News

We are working hard behind the scenes to develop a diverse and uplifting programme of online events and activities in celebration of our Span Digidol/Digital project. But whilst we are at it, we thought you might like to see some other interesting creative things to do online so we have started a blog. Keep visiting as we will keep adding to it Google Arts & Culture: Featuring content from over 2000 leading museums and archives – a feast for the eyes!   National Theatre: Live streaming every Thursday evening   Open Culture: Download free colouring books from 113 Museums   SkillShare: Learn a variety of skills including photography, illustration, animation, writing and more!   Time: 10 Virtual Book Clubs and how to create your own   The Royal Opera House   Drawn Together UK – An online community drawing project. Why not take part and add to the map of the UK with a drawing from your window? All you have to do is draw your picture in pen or pencil and use the hashtag #DrawnTogetherUK   United We Stream – Fancy yourself a kitchen disco? Here you can live stream DJ’s and gigs.     MoMA – Artist Louise Lawler has made 12

The Span Arts building will be temporarily closed from Tuesday 17th March until further notice due to the Government’s announcement of emergency measures being put in place on Tuesday night.    Span Arts has had to take the difficult decision to cancel or postpone our forthcoming programme of events and also cancel all community activities held in the building to protect our audience, volunteers and staff.  The Span Arts team however, are keen to tell us that although they have had to shut their doors, they will remain active on projects and online.    “Our team is working hard setting up office at home and coming up with a range of creative new ways to keep people from being isolated at home.  It has rarely felt as important as it does now to combat isolation and loneliness and help people feel better, happy and connected in Pembrokeshire” says Kathryn Lambert, Director of Span Arts.   The new measures will devastate an already fragile sector that works hard to ensure our communities can enjoy live music and theatre and the positive impact of the arts on our health and wellbeing.    The Arts Council of Wales have told Span Arts that in these difficult and unprecedented times they recognise and empathise with the serious personal and professional impacts for artists, practitioners and organisations arising from Covid-19. “We stand firmly with the artists and arts organisations of Wales and our priority is to find practical ways of supporting

Saturday 2nd  May sees the return of Narberth’s The BIG Plant Sale, one of the most important dates on Pembrokeshire’s gardening calendar. The Plant Sale hosts a huge range of stalls with an impressive range of flowers, herbs and vegetable plants, as well as specialist stock including bamboos, pond plants, succulents and cacti. Along with everything a gardener dreams of, there will also be a live music stage, food stalls and a raffle. The Plant Sale has grown bigger and bigger every year, now in its 26th year, and has been described as “the start of the summer social season”. It’s a diverse and fun-packed day not only for the green fingers amongst us, but whole community. Not only is it an important date in the gardening calendar, it is also hugely important for Span Arts as it helps raises funds for the Narberth-based charity committed to providing performances and arts experiences for people from all over Pembrokeshire. Last year, over 1,300 visitors attended the event over the course of the day, and we hope to attract even more this year! If you would like a stall to sell your own products, then you are in luck! Pitches are still

Georgia Ruth and Bardd, Newport Memorial Hall, 20 March Span Arts are absolutely delighted to be hosting the Launch of Welsh Music Prize winner Georgia Ruth’s new album Mai, and the global fusion trio Bardd whose members include Young People’s Laureate Wales’s Poet Martin Laws and legendary Emcee, Beatbox and Welsh/International Live Looper champion, Mr Phormula. As a true bilingual event, with songs sung in both Welsh and English this will weave together different instruments, different languages, different musical styles into one beautiful groove. This will be a fantastic event not to be missed! Georgia Ruth is a Welsh singer-songwriter, harpist and one of Wales’ most compelling voices – “dazzling… rich with sweet pain and joy” (The Independent); “one of the British folk discoveries of the year” (The Guardian). MOJO describe the album as “atmospheric spirituality …. natural world imagery, poetic lyrics and subtle soundscapes … with wafts of strings, guitars, drums, sax and violin Watch Georgia’s new single here: Bardd’s music journeys between bardic roots of Wales and freedom funk disco, underpinned by a love of dope beats, supreme lyricism and great music from all genres. Expect Beatbox, innovative Live Looping, Electric Kalimba, Folk Violin, Jazz Organ, Blues Guitar

Span Arts teams up again with Theatr Gwaun and comic Clare Ferguson-Walker for a second Laughing Dragon Cabaret at 8pm on Friday 27 March. Fishguard’s Theatr Gwaun hosts this tremendous comedy triple-bill – triple the fun, triple the giggle, triple the belly laugh ache! Olaf Falafel is the Winner of Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s Funniest Joke Award – he’ll laugh you into Spring with his pun and absurdity filled humour. Female musical comic Sooz Kempner with her “quirky style and knock-out voice” (Chortle) who will have you laughing like a drain. And Ignacio Lopez’s “charismatic … waspish charm” (Chortle) will spin you around with his infamous high gag-rate. Local comic talent, MC Clare Ferguson Walker will weave the whole evening together and also host a funny raffle at the event. Buy your tickets now for this rib-shaker – a most brilliant way to shake out the winter and call in the new energy of Spring. Tickets are now available from Theatr Gwaun theatrgwwun.com 01348 873421 Ticket prices Advance  £12/£10/£10 (Full, Friend of Span, Concession) Door  £14/£12/£12

The perfect Christmas present for someone who loves the arts: 20% off annual Friends of Span Arts pass for discounted tickets to all our events.  Span Arts is saying #ThanksToYou to National Lottery players with a special offer on our Friends of Span scheme – our annual pass for discounted price tickets. We’ve knocked 20% of the normal price. This is part of the #ThanksToYou campaign marking the 25th birthday of The National Lottery. It’s a celebration of the extraordinary impact National Lottery players have on the lives of people and communities throughout the UK, with over £30 million going to good causes every week. #ThanksToYou for making the UK a better place. “As a recipient of National Lottery funding, Span Arts are delighted to be part of this campaign thanking the National Lottery and the lottery players themselves for helping us to provide a diverse and vibrant arts programme for communities across Pembrokeshire” Kathryn Lambert, Director, Span Arts During the campaign, 23 November-1 December, we are offering a Friends of Span Arts pass at a reduced price of £18 for standard, and £16 for concessions. This is brilliantly timed for Christmas as it would make an excellent present for

Ar nos Fawrth gaeafol aeth Span Digidol i weithio gyda Chlwb Hyrwyddwyr ifanc i drafod marchnata digidol ar gyfer sioe dymhorol Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru Llygoden yr Eira.  Mae’r Clwb yn cwrdd yn Ysgol y Preseli ac wedi dod at ei gilydd i gymryd cyfrifoldeb a phob agwedd o baratoi at ymweliad y sioe theatr yma at Ganolfan Hermon ym mis Rhagfyr. Dyma’r grŵp yn cyflwyno’u hunain: “Mae rhai o ddisgyblion blwyddyn 10 Ysgol Y Preseli yn cydweithio gyda Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru ar Gynllun Hyrwyddwyr Ifanc.  Mae’r merched Lilly, Chloe, Casey ac Elin yn dymuno hysbysebu perfformiadau o Lygoden Yr Eira, sef bypedau sy’n cael ei pherfformio yn Ganolfan Hermon. Sioe gyntaf am 1:30yp ail Sioe i ddechrau 4:30yp, ar ddydd Sadwrn 14eg o Ragfyr. Bydd y tocynnau mynediad yn costio £8 i oedolion a £7 i blentyn. Bydd yna raffl , siop a hefyd diodydd ar werth. Mae’r sioe i blant o dan 5 oed. Mae’r sioe am Lygoden Fach a’i dau ffrind sy’n cysgu, llithro, cwympo a chwerthin gyda’i gilydd wrth  archwilio’r ‘Winter Wonderland’.” Ymunodd Owen ar y grŵp neithiwr hefyd a wnaethon nhw fwrw ati i roi gwybodaeth am y perfformiadau ar dudalennau ‘listings’ ar-lein. Blas o’r gwaith