Syrcas Circus

Syrcas Circus came to Llanfyllin to produce a community project to raise awareness about environmental issues through circus skills and performing arts. The project was part funded by Arts Connection and Environmental Wales and had support from Powys County Council.

The project ran from February to April with fortnightly weekend workshops that included circus skills, movement, music, devising and performance. The project was open to all ages and all abilities and involved at least 20 people at each workshop which were led by a team of 3 professionals. During these workshops participants learnt moves on the trapeze, stilts, Diablo, acrobatics and much more. The workshops culminated in 5 days of workshops and a performance in the first week of the Easter Holidays. They also went litter picking around the site where the Big Top Tent was erected so they could use the rubbish collected in the performance. They also did a parade through Llanfyllin prior to the performance to give a brief peek of their skills. The final performance was well received with a full audience in attendance that overflowed the tent.

All those involved in the project felt they had received a lot from taking part in the workshops, which was reflected in our core participants who showed up to every workshop, even when confronted with a foot of snow! The project gave those involved the chance to have fun, to build their confidence, it gave them new skills, created a sociable environment and brought different members of the community together to create work.

Arts for Youth

The project involved 5 students from Llanfyllin High School. The group worked together over a period of 6 months and began by familiarising themselves with the equipment they would need to create a short film, such as camera workshops to confidently handle the camera and also feel comfortable in front of the camera. They visited the KINO Festival where they were able to listen to talks from professionals. The group created their own production company called 'Last Chance Productions' for which they designed a logo for letterheads and post production. They conducted interviews with students and teachers about their views on a range of school topics which culminated in the news documentary 'Have We Got Views For You'.

The group showed tremendous skill for not having had any prior experience of making or handling film equipment. Throughout the project they gained confidence and seized the opportunity to take control of the project. The work they did also fed into their Duke of Edinburgh Award. The workshops were led by Ruth Carter and Tony Wainwright with the assistance of Llanfyllin Youth Worker, Dux.

The project was funded by the Big Lottery and Powys County Council Chance fund through Arts Connection.

Llanwddyn Light and Colour Mural

The Light and Colour themed mural was created in Llanwddyn in the Spring and involved the school and the local community. It was managed by Arts Connection and funded by Severn Trent. Sally Duckers led the workshops and devised the piece.

The Llanwddyn youth Club made the square frames to stretch silk over and create into light boxes. Workshops in silk painting were run with three year olds from Cylch Meithrin, Llanwddyn primary school infants and juniors, and adults who attended two evening taster sessions. The youth club worked on creating three backlit artworks, using mottos as their starting point, and working with transparent papers, cellophane and laminates. All in all, nine individual frames make up the mural, which comes together as one piece when the light boxes are switched on.

The mural is on permanent display in the foyer of Llanwddyn Community Centre.