp My Uke project

– Go behind the scenes of Gwanwyn with Festival Coordinator Emma Robinson.

If there’s anything you would like to see us cover next time please contact us: gwanwyn@agecymru.co.uk / 029 2043 1555

Gwanwyn is marking its 10th birthday by commissioning six Welsh artists to produce one-off works of art inspired by the quote ‘It’s good to look back, but it’s rude to stare’.

Two of the artists – Delyth Jenkins and Prue Thimbleby are from Swansea – While Deborah Winter is from West Wales

Prue Thimbleby

Delyth and Deborah’s work will combine storytelling and music and explore the relationship between wisdom and insight of age and the creative process.

Prue’s will be an interactive mixture of autobiographic and traditional storytelling and rope making.

Pauline Down

Pauline Down is from Cardiff and her work will be a vocal performance piece for 12 singers based on the thoughts of people who live in care homes.

Elizabeth Ashworth lives in Llanfairfechan and her work is a booklet of poetry and prose inspired by her experiences and those of other creative older people.

Llangadog-based Elizabeth Brickell is going to produce an art installation of cups and saucers of different sizes. It has been inspired by one of Elizabeth’s former students – an 83-year-old woman called Violet from Neath who liked to drink tea.

Says Emma Robinson, Age Cymru’s Gwanwyn festival coordinator:
“The Gwanwyn festival is celebrating its tenth birthday this year and we wanted to celebrate this special occasion by offering the opportunity for Welsh artists to create a piece of art to mark this important milestone in the festival’s history.
“I’m absolutely overjoyed to be able to work with such a talented group of people to produce such an exciting and diverse range of groundbreaking and thought-provoking projects.”

For all media enquiries, please contact Iwan Rhys Roberts, External Relations Manager – Age Cymru on 029 2043 1562, 07739 894 923, iwan.roberts@agecymru.org.uk

Ireland’s national celebration of creativity as we age, Bealtaine Festival, which also takes place in May, is celebrating an unbelievable 21 years of fantastic work this year.

We don’t mind admitting that Gwanwyn has drawn a lot of inspiration from Bealtaine and we would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone involved with the festival a very happy 21st birthday celebration. Have an amazing Bealtaine 2016 everyone!

Bealtaine 2016 programme

For more information, here’s a link to their website.

Portrait Artist of the Year 2016 Flyer

Landscape Artist of the Year 2016 Flyer

Opportunity to win a £10,000 commission for the National Trust art collection and £500 or art materials from Cass Art.

Enter at www.skyartsartistoftheyear.tv

Age Cymru’s Gwanwyn Festival is celebrating its’ tenth birthday this year and we would like to celebrate this special occasion by offering the opportunity for Welsh artists (or artists based in Wales) to submit proposals to develop and create their own artistic work to be presented during Gwanwyn’s birthday year.

Gwanwyn 2016 Commissions

National Theatre Wales are on the lookout for Male & Female Singers aged 70+ to join the Chorus on their new show “Before I Leave”.

“Before I Leave” is a funny, moving & uplifting production written by Tredegar-born poet and playwright Patrick Jones featuring versions of songs made famous by the likes of Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Gerry & the Pacemakers and more. The play will also feature brand new songs written for the show by internationally famous Blackwood band, Manic Street Preachers.

The play is a joint production between National Theatre Wales and Wales Millennium Centre, presented as part of the Festival of the Voice and will play at The Sherman Theatre, Cardiff.

Directed by Matthew Dunster, Before I Leave tells the story of a choir of Men and Women living with dementia and the incredible bonding power of music. It will feature a Chorus of singers on stage performing key songs alongside our cast of professional actors.

You don’t need to have acting experience to take part, just a love of singing, a good voice and the ability to learn harmonies. If you can read music too, that would be great, but not essential.

If you have a curiosity to try new things, meet new people, sing some wonderful songs and have fun as part of the creative team bringing a brand new piece of life affirming Theatre to life, then they’d love to hear from you.

The commitment will include these key dates:

Initial Meeting – Mid March (Exact Date & Time tbc).

From w/c 28th March – One rehearsal per week (Times & days tbc).

From w/c 25th April – Two rehearsals per week(Times & days tbc).

23rd – 26th May – Evenings (Tech & Dress rehearsals).

27th May – 11th June (excluding Sundays) – Performances.

There will also be Matinee performances on 9th & 11th June.

All times tbc.

This is a voluntary opportunity to participate in a National Theatre Wales production though we will meet reasonable out of pocket expenses.

We appreciate that joining our Chorus will take some time commitment, especially during the run of the show. Please bear in mind that the show rehearses and plays in Cardiff, so this opportunity may be most suited to people who live in the Cardiff area.

It promises to be a lot of fun & a great opportunity to perform onstage in a major theatrical production.

Please get in touch if you’d like to be involved, or if you have any questions:

Tel: 07572 893 053

Email: bentinniswood@nationaltheatrewales.org

A weekend to try something, make something – Get Creative!

‘On 1-3 April 2016 BBC Cymru Wales, Arts Council of Wales and What Next? are teaming up for a bumper weekend to celebrate the nation’s creativity – and we’re inviting you to join in.

‘We’re shining a light on Wales as a place where we take part in arts and culture and love to get creative.

‘We’re asking arts organisations, community groups and societies or all shapes and sizes to invite others take part in a creative experience. It could involve making music, dance, film or photography. Creating with words, paint or digitally. Maybe just generally getting crafty! Whether it’s your usual activity or something specially planned, let us know what you’re up to. http://getcreative.wales

‘Want to try a new creative experience? Want to find out how you can take part? Our interactive site will go live soon where you can see all the events that are happening near you across the weekend’

cARTrefu, which means to reside in Welsh, is a two year programme run by Gwanwyn which aims to improve access to quality arts experiences for older people in residential care.

We have recruited 16 artists working in different fields to each deliver 8 x 8 week residencies at care homes across Wales. The programme has been a massive success so far and we hope that it will foster a greater appreciation of the arts among care home staff as they work with our artists. We want care home staff to acquire new skills and gain more confidence in sharing and practicing them in their daily work with residents

You can find out more about this fantastic project via cARTrefu’s newsletter, which you can download from Age Cymru’s website here: bit.ly/1LkIn3o

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from everyone at Gwanwyn!

2015 has been an amazing year for us and we’re grateful to everybody who contributed to Gwanwyn over the last year, all the organisers, venues, audiences, performers, artists, workshop attendees and gee whiz, just everyone.  You’ve all been great.  Thanks so much for all the hard work and imagination you’ve put in.  We’re totally in awe of every single one of you.

The Gwanwyn elves (pictured) are currently planning and scheming for next year’s Gwanwyn and we’re looking forward to making some very exciting announcements over the coming weeks.  2016 will be our tenth birthday, so we’re promising something extra special.  We’ve had a record number of applications for the community grant scheme and there’s an incredible buzz starting to build.

Whatever you’ve got planned for the next couple of weeks we’d like to wish you all the best and we’ll see you next year!

Young Critics and 3^rd Act critics are working in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales (ACNMW) on a new free project focusing on the quality and standards of exhibitions and programming at their sites across Wales.

ACNMW are keen to generate feedback and data from interested visitors regarding what makes a good exhibition and programme.  The project aims to make the work of museums more accessible to the general public and increase the reach of culture and heritage.  The project may also focus on Cadw sites and local museums and galleries.

The project is expected to last for 6 months initially, before being reviewed, and participants will be expected to commit to the lifetime of the project.  Staff at National Museum Wales will provide training and workshops, and exclusive expert guidance on their roles.  All participants will be supported in critical response methods and use of digital technologies to develop critical thinking skills.

The first workshop will take place on Saturday the 5^th of December 10-1pm at National Museum Cardiff, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP.

If you aged between 12-25 or 50+ and would like to be involved please contact project coordinator Guy O’Donnell on odonnell.guy@gmail.com

https://theyoungcritics.wordpress.com/2015/11/14/exciting-new-project-with-young-critics3rd-act-critics-and-amgueddfa-cymru-national-museum-wales/

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/

Ffilm Cymru Wales is a public funder dedicated to supporting the film sector in Wales and improving access to film and its benefits for the public of Wales.

To help them decide how best to support the future of how you experience movies in Wales they would like to know about how you watch films, where you watch them, and the types of films you enjoy.

More information, and the survey itself, can be found on the Arts Council of Wales web site.

From singing to knitting, amateur dramatics to painting, over 60,000 groups across the UK and Republic of Ireland provide regular opportunities for creative cultural activity.

The Epic Awards celebrate their achievements.

Could your group be an Epic Award winner? Nominations are now open!

Each May Gwanwyn’s Community Grants Scheme enables community groups and arts organisations across Wales the chance to provide arts experiences for older people.  Every kind of artistic activity you can imagine takes place in just about every kind of venue you can imagine, from the Wales Millennium Centre to the garden shed.

Grants can be anything up to £500 and we are keen to include as many different kinds of community organisations as possible.  2016 will be a special year for Gwanwyn as we celebrate our 10th birthday, so we want to get as many applications as possible.

You can find out more here:

http://gwanwyn.org.uk/cyllid-funding/

Applications close on 9th December 2015 and we will be notifying successful applicants from early January.

Are you an older actor?  A former actor?  With a good voice?  Can you do characters … voices … accents?  The Readers Theatre of Wales is a new amateur company, based in Cardiff, that is looking for actors who would like to take part in a short comedy play in the Readers Theatre format for distribution via internet radio and YouTube video. Would you like to know more?  Would you like to help?

If you are not familiar with Readers Theatre please visit www.readerstheatreofwales.com to find the answers to some of your questions and then send an email to readerstheatreofwales@gmail.com to tell us you are interested. We will send you more details about the production and invite you to a readers theatre introduction event in the coming weeks.  Writers too…if you are interested in writing for this format we’d like to hear from you too.

This will be a ‘JFF’ production … that’s ‘just for fun’ … you won’t be paid and won’t be asked for money.

We hope to hear from you.

GWANWYN IS 10 YEARS OLD NEXT YEAR! Help to shape arts events for and with older people by answering a few short questions and be entered into a prize draw for free theatre tickets!

You can help us shape the future of Gwanwyn. We have a few questions that will help us to understand what you like about the arts and how you want to get involved in the future.

Your input will help develop the festival, and by taking part you will be automatically entered into our prize draw for two free tickets to an event at Sherman Cymru or Galeri, Caernarfon!

Over 50’s in Denbighshire were given a fun and therapeutic introduction to mindfulness meditation as part of this year’s Gwanwyn Festival at Canolfan Ni, in Corwen.

Corwen is a small, rural community and it is easy for older people there to become isolated. But staff at Canolfan Ni work hard to show how art can be used as a tool for better health and wellbeing.

A Community Grant from Gwanwyn enabled thirty people to attend two workshops of drawing and meditation. Participants worked in sociable groups on zendoodle activities designed to relax them and free up their creative minds. They also had the opportunity to display their work after the session.

Everyone felt encouraged to expand their mind and enjoy a good laugh with each other. For many of the participants it was their first experience of mindfulness, and some of them were encouraged to find out more about how it could increase their creativity and wellbeing.

You can view some photos of the event on our Facebook page.

Red Cafe Community Project is a youth and community co-op in the Mumbles. They’ve been working with Gwanwyn for a few years now, and this year their Community Grant took them to Swansea’s Quadrant Shopping Centre to raise awareness about dementia.

As well as dance and music workshops from festival favourites Tan Dance, there were ballroom dancing taster sessions and a performance by the Musical Memories Choir.

Hundreds of shoppers witnessed the event and it was an important opportunity to show people how creativity could be an important part of living well with dementia.

It also strengthened ties between several organisations who work with people with dementia who were able to share information and build important new relationships.

Those taking part also included the Alzheimer’s Society, Age Cymru, YMCA, Community Connections, Swansea Museum, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea Carers Centre, Gower College, Gwalia and Forget Me Not Clubs.

Red Cafe kindly sent us some photos you can view on our Facebook page.

An important part of the Gwanwyn Festival each year is the Community Grant Scheme Project which enables small community groups to put on art events to promote creativity in older age.  Carrog Craft Club in Denbighshire were able to apply for a grant to put on a creative writing and art workshop.

The work combined print making with creative writing about people and places dear to the craft club members.  They looked at medieval illuminated manuscripts like the White Book of Rhydderch and the Book of Kells for inspiration, and their colourful work was displayed in Carrog Village Hall for everyone to enjoy.

The members had a great day and made lively art works which evoked loved ones and memories that were clearly very important to them.  The session was delivered bilingually and the group invited residents from Glyndyfrdwy, Corwen and Bryneglwys for this special event.

Carrog Craft Club have sent us some lovely photos which you can view by following the link to our Facebook page.