WINDY DRAWS, WORKER’S GALLERY
MARCH 29th 2020
MICRO FUND GRANT – £635
Worker’s Gallery was awarded £635 towards a larger project that had match funding to run 3 outdoor workshops over 3 days on the top of the Rhigos mountain. The days aligned with the international Big Draw Festival in 2019.
The workshops took over 30 school children and community members to site for plein-air drawing sessions. An online exhibition of work was created and a physical exhibition of over 100 drawings was held.
“The project allowed me to inspire participants to go out and draw in the local landscape. I have started developing plein-air products with Caxton Press in Treorchy and have been approached by tourism businesses in the Afan Valley to run similar projects there. We hired the minibus from local scout group, and they have now booked a series of charcoal making workshops.
Participants loved being on site and are now going back with their own friends and groups. This project was an excellent opportunity for people to come together and draw outdoors, adults and children had an adventure and inspired each other. The exhibition allowed people to share their work with their community and also celebrate living in an area that is leading the way with clean, renewable energy. The artwork stimulated conversations about environment, what we see around us and how we use the world’s natural resources.” – Gayle, Worker’s Gallery
This was a truly inter-generational project, engaging people with natural environment and drawing and the gallery exhibition engaged people with the art world which lots of people can often feel removed from. And most importantly people had fun and enjoyed being together outdoors.
How this project met the fund’s priorities:
Communities that are healthier and more active / Educating about energy / Engage and change behaviour around energy and sustainability through education.
Framed and Mounted versions of pictures can be purchased from the Worker’s Gallery by emailing wood4tt@gmail.com
The Fund was established by energy company Vattenfall to benefit the communities hosting the Pen y Cymoedd wind farm across the upper Neath, Afan, Rhondda and Cynon Valleys. It exists to support local people, groups and organisations to invest in themselves, their ideas and their communities.
The Community Fund has a substantial annual budget that is index-linked, meaning it increases in line with inflation. As an example, this equated to around £2.5 million in 2025. The Fund will continue to support communities until 2043, creating long-term opportunities for growth, resilience and positive change.
The Fund is managed by an independent, locally based not-for-profit Community Interest Company. It is overseen by a Board of Directors with strong local connections and delivered by a small but dedicated staff team with extensive community engagement experience. We are here to help ensure the Fund delivers on the vision and priorities of local communities.
Over the next 10 years, the Fund is focusing on investment in people, places and businesses — helping the Valleys to thrive, driving bold ideas, supporting transformation and creating lasting impact for current and future generations.