Welcome to Wales!

Thanks to the support from Arts Council Wales and Wales Arts International in 2019, we partnered with Dream a Dream, a charitable organisation based in Bangalore that creates opportunities through the Arts for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Over a period of 10 days in October 2019, we welcomed young people aged 13–18 from Bangalore in India, Fitzalan High School in Cardiff, and Ysgol Bro Pedr in Lampeter to Aberystwyth to collaborate and work together.

During this time, there were various activities exploring Welsh and Indian culture in different languages and disciplines. The highlight of the week was a lantern procession that paraded around the Penglais campus, followed by an evening of entertainment. Audiences and participants were treated to a visual spectacle of light, culture, and art.

Continuing the Partnership

Following the success of the first project, we were eager to continue our relationship with Dream a Dream and had plans for future visits. However, in 2020, the pandemic hit and international travel restrictions threatened to bring an end to the project. Thankfully, in 2021, we received funding from the British Council to deliver a new program using digital technology to support collaboration between our two countries during lockdown. We partnered artists from India with artists from Wales, who met on digital platforms and worked together to create a new animation and storytelling project for young people. This project was then delivered locally through a combination of online and in-person classes. The sessions were very popular, and a second year of the project resulted in the creation of a special film that was launched at the WOW Wales One World Film Festival in 2023.

The connection between India and Wales continued with an India/Wales workshop in Aberystwyth in the summer of 2023. Two artists from Bangalore were able to travel to Wales once again to collaborate with Welsh artists on an in-person project. 

 

[VIDEOS TO BE EMBEDDED – SEE COMMENTS IN COPY DOC]