Young Welsh voices take centre stage in international art project

Nation.Cymru Staff

Messages from young people in Wales, including a call to protect “our land, our language and our world”, have been included in a major international art exhibition unveiled in France.

To mark the G7 Summit’s visit to Évian, one of UNESCO’s Creative Cities, children from Ceredigion were given an opportunity at the end of March to contribute to the Correspondences project.

Children from UNESCO Creative Cities across the world were invited to submit drawings expressing what they hope to protect in their communities.

Aberystwyth City of Literature welcomed the invitation, and a group of children and young people from Theatr Felinfach’s performance groups created a series of drawings to share their hopes with an international audience.

The children’s drawings revealed six main themes, which formed the basis for six chapters, including contemplate nature, sharing life, finding one’s own way, being together, build a community, and shaping tomorrow.

Sharing a message to accompany a drawing of mountains with the words ‘Ein Wlad, Ein Iaith, Ein Byd’, Elena from Aberystwyth wrote: “I want to look after our land, our language, our world, for the future.”

In the build a community chapter, a featured drawing from Molly Rose depicts a group of people outside a church and school.

The young Aberystwyth artist wrote: “I’d like to keep the communities and places where people are able to come together because people are able to help each other more and also have more fun.”

The drawings from Welsh children were among 70 received from 20 towns, in 7 countries, drawn by young people aged between 5 and 25 and submitted to Évian.

They were used to inspire artist Aurélie Castex to create a new artwork reflecting and conveying the hopes of children around the world for the future.

The three works from Ceredigion children were selected for an exhibition held in Évian over the summer that coincided with the international G7 event earlier this month.

Josiane Lei, mayor of Evian, said: This summer, on the occasion of the G7 Summit, I have the honour of presenting to you the Correspondences project, carried out as part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network.

“Correspondences is a message, a bridge built between the utopian world of children and the actions of their leaders.

“Children have a direct way of looking at the world. Their words are simple, but they say a great deal of what we need to hear. Young people are the main actors in tomorrow’s world; it is essential to give voice to their views in a world that is sometimes deaf to them.

“I would like to thank all the Creative Cities and the children who took part in this project, and I hope that their words, conveyed through their drawings, will find a sympathetic ear somewhere.”