Blaengar has a policy to work with the communities in which we make work to develop an audience for contemporary art, to develop cultural events for the isolated rural communities of Mid Wales and to help make our artist's businesses more sustainable by developing opportunities to work with the communties around us.

CURRENT PROJECT:

Far, Far Away is an art installation developed by blaengar and steered by artist Alice Briggs with pupils from Penglais school. Working alongside Alice is a third year art student, Anna Evans from Aberystwyth Art School. The project has been in development for months and is itching to be unveiled on 14 February in a cast-away shop at Aberystwyth.

Many fairy tales were originally written by women, now largely forgotten, the tales were often more inventive and fantastical than those written by men. Far, Far Away is a contemporary visual retelling of these forgotten tales, while its setting will draw the unsuspecting passer-by in.

Modern women, our everyday lives and the lost fairy tales fire the work while aspects of animation, performance and found objects form the make-up of the installation.

blaengar is privileged in this instance to work with Aberystwyth Arts Centre's artist in residence, Ralph Jeurgen Colmar, an animator based in Bristol. The project has been funded by the Communities First Trust Fund and is supported by Ceredigion County Council and Ceredigion Museum.

Mewnosodiad celf yw Ymhell, Bell i Ffwrdd  sydd wedi'i ddatblygu gan blaengar a'i lywio gan yr artist Alice Briggs gyda disgyblion o Ysgol Penglais. Yn gweithio ar y cyd ag Alice mae'r fyfyrwraig drydedd flwyddyn, Anna Evans o Ysgol Gelf Aberystwyth. Mae'r prosiect wedi bod ar waith ers misoedd ac mae'n barod i'w ddadorchuddio ar 14 Chwefror mewn hen siop anghofiedig yn Aberystwyth.

Cafodd llawer o straeon tylwyth teg eu hysgrifennu'n wreiddiol gan fenywod, er eu bod bellach wedi'u hanghofio i raddau helaeth, ac yn aml roedd y straeon hyn yn fwy dyfeisgar a ffantasïol na'r rhai a ysgrifennwyd gan ddynion. Mae Ymhell, Bell i Ffwrdd yn ailadrodd y straeon anghofiedig hyn mewn ffordd weledol a chyfoes, a bydd y lleoliad yn tynnu'r cyhoedd di-feddwl-ddrwg i mewn.

Menywod modern, ein bywydau bob dydd a'r straeon tylwyth teg coll sy'n tanio'r gwaith, tra bod agweddau o animeiddio, perfformio a gwrthrychau canfyddedig yn ffurfio'r mewnosodiad.

Mae'n fraint i blaengar yn yr achos hwn gael gweithio gydag artist preswyl Canolfan y Celfyddydau Aberystwyth, Ralph Jeurgen Colmar, animeiddiwr o Fryste. Cyllidwyd y prosiect gan Gronfa Ymddiriedolaeth Cymunedau'n Gyntaf gyda chefnogaeth Cyngor Sir Ceredigion.

Past Education Projects

Blaengar at Ceredigion Museum

Blaengar provided a series of workshops at Ceredigion Museum on the theme 'The Sea' as part of the Big Draw 2007.

Spoilio: We worked with 10 local primary schools around Devil's Bridge and the Uplands area providing education workshops based around the work produced for 'Spoilio' with money supported by Communities First Trust Fund and Spirit of the Miners.

Communities@One : Blaengar is developing an application to work with the Communities @ One scheme to train our artists in digital and ICT skills, and to purchase a laptop, software and a couple of digital cameras. Blaengar artists will then work with  three communities groups in Tregaron and the Uplands to pass on those skills in creative workshops to develop the ICT skills of those groups during the summer of 2007.