Mid Wales artists win Olympic bid

Chris Tally Evans' project will explore the themes of inspiration, role-models and turning points in people's lives

A Rhayader-based artist and a Ceredigion-based theatre group have won commissions to create new work for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Chris Tally Evans' has won a commission to develop his idea, Personal Best.

His nationwide community storytelling project will focus on turning points in people's lives when they realise they can become unique.

The d Monologues by The Llanarth Group will be a collection of monologues for deaf and disabled performers.

This commission gives me an unprecedented opportunity to explore my passion for people and their stories and weave them into an inspirational tapestry to touch the lives of many others Chris Tally Evans

Chris Tally Evans and The Llanarth Group are two of the 10 commissions for the first round of Unlimited, the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad project.

Unlimited, delivered in partnership between London 2012 and Arts Council of Wales, will celebrate disability, arts, culture and sport.

Battles

More than £400,000 has been committed to the first 10 commissions from the three-year programme to create new work for the Olympiad.

Chris Tally Evans' £43,500 commission, Personal Best, will chronicle tales of hard-won battles and personal triumphs by individuals and will become an online resource and audio soundscape, which can be downloaded or broadcast in a variety of public spaces across the UK.

This will lead to a touring installation and series of interactive workshops for young people exploring the theme of inspiration, role-models and turning points in people's lives.

Chris said: "This commission gives me an unprecedented opportunity to explore my passion for people and their stories and weave them into an inspirational tapestry to touch the lives of many others."

The Llanarth Group's £49,940 commission is a series of monologues that will be inspired by the stories and experiences of disabled and deaf individuals across the whole of the UK.

Showcase

The lead artist for the group, Kaite O'Reilly hopes to produce a body of work that will address the dearth of pieces written from a disability perspective, and parts written for disabled performers.

The 'd' Monologues will be performed in venues in Wales and across the UK.

Unlimited encourages collaborations and partnerships between disability arts organisations, disabled and deaf artists, producers, and mainstream organisations to celebrate the inspiration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Applications for the second round of commissions are now welcomed from disabled and deaf artists or disability arts groups wishing to create high-quality work to form part of high profile showcase events across the UK.