Cardiff and Vale College Graphic Communication students create Tafwyl Art Trail

14 May 2021

Foundation Degree in Graphic Communication students from Cardiff and Vale College have been commissioned to create an Arts Trail in and around Cardiff for Tafwyl.

Tafwyl is an annual, Cardiff-based festival celebrating Welsh language, arts and culture that this year runs from 8th May to 16th May. The students were given a live brief by the organisers to create an Arts Trail for the Capital – live briefs are opportunities for learners to gain real not realistic experience of being commissioned by and working with an employer.

While Tafwyl is largely online this year, the CAVC students were briefed to provide a physical real-world presence in the city and to help get Cardiff’s residents outside.

Starting at Cardiff Castle and meandering down to the Bay, the Trail features ten stops at significant sites with cultural and emotional connections. Each location was given to a different student and they produced imagery in response to their point on the trail.

The stops, and their artists, are:

  • Cardiff Castle – Shuvo Rahman
  • Clwb Ifor Bach – Joe Barry
  • The Old Library – Connor Dineen
  • Cardiff Indoor Market – Megan Edwards
  • Principality Stadium – Antony Hellinger
  • CAVC Arts Academy – Ryan Davies
  • CAVC City Centre Campus – Jovaughn Farquharson
  • Loudon Square – Jess Whittingham
  • Wales Millennium Centre – James Harris
  • The Senedd – Lowri Keane

First year Foundation Degree in Graphic Communication Lowri Keane said: The project with Tafwyl has been the perfect opportunity for me to focus on improving my design, illustration and composition skills. Studying the history of a city I’ve lived in for my whole life has made me fall in love with it all over again, as well giving me invaluable experience for my future job prospects.”

Tafwyl Officer Gwenno Roberts said: “With Tafwyl festival being held digitally for the second consecutive year in 2021, the opportunity to collaborate with CAVC on a project which would bring a physical art trail to the city was one we couldn’t let pass!

“It’s wonderful to know that the students’ artworks will be accessible to families across the city and that these pieces may be the first pieces of art seen in person at an exhibition by people for quite some time. The students have worked tirelessly to bring their concepts to life and have taken true inspiration from the locations and landmarks of the trail. It has been a pleasure following their creative journeys and I hope the Tafwyl audience can enjoy the creativity and variety brought to life through this project.”

For more information about the trail visit: https://tafwyl.org/art-trail-en/

More information about the FD Graphic Communication course at CAVC can be found here: https://cavc.ac.uk/en/courses/graphic-communication-foundation-degree