AMAZING launch of The Dragon Tree Arts Installation!!!

 

 

Arddangosfa Gwreiddiau’r Ddraig

 

Well, what an AMAZING day!!!

For literally 20 years I have helped other people to exhibit their work. When I was in my late 20's and the Director of the Welsh Initiative for Supported Employment, I managed to secure funding to open a Community Gallery, where local well known artists and artists from a local Learning Disability Day Centre, set up and ran their own intergrated Gallery in Neath, supported and managed by WISE.

And in the 20 years since, I can honestly say I have watched many 100's of people glow with joy as they watch others understanding their work through exhibitions that I have been able to 'make so' with or for them.

 

But today ...

  

 

 

Today it was MY installation being exhibited!

 

My exhibition is one just part of the whole Dragon Tree. It will be there for a week in the run up to The Dragon Tree Live Music, Dance and Film launch, along with my book launch where I will have the oppotunity to share my

New Folk Story for the West Wales Coastline.

 

None of this would be possible without my grant from The Arts Council of Wales.

 

And as with any grant, I must keep statistics regarding numbers of people attending so as to evidence that I have met the targets set within the grant.

 

 

 

 

So, for 2 hours every day this week, I will go along to The Gallery and record the number of people viewing the exhibition, to make estimates of the total number of people attending.

 

TODAY 196 PEOPLE VIEWED MY INSTALLATION IN 2 HOURS!!!

 

My sample times are 11-12pm

to represent 'quiet periods'

And 1-2pm

to represent 'busy times'

 

Between 11-12pm 41 people visited The Gallery

Between 1-2pm 155 people!!!

155 in an hour!!!!

WOWZERS!!!

 

The Garden is open 6 hours a day. Having said that, I'm expecting it to be very quiet on week days, but if you are off work or passing, why not pop in for a cuppa and a chat with me in The Gallery. I would love to see you.

 

My grant target set for all showings is 200 people in total.  So I have just broken  my overall target in Day one!!! PHEW!!

 

I know statistics are important, and it feels wonderful to have so many people in Day 1, but I can not find the words to describe how I felt inside whilst people asked me about my work; while they were creating their own stories to interpret it, were intrigued. The knot in my stomache left me

 and I felt ... complete.

 

 

 

 

The Garden's current resident exhibition of hung canvasses, which has been there since January 1st and will be in the Gallery until March 11th, sits very well with my installation:

Three Painters: Landscape now

by Karen Pearce, Gareth Hugh Davies

and Nigel Ward.