Young artists win Gwanwyn commission

Three Cardiff School of Art and Design graduates are working on a pioneering art therapy project to treat mental illness in South Wales.

Adam McGee-Abe, Joseph Simon Murray and Elizabeth Alison are producing a piece of tactile artwork for Llandough Hospital.

The Gwanwyn Arts Festival from Age Cymru, and the Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board have commissioned the work.

Says Joseph Simon Murray:

"We're absolutely thrilled to be working on this exciting project and this is the first time - in our short working lives, that the three of us have been awarded a professional contract.

"The work we produce will be seen by thousands of patients, staff and families in the new mental health unit at Llandough Hospital.

"It is a real privilege to be able to take part in a project that we're hoping will make a real contribution to the treatment and care of people who have dementia and other mental illnesses in South Wales."

The Gwanwyn Festival approached Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board earlier this year with an idea for using art in the treatment of mental illness.

After agreeing to team up to work on the project, both organisations approached the Cardiff School of Art and Design with a challenge for its students.

Philip Thomas of the Gwanwyn Festival explains:

"We came up with the idea of asking some-up-and-coming talent to contribute their ideas to help make this project a reality, and so we approached the Cardiff School of Art and Design.

"There were a lot of really good and imaginative submissions and it wasn't an easy decision for us when it came to awarding the commission.

"But we finally chose Adam, Joseph and Elizabeth's idea of producing four, three-dimensional and tactile wall panels on the theme of the four seasons."

The artwork will be installed at the new mental health facilities at Llandough Hospital.