Today, Friday, June 20th, two of Wales’ landmark buildings and iconic centres for the arts, come together to sign a formal partnership agreement. Galeri in Caernarfon and Wales Millennium Centre, over the next five years, will focus on delivering regular collaborative artistic projects as well as a sharing and transfer of skills and expertise. Heritage Minister Rhodri Glyn Thomas will join Chief Executives Judith Isherwood and Gwyn Roberts at Galeri at 13.30 hrs, to mark this milestone in the development of the two centres.
To launch the partnership in Galeri, Caernarfon based artist Luned Rhys Parry will work on a visual arts project based around the children’s classic collection of stories, Llyfr Mawr y Plant, with schoolchildren from Ysgol Gynradd Waunfawr. In the morning the young children will be creating Wil Cwac Cwac and Sion Blewyn Coch, two of the principal characters from the book, which is being made into a musical by Theatr Bara Caws in partnership with Galeri and Theatr Gwynedd. On completion, the children will exhibit their work to the Minister. Llyfr Mawr y Plant will tour around Wales in the autumn, with two special performances in the Donald Gordon Theatre at Wales Millennium Centre on November 4. Galeri will stage a smaller version, Llyfr Bach y Plant, on September 8 and 9. Artist Luned Rhys Parry, who earlier this year had a successful exhibition of her work, Tan y Clogwyn, in Galeri, will also stage an exhibition at Wales Millennium Centre in the autumn.
The two centres have already embarked on a productive relationship, which has led to collaboration on a number of artistic and educational projects. In its first 12 months the new Partnership Agreement will lead to a broad range of joint activities, with an emphasis on youth participation through urban arts, bilingual productions and the visual arts.
Following the success of Wales Millennium Centre’s Breakin’ the Bay festival earlier this year, which attracted more than 10,000 young people over one weekend, a Cardiff based workshop leader will attend Galeri’s Stryd di’r Lle / Street’s the Place youth event in August. The aim is to develop Caernarfon’s breakdancing talent, culminating in a performance by a Galeri based group at the Breakin the Bay event in Cardiff in 2009.
In 2009 a bilingual music theatre production is also proposed in association with Music Theatre Wales and Academi. This will be first staged in Galeri and then in Wales Millennium Centre’s Weston Studio, with a supporting education programme in both centres built around it.
The new partnership agreement has been endorsed by Heritage Minister Rhodri Glyn Thomas, who said “The Wales Millennium Centre and Galeri may be at opposite ends of Wales but they are both Welsh success stories. I’m delighted to see both organisations working together, sharing expertise and working in creative collaboration”.
Judith Isherwood, Wales Millennium Centre Chief Executive, added ‘While the two centres are 175 miles apart and quite different in scale they have many similarities. Both centres are an integral part of a wider urban and community regeneration programme. Both are also located on the edge of areas of social deprivation, Butetown and Ysgubor Goch, two designated Communities First areas. We are extremely excited by the prospect of working much more closely with Galeri, and we can learn so much from each other too’.
Gwyn Roberts, Chief Executive of Galeri said, “This agreement gives us a great opportunity to implement practical projects that reflect, and celebrate, the similarities and differences of the communities that we work with”.
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