The Wales Broadcast Archive is the first of its kind in the UK, tracing almost a century of broadcasting, it brings together material from BBC Cymru Wales, ITV Cymru Wales, S4C and The National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive collections. By preserving, cataloguing, and digitising this material and presenting them on a fully searchable website the National Library of Wales and the Wales Broadcast Archive is committed to making this remarkable collection accessible to all.
As part of this project the innovative website Clip Cymru has been created to house a diverse collection of 1,500 clips from the archive, curated and made available for anyone to view online at home. The remainder of the collection will be accessible through a series of Clip Corners that will be set up throughout Wales within public and community spaces. At present there are two Clip Corners in North Wales: Glasdir Library in Llanrwst, and the Culture Centre in Conwy.
There are also two Clip Corners up and running in South Wales at Carmarthen Library and Swansea West Glamorgan Archive. More Clip Corners will open across Wales in the coming months. The formation of these Clip Corners will ensure that communities beyond Aberystwyth are able to view the archive in their local area and are a focal point for volunteer work and events related to the archive.
The archive has been made possible with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Welsh Government, and the National Library.
Commission
As part of the Wales Broadcast Archive’s engagement programme, we would like to commission two artists from the Llanrwst and Conwy areas to create one original piece of artwork each responding to material from the archive.
The chosen artists will each receive a £2000 commission to explore the archive at their local Clip Corner, supported by a member of the Wales Broadcast Archive team, and find items from the collection relevant to their local area that inspires and informs an original artwork. The £2000 commission covers £250 a day for 8 days spread out as the artist sees fit.
The timeframe for the creation of the artwork is flexible, and the artists will have access to support from the Wales Broadcast Archive team throughout. We expect the work to be completed within three months of it being awarded.
The artforms can be anything from visual to digital art, poetry to performance, ceramics to textiles.
It is our intention to exhibit the artwork locally if possible, and hopefully bring the artworks from all of the Clip Corners together at the end of the project.
How to Apply
We would like artists to submit a proposal no longer than two sides of A4 showcasing their previous work and highlighting some of the local history that interests them. We’re aware that artists won’t yet know what they will discover within the archive, so the proposal should provide a snapshot of their practice and an idea of what type of local history inspires them.
The commissioned artists will be selected by a panel of local volunteers linked to the Wales Broadcast Archive based at each of the Clip Corners at Glasdir Library, Llanrwst and the Culture Centre, Conwy.
Timeline
Deadline for submission of proposals: Midday, 3rd May 2024
Decision Date: 24th May 2024
Project delivery: 30th August 2024
To submit your proposal, or if you have any questions regarding the commission, please email: ffion.morris@llyfrgell.cymru