Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru 2010 - Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys

Roger Cecil - part of the special exhibition staged within Y Lle Celf

I went to the opening of the National Eisteddfod of Wales on Saturday evening in Ebbw Vale, we were a bit late arriving so missed the formal speeches. The show includes a special exhibition of paintings from Valley's artist Roger Cecil.

The winner for the Gold Medal for Fine Art was Simon Fenoulhet for his light installations.

Simon Fenoulhet

The winner for the Gold Medal for Craft and Design is Natalia Dias for her collection of allegorical ceramic pieces which take the heart as a central motif. Dias is Portuguese and currently lives in Cardiff.

Natalia Dias

Here are a few images from the show:

Anne Gibbs

Sarah Ball - Portrait 1

Rosemary Edwards - Ty Coch a Ty Gwyn

Chris Nurse

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru 2010 - Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys

This year, the National Eisteddfod of Wales is being held at a site in Ebbw Vale in the south Wales valleys. My friend Louise Bird was chosen to show work this year and I went to help her install it yesterday - it was a long day, the piece is called Iota and consists of 160 metres of deep sea fishing line crocheted along its length with little rosettes that Louise calls 'Iota'. Y Lle Celf - The Arts and Crafts Pavilion this year is a spectacular build. Normally it is held in a standard white marquee, but for 2010 a huge concrete basement from the old steelworks that were located at the site as been converted and covered with a huge pavilion roof. It is really spectacular.

Artists, Louise Bird and Carwyn Evans behind Iota

It took us 9 hours to hang the work - up and down ladders and ramps, it spans the space from the roof to the floor. Next door to us Good Cop Bad Cop came in to hang a wonderful set of works - the latex skin from a series of chairs and a table - I don't know what it is called yet...

Good Cop Bad Cop

I was also excited to see some of Andre Stitt's new paintings, which I have only seen online and in print thus far. Originally from Northern Ireland, Stitt is an internationally renowned performance artist who has been based in Wales now for many years. In the last few years he has been developing a practice as a painter.

Andre Stitt

I'll be going to the opening tomorrow night - so watch this space for an update...

More pics here.