Stuart Boydell from Caerphilly joined winners from across Wales at a special awards ceremony at the Senedd in Cardiff to pick up his prize in the first ever national libraries arts competition – Express Yourself!
The final eighteen plus three highly commended were chosen from over 1,600 entries and Welsh Libraries Champion, actress and writer Ruth Jones was there to present the prizes. Ruth said, “The creativity and imagination shown in all categories is amazing – they would certainly inspire me to visit a library! It’s been an absolute pleasure to meet the winners and to see the wonderful work they have produced.”
‘Express Yourself!’ encouraged people of all ages to show off their creative talents based on the theme of ‘libraries’. They could choose any format including creative writing, dancing, drama, music, animation, painting, photography, drawing or sculpture. The winners were selected from a range of categories including primary and secondary schools, academic institutions, community organisations and individuals.
Local winner Stuart Boydell was a finalist in the Open Individual category and won first prize with his unique “Library Ukelele”. His prize of a glass trophy and £500 of vouchers was thoroughly deserved with his one of a kind ukulele made from an old library book. Despite never having performed in front of such a large crowd, Stuart was persuaded to play some flamenco music on his ukulele, which was much appreciated by the audience of finalists and their supporters.
Stuart was understandably thrilled by the whole experience “I never expected to reach the final and was over the moon to win”.
The ceremony was hosted by Minister for Heritage, Alun Ffred Jones who said: “The competition has been a great success – it’s given people of all ages the opportunity to show off their talents and at the same time demonstrated how Welsh libraries can impact on and inspire people’s lives. I was impressed by the quality of the entries which show there is a wealth of creative talent out there – who knows, some of the finalists may become famous names in the future! I would like to thank everyone involved, including library staff and all the people who took the time and effort to submit an entry.”
A national exhibition showcasing the finalists’ work will go on tour to venues across Wales starting at the Senedd and then heading west to Swansea.
The Express Yourself competition is one part of the national marketing campaign for libraries in Wales, which forms a central part of Libraries for Life, the Welsh Assembly Government’s strategy for libraries in Wales. The Assembly Government is investing £10.5 million between 2008 and 2011.
For more information on the competition and library services in your area please visit the library.wales.org website to view photos and video highlights of the awards ceremony.
