Art and music will join forces on St David’s Day, March 1st as well known artists show their support for the Wales International Harp Festival held in Caernarfon, north Wales between the 4th and 10th of April 2010.
Four of Wales’ most celebrated contemporary artists have donated paintings to raise funds for the festival with their work being sold on auction site eBay from March 1st. Catrin Williams, William Selwyn, Gareth Parry and Eluned Tudor Grant have all donated a piece of their own work to show their support for this internationally renowned festival.
The art auction is one of a number of connections between the Festival and visual art with music and art projects being held in local schools in the run-up to the Festival as well as an on-site art exhibition during the Festival, 4th-10th of April.
Held for the second time in Caernarfon and attracting over 140 competitors from as far and wide as America, Russia, Israel, Japan and China, musicians will compete in a series of five competitions with prizes including a £20,000 Grand Concert Harp donated by the Festival’s main sponsors, Camac Harps of France. The Wales International Harp Festival this year will be held in honour of blind harpist, John Parry of Ruabon to celebrate the 300th anniversary of his birth.
Born near Nefyn, Gwynedd in 1710 John Parry became one of the greatest harpists of the late Baroque period. John Parry’s son, William Parry (1743-1791) trained as a portrait painter under Joshua Reynolds and painted a portrait of his father, which will be displayed during the Festival by kind permission of its owner, Miles Wynn Cato (www.welshart.co.uk). The detailed painting was the inspiration for developing projects linking art and music during the Festival.
Festival Director, Elinor Bennett said; “The Festival organisers wish to thank William Selwyn, Gareth Parry, Catrin Williams and Eluned Tudor Grant for their generosity in donating paintings and hope that, through art, we can reach new audiences for the Harp Festival. Likewise, I hope that music will be a way of opening up a potential new market for the work of these great Welsh painters.”
All four paintings are currently on display in Gallerie Galles, 7 Romilly Crescent in Cardiff where potential buyers can view the work before they go on sale on eBay on a 10 listing from the 1st of March. All four artists are renowned for their intricate work and have chosen their donated pieces carefully.
Elinor Bennett added; “The four paintings are wonderfully evocative and are all inspired by aspects of Welsh landscape, history and culture. I feel extremely indebted to the four artists for their generosity and hope that the sale will fetch an amount that is worthy of their status as four of the finest painters in Wales. I urge all lovers of art and culture to place their bids and support this exciting, novel way of raising funds!”
To bid on the paintings, buyers are urged to search under Wales International Harp Festival on the auction site eBay where all paintings will be listed from March 1st. Money raised from the art sale will be used for Masterclasses and workshops by internationally acclaimed harpists who will work with young competitors during the Wales International Harp Festival in April.
