BUZZ CULTURE: PONTYPRIDD YMCA & ARTIS COMMUNITY CYMUNED | FEATURE
The newly designed Pontypridd YMCA is set to open its doors this year. As part of the Buzz Culture programme, Dalia ElGhazawy spoke to Artis Community Cymuned producer Angharad Evans about their new home and how people can get involved.
Pontypridd YMCA is being given a comprehensive redesign by architect Jonathan Adams, whose CV notably includes the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay, and is scheduled to open in revamped form by the end of 2021. The building, whose design is outlined in greater detail in this recent piece for Buzz Culture, will be a welcoming space where people can celebrate arts and culture, run in partnership between Pontypridd YMCA and Artis Community Cymuned.
Angharad Evans, Artis Community Cymuned producer, enthuses about their new home’s possibilities, and how locals can get involved.
“We want to make it an accessible and inclusive building for everyone who comes through the door, and to have that engagement with the community from the onset – really establishing that connection is what we’re all about. Artis Community want to provide opportunities for everyone to engage in the arts.”
So, does that mean that you must be an artist yourself to take part in the programs run by Artis?
“No – we want to create an environment where everyone can develop skills in the arts. That’s something really important in the work that we do. We have a lot of arts professionals that work and merge with people on those pathways, as well as those in college or university. We want to have those professional experiences to inspire and create opportunities for people of all abilities to be in a really inclusive environment.
“Recently, we’ve been working on Light Up The Dark events online and that has been really lovely – we’ve had lots of families come along, and people of all different ages. We have also been running a session called Our Place for mothers and toddlers. So a lot of our activities are very inclusive.”
It’s been a tough year for everyone, so being a part of a group again or having that sense of connectivity is what many people have missed and are looking for right now. We may often suppose that virtual programmes aren’t as beneficial as the ones onsite; however, Artis Community has helped lots of individuals to benefit from the virtual programmes they offer. Moreover, it has really helped some to overcome the anxiety that they get when meeting new people for the first time.
“We run two Crafty Cuppas groups, one in Pontypridd and one in Merthyr Tydfil, and I think there are over 50 participants that access our online Zoom classes,” Evans says. “It took some time at the beginning because we were all adapting to online digital worlds. I’ve been doing lots of one-to-one interviews with the participants within the past month and the feedback we’ve been having from the participants, especially the older generation, is that there are some that wouldn’t normally go to a group session full of people they didn’t know. So, being able to come to a session online has helped them to overcome that and to get to know people from a distance. That bridge has enabled them to feel more comfortable, especially if they suffer from anxiety when going into a new group of people.”
As the new building is considered a gift to the community, to spread art and culture across Rhondda Cynon Taf, Evans notes that its designers made sure to involve members of that community in the design process.
“We’ve had some amazing artists that have been commissioned to work on the glass parapet of the building, and they’ve done some arts outreach workshops with the community – to engage them in the history, and the heritage and the landscape of Pontypridd; to develop ideas of how that would look.”
Such a space, where experiences can be exchanged and skills developed, looks like being a major boon to Pontypridd. The creative minds behind it have the potential to give back to their community, and in doing so set an example on the importance of art in culture. The importance of this, after a harrowing 12 months for artists and everyone else, can’t be underestimated.
CREATIVE AMBASSADORS PROGRAMME
As well as plans for the new YMCA building, Artis Community is giving people a great opportunity to be part of a new Creative Ambassadors programme, which was launched at a special online event on Thurs 15 Apr. “I think this opportunity will give people the opportunity to take ownership of the building and feel like it’s their home as well as ours,” says Angharad Evans.
What is the Creative Ambassadors programme?
The Creative Ambassadors programme is an amazing opportunity for people to learn new skills in the creative industries whilst also playing their part in shaping the future of the new Pontypridd YMCA building.
What are the Creative Ambassadors’ responsibilities?
To share their ideas on how different creative hubs can work, and how they can facilitate them to engage more people in the arts and the building in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
What are the hubs that they are going to work on?
There are six hubs to get involved with: Marketing, Arts Health Wellbeing, Community Engagement, Supported Arts, Welsh Language and Leaders Of Tomorrow. The programme aims to work with individual ambassadors until they can become the leads of the hubs and the hubs will start to run themselves eventually.
How will Ambassadors benefit from the programme?
As much as the programme is volunteer-led, it’s also personalized so each individual will have the opportunity to develop new skills. This opportunity is perfect for anyone who wants to gain valuable work experience in the creative industries through live briefs.
How long is the programme?
Initially six months, to embed it into the day-to-day operations of Artis Community and linking that to existing programmes and activities that Artis has currently got on their calendar.
To find out more about the Pontypridd YMCA and the Creative Ambassadors programme go to www.artiscommunity.org.uk
words DALIA ELGHAZAWY
Buzz Culture
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