Merthyr Express column

8 Jan 09
Festival of Four
Be part of the Festival of Four “Fringe“. The Festival of Four is a month long celebration of community arts to be held in March 2009. The festival is designed to raise the profile of the artistic and creative activity taking place across the four eastern Heads of the Valley’s county boroughs. If your group has a performance/exhibition or showing of work planned for March 2009 – H4A want to hear from you! H4A or Head for Arts is the eastern Heads of The Valleys’ community arts organisation. H4A are able to offer you free publicity and marketing support by placing your event in our Festival of Four brochure – a publication which will be distributed throughout the Heads of the Valley’s area.Don’t miss the opportunity to be involved in this exciting, cross-county celebratory event – to make sure your group’s events are included, submit information to Kate at Head forArts – kate.strudwick@head4arts.org.uk - by 12th January 2009.

Welsh Quilt Painting
Celebrated Welsh artist John Uzzell Edwards will soon be showing new work in Merthyr Tydfil. The artist, was thrilled to have been chosen to represent Wales at the world-famous Interceltic Festival in L’Orient, Brittany. His vibrant canvases were on show during August to the estimated 650,000 visitors that flood the busy maritime town every year. Some of these works can soon be seen at Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery, from 1st February – 31st March 2009. These new works are based on nineteenth century Welsh quilts and blankets, and are a riot of colour, pattern, print and added collage. John Uzzell Edwards was born in 1937 in Deri, Rhymney Valley. Between 1962 and 1970 he had a studio and art gallery in Merthyr Tydfil and Tenby. Now he has his studio in Swansea. From his childhood in Deri, Edwards remembers having Welsh quilts and blankets on his bed, but has more recently discovered Log Cabin quilts and has been “amazed by the intricacy of the design”. Edwards goes on to explain that “some of the very old quilts made from scraps have bold, very modern designs. Some are even like a Jackson Pollock or a Mark Rothko painting”. He explaines that his work is not “copied...my inspiration comes from the patterns, materials, meanderings and rhythms.” The exhibition is free. For further details, please call 01685 723112 or e-mail museum@merthyr.gov.uk

Zoom Cymru
The 2009 Zoom film Festival returns to venues across the south Wales valleys; Merthyr Tydfil, Treharris, Ebbw Vale, Pontypridd, Blackwood, Cwmbran and Hirwaun from 20th - 23rd January 2009. On Wednesday, 21st January Zoom brings to Merthyr Tydfil College, the Welsh premier of Special People (ages 13+) at 9.30 - 11am, then the film Unni: Life Is All About (ages 10+), from 11.30am - 1pm and the documentary Good Arrows from 1.30 - 3pm. There will also be workshops on the same day, including a taster animation session with Moonoo at 9.30am - 1pm and Green Screen reporting workshop with Merthyr Media from 1.30 - 3pm. Zoom will also include a Photoshop That! workshop with Octopus, from 9.30 - 11am, at Treharris College also on 21st January. For further information please visit www.zoomcymru.com or contact 01443 413622 jenny@zoomcymru.com.