Pupils get creative for Urdd exhibition
Eleven schools from Denbigh and the surrounding area took part in an art project that was designed to develop the pupils’ Welsh language skills through the arts and to develop their knowledge of their local culture and history.
The project was funded by GwE (the regional education consortia) and led by Ffion Hughes from Ysgol y Parc on behalf of their school cluster, in collaboration with Denbighshire Leisure Ltd’s Community Arts team. The Welsh Language patterns developed during these sessions were then shared between the schools in order to improve standards in Welsh of both the staff and pupils across the cluster.
The schools that took part in the project were: Ysgol y Parc, Ysgol Frongoch, Ysgol Pendref (all Denbigh), St Asaph VP School, St Brigid’s School (Denbigh), Ysgol Bodfari, Ysgol Cefn Meiriadog, Denbigh High School, Ysgol Esgob Morgan (St Asaph), Ysgol y Faenol (Bodelwyddan) and Ysgol Trefnant.
The exhibition was displayed at the Council's marquee on the Eisteddfod yr Urdd maes.
Pupils worked with professional artists Eleri Jones and Catrin Williams over a period of three months between January and March 2022. Catrin Williams explored the wonderful buildings of the historical town of Denbigh, with pupils then creating fantastically colourful townscapes with Denbigh as their inspiration.
Councillor Gill German, Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Education, Children and Families, said: “This is a fantastic project that has given pupils from a number of schools where Welsh is not their first language the change to get actively involved in the Eisteddfod in a creative and engaging way."
Sian Fitzgerald, Community Arts Manager with Denbighshire Leisure Ltd’s Active Communities team, said: “When working with Eleri Jones the pupils looked at images of historical figures that have contributed in many different ways to the continued use of the Welsh language. They looked at figures from the Celts to Dafydd and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and Owain Glyndwr, to historical Denbighshire figures such as playwright Twm o’r Nant, novelist Kate Roberts and wrestler Orig Williams.
“The children and young people created individual collograph print plates of portraits of Denbighshire people, as well as some portraits of themselves. These were than applied on top of images of Denbighshire buildings created by the pupils who worked with Catrin, to create the finished works of art that you see here today”.
In Denbighshire, community arts projects are managed by Denbighshire Leisure Ltd’s Community Arts Service. For more information about projects in Denbighshire, please contact Jo McGregor on 07799 582766 / jo.mcgregor@denbighshireleisure.co.uk or Sian Fitzgerald on 07717540857 / sian.fitzgerald@denbighshireleisure.co.uk.
This project was funded by GwE in collaboration with the Denbigh Cluster Welsh Language Development Group.