20/7/23

Imagery from an old Welsh myth has been given the 21^stCentury treatment and now adorns the walls of a city high school, thanks to a collaboration between the Council's graffiti removal team, pupils and local artists.

The tale of Ceridwen's cauldron was the inspiration for a project that brought together Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr's art department, members of the Council's caretaking services teams and street artist Myles Hindle.

Myles worked with the pupils to explore different street art techniques before designing and painting their colourful creations depicting the story of the mythical white witch, renowned for her magic potions, on a school wall.

Myles said: "I really enjoyed working with Ysgol Plasmawr and the pupils. I provided lots of prepared wood, canvases, paper, card, paint, rollers and trays for the pupils to paint on. They really loved using the spray paint."

Art teacher Bethan Karroumi at Ysgol Plasmawr, said: "Plasmawr's Street Art Project was established in 2018 with the intention of encouraging pupil school engagement by giving them ownership over content, placement, and execution whilst at the same time brightening up the walls of the school.

"It has been very rewarding for our pupils to be able to work with local artists over the years and Myles was no exception. These projects bring so much more than just the visual reward to the children and the school; the whole involvement means that they are engaging and communicating which after such a difficult period following Covid is of paramount importance.

"We have plans to work in collaboration with Myles and The Caretaking Services Team again soon on local community projects in Fairwater - the pupils are very keen to participate."

The Plasmawr project is the second collaboration with a local school this year for the Council's caretaking service's graffiti removal team, who in the past year responded to more than 1,200 reports of graffiti in the city. Earlier this year, the team worked withCardiff-based mural company, Wall-op Murals andSt Philip Evans Primary School to give an underpass near the school a makeover with a vibrant new mural.

The team has also been helping to brighten up little corners of the city by transforming eye sore utility cabinets, that had been vandalised with offensive graffiti, with attractive street art designs.

The majority of paint for all of these projects is donated by companies that have contracts to supply the council with goods or services, as part of their social value commitment, while some is donated by members of the public supportive of artwork. The local artists also volunteer their time to be involved.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, said: "Another fantastic project that has been co-ordinated by our graffiti removal team and particularly Sean Thomas, who works so hard on these collaborations to create street art that bring colour and interest to neighbourhoods across the city."

The Caretaking Services team is keen to work with other local street artists on future projects as well as residents that own a public-facing wall or garage that is the subject of persistent vandalism, who may be interested in having artwork installed on the problem area.

Please emailEstateServicesHousingManagement@cardiff.gov.uk