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The Arts

Cardiff Contemporary Visual Arts Festival is here! 20 Oct – 19 Nov

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Cardiff Contemporary, the Welsh capital’s biennial festival of international contemporary arts starts THIS WEEK! From Thursday 20 October – Saturday 19 November 2016.

The 2016 theme of communication, and title, Are You Ready? references Marconi’s breakthrough radio signal, made from Flat Holm Island to Lavernock Point in 1897.

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Ten new artist’s commissions include the activation of a permanent sculpture on Cardiff’s waterfront and the re-appropriation of two derelict city landmarks, where artists will communicate ideas globally and through space and time.

Thirty-one days of artistic challenge and discovery opens across the Welsh capital on Thursday 20 October 2016 as Cardiff Contemporary gets underway for its fourth edition. Drawing together international and Wales-based artists to charge the city streets, galleries, forgotten spaces and communities with the crackle of new and exciting ideas in multi-disciplinary visual, sonic and performance arts. The theme of ‘communication’ looms large, as artists and audiences are urged to look beyond earth, through time and to each other for clues, answers and inspiration.

Taking in historic sites from the city centre to Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Contemporary will find its focus in a temporary hub, ‘The Angel’ developed to include four new gallery spaces across a derelict, former motorcycle garage beneath the city’s Angel Hotel. From here brand new commissions will radiate across Cardiff, including impressive new public sculpture along one of Cardiff’s most public landmarks, a takeover of the imposing-yet-defunct Customs and Immigration Building at Cardiff Bay for an exhilarating, public reclamation and an un-missable light sculpture in the heart of the city centre.

Artists and groups confirmed include: Megan Broadmeadow, Laura Ford, Roman Štětina with curator Louise Hobson, Robert Montgomery, Heather and Ivan Morison, Anthony Shapland, Rob Smith and Charles Danby, tactileBOSCH, Spit & Sawdust with Edwin Burdis and a collaboration between Locus Collective (Richard James, Angharad Van Rjiswijk), comedian and writer, Stewart Lee and Andy Fung. Cardiff Contemporary is a Cardiff Council initiative, developed by Visual Arts Manager, Ruth Cayford.

The themes and overarching title for the festival, ‘Are You Ready?’ is a direct reference to the residency of Guglielmo Marconi in the city. As an exile from Italy where his pioneering vision was met with scepticism, he was supported by the British Post Office to develop his experiments into radio communications technology. Assisted by local engineer, George Kemp, Marconi succeeded in transmitting those three, immortal words in Morse code from Flat Holm Island in the Bristol Channel to Lavernock Point, Glamorgan on 13 May 1897. Just four years later, the pair succeeded in the first transatlantic radio transmission. Artists have been asked to consider this history and the modern age of instant and relentless communication in developing new work.

Creating a period of city-wide, creative celebration, Cardiff Contemporary coincides with Artes Mundi 7 art prize and exhibition (opening Friday 21 October at National Museum Cardiff and Chapter) and the city-wide Sŵn Music Festival (Friday 21 – Sunday 23 October, various venues).

Cardiff Contemporary Facebook page

MORE INFO:

Commissions, exhibitions and events announced as part of Cardiff Contemporary 2016 to date are as follows:

Megan Broadmeadow: Let The Stars Be Set Upon the Board

Reportedly discovered in 1901, the same year as Marconi’s transatlantic radio transmission, the Antikythera Mechanism is an ancient, bronze instrument of multiple, moving parts described as the earliest analogue computer. Bristol-based artist, Megan Broadmeadow will use this seismic archaeological discovery as the basis for a new sculptural work, simultaneously reflecting on the mechanism’s resting place at the bottom of the Mediterranean and the ancient Egyptian and Greek civilisations that it is related to.

Laura Ford: Keepers of The Wall

Laura Ford’s sculptures, combining tenderness, fantasy with frequent signs of menace to relay political or social comment, will bring something suddenly and mysteriously new to a Cardiff city centre landmark. This project will remain purposely under wraps, exercising the art of surprise.

Roman Štětina: Shave and a haircut – two bits

Czech artist Roman Štětina investigates the processes of creating film, television and radio; making visible the props, technologies and studios of ‘backstage’. At Cardiff Contemporary, Štětina presents a new site-specific installation curated by Louise Hobson. Exploring the narrative of call and response, images within images stretch back in time and space, reflecting in a present that has no more thickness than a mirror.

Robert Montgomery: Cardiff Poem 2016

Beautifully capturing the convergence of prose and visual art, Robert Montgomery’s work in neon, fire, billboards, painting and print has written deeply-affecting statements large across public spaces from Trafalgar Square, London to Tempelhof Field, Berlin. Montgomery will make his latest statement in central Cardiff, illuminating resident’s and visitor’s journeys with an intervention from on high that invites a moment of reflection.

Heather and Ivan Morison: Love Me or Leave Me Alone (LMOLMA)

Combining to deliver work that transcends the divisions between art, architecture and theatre, the duo of Heather and Ivan Morison will activate Cardiff’s waterfront with their first, permanent public building. Located at Cardiff Bay, the meticulously sculpted structure, inspired by stave churches of Norway – a country inextricably linked by historic trade to Cardiff – and ad hoc beach shacks of 1960s West Coast America will appear as a functional food and drink outlet. Love Me or Leave Me Alone will play host to a programme of special events curated by Chapter on Saturday evenings during the festival.

Anthony Shapland: The Hand That Makes The Sound

Signwriting is an art form that is dying out and one of the most common forms of communication spanning the birth of trade and commercialism as we know it. Cardiff-based artist, Anthony Shapland is exploring the art and one of the city’s oldest surviving practitioners of the trade, whose own, physical canon of works has been gradually eroded by the advancement of regeneration, knocking down the workshops and traditional retailers that once proudly bore the fruits of his labour.

Charles Danby and Rob Smith: Limelight

A project that arrives in Cardiff courtesy of PEAK – Contemporary Art in the Black Mountains – and the Canal & River Trust, Charles Danby and Rob Smith return to the rural heartlands above the city, encountering the canals, quarries, tramways, caves and kilns that fed the heavy industries that roared in South Wales. For Limelight, the artists will use digital means to bring reflections on this history to contemporary audiences by streaming a series of live illuminations to a city centre location and online. The material for their work will be limelight itself, an intense white light generated through heating quicklime used in the 19th century for land survey work and stage lighting. Each broadcast will last as long as it takes for the chemical reaction to be exhausted.

tactileBOSCH: Garden of Earthly Delights

Borrowing directly from a masterpiece by the artist collective’s namesake, Hieronymus Bosch, the Garden of Earthly Delights promises a vibrant, prodigious and inclusive multi-media exhibition in the old Customs and Immigration Building, a vast disused building in the historic area of Cardiff Bay, later reconfiguring their work to be presented again in Stadium Plaza in the city centre. Their invigoration of a long-abandoned landmark will be a ‘gesamtkunstwerk’, gathering collaborators together to include site-specific installation, video, painting, photography, sonic art, interdisciplinary collaborations and spontaneous interventions, starting with a wild launch night of live music, cabaret, spoken word and visceral performance art.

Locus Collective (Richard James and Angharad Van Rjiswijk) featuring Stewart Lee and Andy Fung: The Hill of Dreams

An audio-visual, immersive installation based on the psychogeography of childhood and the wider themes explored in Arthur Machen’s book, The Hill of Dreams, Richard and Angharad will travel to locations of their childhood in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and the southern Netherlands to record the landscapes that defined their childhoods. The pair’s collaborative suite of footage, field recordings and archive material will be embellished by comedian and writer, Stewart Lee, recording an original, narrative piece for the audio installation and artist, Andy Fung who will paint an accompanying canvas that reflects on his Trinidadian upbringing.

Spit & Sawdust featuring Edwin Burdis

Occasionally a misunderstood and maligned fixture in city spaces, skateboarders and skate culture are set on a collaborative collision course with artists in a project that draws parallels between the two protagonists. As both visibly inhabit and frequently alter the city spaces that they use, the artist-led collaboration will look to the ‘internal’ language of skating, experimentation in using public space, the conventions by which skateboarders communicate and celebrate new skills and ideas and popular forms of documenting performances, primarily video, as part of this new work. The outcome is intended to be a timely discussion about how we exist in close proximity with others who may have different ideas or agendas.

Full information on each commission, dates, times and locations, plus further events including screenings, talks and workshops, will be published on Cardiff Contemporary’s website: www.cardiffcontemporary.co.uk

Connect with Cardiff Contemporary on social media:

Twitter: twitter.com/cardiffcontemp

Facebook: facebook.com/CardiffContemporary

Instagram: instagram.com/cardiff_contemporary

 

 

The Arts

Happy birthday Creative Cardiff!

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Creative Cardiff is marking its first year of connecting and celebrating the creative community throughout the city. Hooray!

Earlier this year, we worked with Creative Cardiff and I Loves The Diff to put together a Guide to Creative Cardiff (which you should definitely go and check out, it is D O P E).

Cardiff Bay harbour view

The membership network connects people working in any creative organisation, business or job across Cardiff and the city region and by encouraging people to work together, aspires to make Cardiff a capital of creativity. There’s a great selection of job opportunities for the creative sectors  on there.

Over the last 12 months, hundreds of creatives have joined the network and worked with Creative Cardiff to produce a programme of #52Things – features which enthuse, inspire, inform and engage. Resulting events and activities have enabled members to connect, discover new ideas, build their audience and promote their work as well as find new opportunities.

Working with founding members Wales Millennium Centre, BBC Cymru Wales and Cardiff Council and with the support of the Creative Economy team at Cardiff University, Creative Cardiff aims to amplify the creative economy community and encourage research and innovation.

Chair of Digital Economy at Cardiff University, Professor Ian Hargreaves said: “In its first year, Creative Cardiff has validated all four of our initial goals.

“We set out to increase quality and momentum between creative economy people in the Cardiff city region. The proof of that is in our growth in membership and on social media, but also in countless personal stories of individuals and organisations who tell us how they have found their way round Cardiff’s creative economy by chancing upon Creative Cardiff, online or in some other way.

“We’ve also continued to build out our research network, collaborating with partners like SŵnFestival.

“In our third objective, we set out to explore the case for investment in a creative hub in Cardiff and what we’ve found is that whilst we have been asking for feedback and conducting pilots, a small wave of hubs has simply emerged. Now we are concentrating on helping them to connect.

“Our fourth objective is to find a way of helping Cardiff to articulate a compelling vision for its creative ambition. Any one of the tens of thousands of people who gathered for the City of the Unexpected Roald Dahl Festival will have sensed the scale of ambition and energy that’s out there. We hope to have new ideas to announce shortly about further steps towards this objective.”

To become a member of Creative Cardiff, visit www.creativecardiff.org.uk/join.

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The Arts, Whats on

Super secret giant guerilla cross-stitch street art is landing in Cardiff…. intrigued?!

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Oh, this is very exciting! With needles, thread and grand ambitions at their disposal, cross-stitchers of Cardiff have been plotting a super secret street art project that they plan to unleash at this year’s Made In Roath arts festival……

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Whether you are cross stitch crazy, mad about the arts or just looking for something different at the Made In Roath week, look no further! All kinds of cross stitch lovers from the local community have been working hard behind-the-scenes to bring a new and exciting project to the streets called Crossing Paths.

The Crossing Paths team have been meeting regularly in secret, in order to create a series of giant cross stitch street art that will appear overnight just in time for Made In Roath Festival.

As Becca Clark at Green City Events explains:

“We had no idea that so many people wanted to create street art and it seems we have found a really accessible and unique medium – giant cross stitch! Plus, I think the secretive, guerrilla style group was a factor!”

Every piece has been made by a member of the community using different recycled materials such as t-shirts, tights, naturally dyed sheets and even old bicycle wheels. The aim of the project is to bring colour and art to the streets of Roath and Adamsdown using the resources within the community. It aims to create awareness of the beautiful community gardens in the area that can sadly be overlooked at times.

People from all different backgrounds and parts of Cardiff have joined forces and contributed their own personal pieces of art. Ten year-old Osian Allsopp explains why he wanted to get involved:

“I wanted to learn a new way of sewing and I had good fun experimenting. I can’t wait to tell people; I’ve been very good at keeping this a secret!”.

On Saturday 8th October, everyone involved in the project will come together to cross-stitch ‘bomb’ the Plasnewydd and Adamsdown community gardens and surrounding streets. There will be an array of designs that all relate to what you may find in a garden; plants, wildlife, garden tools and maybe even a Pokémon or two!

The guerilla stitchers tell us more:

How did the Crossing Paths project idea originally begin?

“After a trip to Valencia where the streets were just bursting with colourful art I thought it would be fun to brighten up our own streets back home. A couple of weeks and a sneaky Facebook group later we had gathered a group of keen cross stitchers to make our dreams a reality!” – Becca Clark, Green City Events.

What do you hope to achieve from this project?

“We hope that people stumble across our unique pieces of street art during Made in Roath and maybe see a part of their everyday surroundings in a new light. For those keen to see them all, you’ll find a map on the Green City Events website, you can follow the path of plants and wildlife and in turn discover three beautiful community gardens. We hope this is just the start of a new community project and that others are inspired to create random acts of art!”

What do the crossing paths team think of the giant cross stitch street art?

“The perception of cross-stitch needs to taken out of the parlour and onto the streets; nothing like a bit of subversiveness to challenge the every-day!” – Dorcas Frazer

“As a prolific stitcher, I was thrilled to be part of Crossing Paths. Not only was it a great opportunity to meet other Cardiff Creative types it was so much fun stitching up giant cross stitches” – Charlotte,Twin Made

Why will Crossing Paths be a great addition to the Made In Roath week?

“The made in roath festival is all about bringing art out into the community, be that in schools, on street corners, in community gardens, and anywhere else we can find. CDF Cross Stitchers & Green City Events have done just that, with the unexpected element of stumbling upon their work whilst we wander the streets we think we know so well. We can’t wait to discover what’s on our doorstep!”

MORE INFO – CROSSING PATHS STREET ART PROJECT

Dates:
On display from Sunday 9th October – Sunday 16th October

Locations:
Mackintosh Community Gardens – 38 Keppoch St, Cardiff CF24 3JW
Plasnewydd Community Gardens – 5 Shelley Walk, Cardiff CF24 3DX
Adamsdown Community Gardens – Moria Terrace, Adamsdown, CF24 0EJ
And the surrounding streets.

CROSS-STITCH ‘BOMB’

Date: Saturday 8th October 6.30pm

Location: Secret meeting place – please contact Becca at Green City events to get involved.

Whats on

Running real fast … Cardiff half marathon 2016!

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What an incredible day for a half marathon! The weather is banging, and record numbers of you turned out today to run the Cardiff Half Marathon, which is one of the flattest and fastest in the UK.

Congratulations to everyone that took part!

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People who have run the race before will be familiar with the mountains of water bottles strewn across the streets, but this year’s race was one of the greenest yet with more recycling bins than ever before, more signs, and for the first time an army of environmental champions there to help people recycle properly and make sure the maximum amount of materials are recycled. Brecon Carreg’s water bottles are also smaller for the first time (which is a brilliant move – it’s not easy to chug down that much water on mile ten!).

In terms of the impact of recycling at the event, according to Recycle for Wales, if every Cardiff Half runner recycled one 500ml water bottle, enough energy could be saved to power these famous Cardiff Half route landmarks:

  • Power the Principality Stadium’s floodlights for three years
  • Operate the Cardiff Bay barrage for 48 hours
  • Provide the Millennium Centre with electricity for nine hours
  • Make sure Cardiff Castle stays regal, and keeps its electricity going for 55 hours.

Although the best bet is always to bring your own reusable water bottle, the plastic bottles that are recycled on the day will be transformed into a number of different products (including clothing – as well as new bottles!). The peels from the bananas handed out to runners at the end of the race can be used to generate energy, which could charge a range of household items. FACT: just one banana peel can create enough electricity to fully charge two smartphones. Where’s my banana charger?

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Cardiff Uni put together this awesome little video of things to look out for while running around the city

The numbers of runners turning out today wasn’t the only record thing about the race. Kenyan runner Shadrick Korir set a new Cardiff Half record in his first run ever outside Kenya (finishing the race in an eye watering 1’00’54!!). Viola Jebchumbah won the women’s race with a new record of 1’08’14, and there was even a new Guinness World Record set today!

Yes, that’s right – Batman and Robin stormed the course in under 71 minutes, to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest half marathon run in fancy dress. Yes, there’s a record for that!

 

Some of our other favourite tweets from the day:

https://twitter.com/Michelle_800/status/782515678238609408

 

 

Well done to ALL who participated in today’s run. Remember, there are only three kinds of winners: those who start the race, those that finish, and whoever happens to come first. You’re all winners to us!

Now go celebrate with a pint and get those feet in some ice, yes?

cardiff half marathon

(photo from Helia’s half marathon effort in 2015)

Inspired to sign up for next year? Everything you need is on the Cardiff Half Marathon website.

For more information about the Run Refuel Recycle campaign, and to find out how you could win a £115 voucher from Cardiff-based specialist running shop, Run and Become, head to www.RunRefuelRecycle.org.uk

Thanks to photojournalist Chloe Jackson-Nott for all the great pics of the race this year.

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The Arts

October’s Instagram takeover!

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The photophiles amongst you will probably know we have an Instagram account, used for two things: regramming the best photos of Cardiff that we can find, and also occasionally farming out to Cardiffians for month-long takeovers.

In October, we have photographer Sam Padget doing the takeover. Sam has done some fabulous action-packed photo essays for us before (like this one on the P1 Superstock in the bay). He introduces himself below!

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Sam Padget Samuel Bay Photography

I am a 30 year old freelance photographer and student currently based in Cardiff. My journey to this point has been quite complicated, but I discovered my passion for photography in northern Norway, where I lived for a year. Having held photo workshops, an exhibition and publishing a book, I headed back down south to broaden my photographic skill set with a BA in Photojournalism at the University of South Wales.

For me, Cardiff is the perfect city. It has it all, a combination of a strong photography scene, bustling night life and is ideally placed in proximity to nature and of course, the sea.

My day job, so to speak, is freelance sports photography with particular focus on unusual and winter sports, but I’m pursuing a career in documentary photography with strong interest in the co-existence of man and nature. This month you can expect a lot of street style photography, as well as candid portraiture. I also like to use techniques such as slow shutter and elevation to try and give a unique ‘look’ to my images.

My main interest is travel and I’m a bit of a foodie with a penchant for noodles. I’m fluent in Norwegian and currently learning Portuguese.

Samuel Bay Photography

We Are Cardiff Instagram

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Whats on

Cardiff’s Human Library

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The Human Library is coming to Cardiff!

The Human Library is an international movement that promotes an inclusive way to challenge prejudice through social contact. Just like in a real library, a visitor to the Human Library can choose a Book from a range of titles. The difference is that Books are people, and reading is a conversation.

The Human Library Cardiff: Meeting 0.1
Location: Cardiff Central Library, The Hayes
Saturday, October 8, 2016
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Confused? Wanna know more? Check out the video …

Social contact is known to be among the best ways to challenge prejudice, and the Human Library enables it to flourish. The Human Library provides a safe environment for people to engage in conversation within a framework of respect, and with the permission to respectfully ask questions and share experiences. The dialogue that the Human Library facilitates has the potential to challenge prejudice, stigma and discrimination.

In practice, the Human Library celebrates the diversity and positive difference of our communities, raises awareness of many different reasons people may experience exclusion, and takes positive action to address some of the issues that can lead to bullying, abuse and hate crime. Book titles deliberately acknowledge and provoke the assumptions or common prejudices that we, or society may have, and Readers are empowered to choose from a broad range of titles, and challenged to engage with the people behind the labels during short and respectful conversation.

The Human Library was created for the 2000 Roskilde Music Festival by a group of Danish activists who formed in response to a violent hate crime. Their idea was to use the language and mechanism of a library to facilitate conversations that challenge prejudice, thereby reducing the risk of tension and violence. From a base in Copenhagen the creators and founders of the Human Library Organisation have helped the movement to grow steadily across the world, and it is currently active in over 60 countries. The movement is growing!

One more time now …

The Human Library Cardiff: Meeting 0.1
Location: Cardiff Central Library, The Hayes
Saturday, October 8, 2016
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM

More information: The Human Library MeetUp page

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The Arts, Whats on

Cardiff: City of the Unexpected …

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city_of_the_unexpected

Wales Millennium Centre and National Theatre Wales present … Roald Dahl’s City of the Unexpected! 17 and 18 September 2016

This September, take a trip to Roald Dahl’s City of the Unexpected for a once-in-a-lifetime experience…

SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 1PM – 9:30PM (FREE)
Look out for unexpected happenings on the streets and buildings throughout the city…but don’t be fooled, not everything is what it seems!

SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 10.30AM – 2PM (TICKETED – SOLD OUT!)
Come on an adventure and discover unexpected spaces around the city while you sit back and enjoy extracts from Roald Dahl’s stories read by some familiar faces. Our unexpected readings in unexpected places will be announced in August, when tickets will also go on sale.

SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2PM – 5PM (FREE)
Don your pyjamas and join us for a fabulous, free family event at Coopers Field in Bute Park between 2-5pm. The Great Pyjama Picnic will bring together all the themes, stories, characters and cast of the weekend in a huge celebration of food, music and story. Bring your own Roald Dahl-inspired picnic, and you’ll be in with a chance to win a competition judged by Beca Lyne-Pirkis, presenter of S4C’s Becws and former contestant on BBC One’s Great British Bake Off! Beca will be keeping her eyes (and tastebuds) open for picnics in four categories:

  • Most Dahlian Picnic
  • Most Revolting Picnic
  • Most Beautiful Picnic
  • Most Unexpected Picnic

Start planning your Dahl-inspired picnic now!

 

WHAT’S THIS ALL ABOUT THEN?

The Welsh capital will become a place where reality is turned on its head, and where the laws of physics, logic and the predictable will give way to magic, fun, invention and the surreal, as if Roald Dahl himself is at the helm.

This epic weekend will involve a cast of thousands of performers from across the city and jaw-dropping spectacles. Immerse yourself in everything from large-scale events to intimate performances – all staged across Cardiff’s streets and public spaces, in shops and arcades, at iconic buildings and parks.

Born in Cardiff, one hundred years ago this September, Roald Dahl’s imagination has touched the most extraordinary number of people. It has been part of our childhood and our children’s childhood.

To mark his centenary and to give thanks for the legacy he created, this will be a totally surprising celebration of the man, his characters and his stories.

Produced by Wales Millennium Centre and National Theatre Wales, in association with The Roald Dahl Literary Estate, and led by a creative team from Wales and across the globe, Roald Dahl’s City of the Unexpected will be a world-class event worthy of a world-class writer.

OTHER THINGS TO DO IN THE CITY!

Roald Dahl’s City of The Unexpected has many surprises in store for you, which you can find out about in our what’s on section. If you’ve got some extra time while you’re in Cardiff, you may want to explore Roald Dahl’s connection to Cardiff by visiting some of the city’s key landmarks. As well asRoald Dahl’s City of the Unexpected, you can also experience The Wondercrump World of Roald Dahl at Wales Millennium Centre, Quentin Blake: Inside Stories at National Museum Cardiff and Wonderman at the Tramshed (in association with Gagglebabble, National Theatre Wales and Wales Millennium Centre).

#UnexpectedCity
cityoftheunexpected.wales

City of the Unexpected Facebook event

See also:

National Theatre of Wales
Wales Millennium Centre

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Whats on

Street Food Circus 2016 – two more weeks of delicious food to go

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If you’ve been down to Sophia Gardens over recent weekends, chances are you would have seen the bright lights and smelled the incredible smells wafting over from the Street Food Circus. We went down there this weekend to celebrate @phoenixlily‘s birthday, and ended up hanging out in the sunshine stuffing our faces for five hours on Saturday.

You’ve got TWO MORE WEEKENDS to enjoy the Street Food Circus … and to entice you, this is what’s there …

 

street_food_circus

As proprietor Simon told me, “this is not a place you come to count calories. This is not a place to come and think about tomorrow. This is a place to come and celebrate today.”

And spend £17 on Science Cream (oh hell yes, we did!).

Other things we very much enjoyed: Hangfire SmokeHouse ribs, Brother Thai’s vegan mushroom roti, Milgi’s peach and paneer kebabs.

By far the most oustanding food award (unofficial) from We Are Cardiff goes to Anand George’s tuk tuk: located in the Asian quarter (yes, there is one): the samosa chaat and Keralan chicken and chips were amongst the tastiest things we have ever eaten. Literally.

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If you haven’t tasted the delights of the Street Food Circus yet, you’ve got TWO MORE WEEKENDS to forget the calories and feast!

Street Food Circus: located in Sophia Gardens (next to the National Express Coach Station, follow the River Taff and look for the BigTop).

Open Friday – Sunday 16-18 and 23-25 September

Friday: 5pm – 11pm
Saturday: 2pm – 11pm
Sunday: 12pm – 6pm

For more info visit www.streetfoodcircus.co.uk

Thanks to photojournalist Emily Jayne for the pictures in this article: Emily moved to Cardiff a couple of years ago, having studied photography five years ago at college, she took a few years out of education and completed a foundation course in Journalism and Media at Cardiff University last year. She considered carrying on with the full degree but found the BA Photojournalism course at USW which she decided to switch to instead, and hasn’t looked back. Keep up with Emily’s work here: Emily Jayne Photojournalist website.

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The Arts, Whats on

Scratch This Too!

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Scratch This Too! The second scratch night takes place at Cardiff Speaker Hire on Saturday 10 September. Come and join us for another night of weirdly fabulous wonderment – prepare to be amazed as you enter the world of Cirque Du Sparklet!

Scratch This Too Scratch This Too Scratch This Too

Scratch This Too is a scratch night featuring artists and performers from a range of genres. Come and support some of Cardiff’s newest performance artists as they show off their incredible skills!

Sideshow alley, bar and twerkshop will be starting at 6pm, followed by a spectacular cabaret at 7.30pm.
Tickets are just £6: Scratch This Too! tickets
Scratch This Too
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Whats on

P1 Superstock and AquaX in Cardiff Bay

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Surf’s up! Or a speed boating equivalent … we sent photojournalist Sam Padget along to Cardiff Bay last weekend to check out the high adrenaline water activity.

harbour in Cardiff Bay

P1 came to Cardiff Bay for its third consecutive year, bringing crowds from all over Wales to watch the high adrenaline showcase on the water. With five racing formulae and freestyle displays, the event entertained thousands around Mermaid Quay and on the Barrage.

Local traders provided food along the waterside and the Norwegian Church pumped out music to entertain the crowds.

The weather was on our side too, with a mostly sunny weekend and temperatures in the high twenties. The family-friendly day out was a huge success.

Cardiff Bay harbour view Big wheel and Pierhead building, Cardiff Bay Big wheel in Cardiff Bay

In the AquaX JetSki Enduro Race, Phil Pope (#200) continued his dominance of the 300 class Enduro with three wins out of three over the weekend leaving him sitting comfortably on top of the Championship Table. With one more meeting to go, he’s set to win the 300 Championships for the third year running.

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Sonnie Bean wowed the crowds with his Hydroflight alongside elite jetski freestylers Lee Stone and Jason Bleasdale.

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The main event was the P1 Superstock Welsh Grand Prix of the Seas. Team Visit Wales were present but didn’t qualify for the final.
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Eventual winners were Team Quantum Racing with driver Kevin Burdock and navigator John Donnelly at the helm.
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More information about the event: www.p1superstock.co.uk and p1aquax.co.uk.

You can find more from Sam Padget on Twitter @samuelbayphoto and Instagram @samuelbayphoto.

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The Arts

Cardiff Open Studios 2016

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As part of Cardiff Contemporary 2016, visual artists and makers across the city will be opening their studios over the month of August.

Around 100 artists will be taking part and to plan your visits a calendar, maps and guides are available online on the Open Studios website and print/flyers through your local gallery and Library.

A series of FREE events over the month of August, it is a chance to explore the places in Cardiff where artists work and discover more about how artists and makers work today.

Below is a list of all the events taking place in August.

openstudiosaugust

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The Arts

Cardiff Book Festival / Gŵyl Lyfrau Caerdydd

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Seems like 2016 is the inaugural year for many things here in our fair Cardiff. We had our first theatre fringe, and now there’s a crowdfunder open for our first Book Festival!

Loads of cities have Book Festivals, right? So why doesn’t Cardiff have one? Here at We Are Cardiff, we’re very partial to a good yarn – so much so, we published our first book for the We Are Cardiff Press late last year (it’s called The 42b and is a collection of short stories about an unconventional bus route through a dystopian Cardiff), and we’re currently scheming on our second one.

Anyway, back to the book festie … here’s all the official blurb …

Cardiff Book Festival Gŵyl Lyfrau Caerdydd is backed by award-winning writers and leading figures in Welsh public life.

Here’s the background:

https://vimeo.com/174498399

This year, the aim is to host a three-day festival aimed at promoting reading, writing and debate to the Welsh capital for the first time this autumn (28-30th October 2016).

It comes in the year the city celebrates the centenary of its most famous literary son, Roald Dahl.

The ambition is to continue to grow every year adding more events and putting the Cardiff Book Festival on the literary map.

Events will include artists like Ifor ap Glyn, the national poet of Wales, award-winning writers including Rachel Trezise and Jonathan Edwards and the investigative journalist, Martin Williams.

Festival organisers are aiming to raise £5,000 via Indiegogo but the more they can raise the more events they can organise at the festival.

As well as helping the festival get off the ground, they’re offering supporters a range of experiences including signed books, a Roald Dahl walking tour with one of our favourite Cardiff writers, Peter Finch, masterclasses with award-winning authors including Rachel Trezise and workshops with publishers and agents on how budding writers can get into print.

They’re promising a diverse and inclusive programme featuring talks and debates from high profile figures on topics ranging from poetry to politics, crime writing to children’s events, fiction to feminism and the Welsh language to walking tours.

Get involved! 

There are a whole bunch of great rewards offered on the Cardiff Book Festival Indiegogo page. (In case you were wondering, we’ve already booked ourselves on the Peter Finch walking tour – they’re good fun and always very interesting).

peter finch

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