We're still very much looking forward to reopening and continue to push ahead with our planning, including our Voices of Change exhibition. Here's what's we got up to in February...
We started off the month with some great news and were delighted to announce a generous grant from Garfield Weston Foundation which enables us to develop and produce more of our own productions and digital content, and nurture talent in Wales.
The application deadline for our new Creative Associate roles expired this month. Exciting times ahead and we can't wait to announce the first cohort as soon as we can.
Local artist Nathan Wyburn's incredible art installation 'Words Bruise' went on display in our front window. The work was commissioned by ourselves, Cardiff & Vale UHB and Cardiff & Vale Health Charity and is incredibly powerful. You can watch a short film about it on our Twitter feed.
This month we also announced #Gŵyl2021, a free digital festival from 6 - 7 March featuring two days packed with unforgettable music, comedy and conversation – filmed in locations across Wales and internationally, broadcast online by BBC Cymru Wales at www.bbc.co.uk/gwyl2021. You can read a blog all about the event here.
On February 15 we launched our very first digital craft workshop, live on Facebook and Instagram. Artist, June Campbell-Davies took the reigns and showed everyone to make musical instruments. You can find out about all of our workshops here and we'll hopefully be doing more of these in the future.
Staying with workshops, we also announced our Creative Acts programme led by Sita Thomas - a six-week course using multiple art-forms including audio, film, theatre and photography, available to anyone aged 14-25 in Wales.
We also opened our doors for some community performances for Keith Murrell and Butetown Arts and Culture Association (BACA). This performance was filmed in our Donald Gordon Theatre and features legendary drummer Drumtan Ward who also picked up his trombone to play his own composition dedicated to his trumpet playing father.
Edward Lee, Outreach & Training Officer for Radio Platfform wrote a great blog all about what the station has been up to and the training available for young people in 2021. Believe it or not, our presenters created over 200 new shows from their homes in 2020!
We were pleased to announce that tickets for Rambert Rooms - an ambitious dance-theatre-film, performed live online would go on sale from 1 March.
We also put our new-look Radio Platfform page live so take a look if you can and get to know some of the team behind this amazing radio station.
That's it for this month. Lots more to come in March with plenty of amazing music to feature from our Festival of Voice gigs at Gŵyl2021.
Many of the activities we're still able to carry out are a direct result of your kind donations, membership renewals and grant funding. We'd also like to thank the Arts Council of Wales, Moondance Foundation and Garfield Weston, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Clive and Sylvia Richards Charity and The Simon Gibson Charitable Trust for allowing us to continue supporting the creative talent, young people and communities that need creativity now, more than ever.