Watch: The subversive street artist who launched his own Welsh learners group
A street artist from Cardiff famed for his artwork which shows the Welsh dragon in a balaclava has spoken about setting up his own Welsh language learners group
Daniel Reeves, better known as ‘Revealist,’ has risen to prominence on the street art scene with his striking subversion of the Welsh flag – ‘Dragon in the bally’.
“I saw a post about learning Welsh on Instagram, it stated that there were free lessons for all under 25s,” he said. “I googled it and signed up instantly.
“I did this through Dysgu Cymraeg with a tutor from Swansea University.”
Whilst he excelled at learning Welsh, he recognised that he needed to practice with like-minded people.
“I found learning Welsh really easy, but I think finding like minded people is where people struggle and tend to forget a lot of what they’ve learned.
“So I set up a Welsh learning group to help myself and other people practice their skills in a safe environment.”
He says that learning the language has helped him appreciate his country’s culture.
I use my art to connect with Wales and I felt much more proud and connected to the country since I’ve started learning Welsh and I think that everyone should go out and do the same,” he said.
As for the ‘Dragon in the bally’, he explained: ‘The Dragon in the bally’, is a symbol that is snowballing. The inspiration came from street culture. Then one day I just looked at the flag and I just instantly thought ‘why doesn’t this have a balaclava on?’
Now the street artist has a whole range of merchandise dedicated to the design, which you can purchase HERE
Jeremy Miles, Minister for Education and Welsh Language, said: “The Welsh language belongs to us all, and our aim when launching this initiative last year was to make it easier than ever for people to learn Welsh and to gain the confidence to use it in their daily lives. I’m delighted that almost 2,000 people have had this opportunity over the past year.
“Through providing Welsh lessons for free, we have ensured that young people can continue to develop and improve their Welsh language skills after leaving school, and that they can use the language at work and in their social lives.
“Developing the Welsh language skills is key to reaching our goal of one million Welsh speakers by 2050.”
Find out more about learning Welsh HERE
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
