Lates / Hwyrnos

Join us for an introduction to Sownd, the project by artists Manon Awst and Dylan Huw representing Wales at this year’s Venice Biennale, one of the world’s most significant contemporary art events.

The work is informed by research into peatlands in Wales—wet, unstable landscapes that hold deep layers of history, memory and cultural meaning. By connecting these sites with Venice, the artists highlight shared ecological challenges and the ways places hold and transform stories over time.

Drawing on the rich Welsh legacies of live and collective practice, including cynghanedd poetry and site-specific performance, the project creates an “architecture of entanglement,” sculpting and sticking together materials, sounds and words.

A short promo film about the project will open the evening. The artists will then take us through an illustrated talk outlining the project’s themes and collaborative approach followed by a conversation and Q+A with Elliott Flanagan, the project’s Associate Curator.

Wales in Venice is commissioned and managed by Arts Council of Wales and Wales Arts International, with support from Welsh Government. Supported by lead organisations Oriel Davies and Oriel Myrddin. With further support by the Colwinston Charitable Trust and Art Fund.

Doors 6pm

FREE, booking essential.

About the speakers

Manon Awst is an artist living in Caernarfon, Wales, whose sculptural and performative practice is rooted in specific sites. A recent Henry Moore Institute Research Fellowship and Future Wales Fellowship allowed her to develop creative research on peatlands. Her work is part of the National Library of Wales, the UK Government and Welsh Parliament art collections.

Dylan Huw is a writer and artist who works collaboratively across languages and disciplines. Recent projects have been supported by Jerwood Foundation, Artes Mundi, LUX and Mostyn. His critical writing has been published with Frieze, e-flux and Art Monthly, and he has been twice-shortlisted for the International Award for Art Criticism.

Elliott Flanagan is a multimedia artist working across identity, memory and class. His recent project You can never really return home was a book and exhibition in his hometown, Burnley, commissioned by Super Slow Way. He has worked with Venture Arts, A Modest Show and has exhibited nationally and internationally including Tate Liverpool, HOME Manchester, and Venice Biennale.

Photo credit Dewi Tannatt Lloyd