Interventions Wales header image 3

The INTERVENTIONS project came about in 2008 through the combined forces
of three key people :

Reet Remmel – the Estonian Cultural Attache, Tom Gilhespy – Sculptor and
organiser of The Lake Vyrnwy International Sculpture Symposium and Tiiu
Kirsipuu – Estonian artist and sculptor. Without the tremendous goodwill,
efforts and insights of these three visionary people it is fair to say that
the project would never have taken place.

INTERVENTIONS as a project idea developed from a visit to Tallinn in autumn
2007 by Tom Gilhespy and Ruth Carter who we were exhibiting a collaborative
piece at the 14th Tallinn International Print Triennial.

The idea itself stemmed from the Lake Vyrnwy sculpture Symposium and the
desire to offer a space where international artists from multiple disciplines
could meet, explore ideas and working practices and above all start a ‘conversation’.

And it may well have stayed as just an idea if it had not been for the
intervention of Tiiu Kirsipuu and Reet Remmel who opened up the possibility
of bringing the INTERVENTIONS 2008 project in to being under the umbrella
of the Walestonia Festival, a series of events taking place across Wales
to celebrate the longstanding relations between Wales and Estonia, and their
shared heritage of expressing national identity through the arts.

Through partnership with the Llanfyllin Workhouse we were fortunate to
be offered the opportunity to host the week long residency in their grounds
and buildings and to use this historic site as a point of inspiration and
contact with the local community and as a space for the artists to create
temporary ‘interventions’.

The success of that inaugural event has created the possibility for INTERVENTIONS
WALES becoming an annual programme where long lasting friendships and artistic
relationships can been forged and that truly does offer the opportunity
for valuable cultural and creative ‘conversations’

INTERVENTIONS 2008 Walestonia

Participating Artists:

  • Sofi Arshas
  • Ruth Carter
  • Tom Gilhespy
  • Kai Kaljo
  • Margot Kask
  • Tiiu Kirsipuu
  • Orest Kormashov
  • Nick Lloyd
  • Cordelia Weedon

INTERVENTIONS WALES 2009 Cymru Danmark

Participating artists:

  • Ruth Carter
  • Tom Gilhespy
  • Melissa Hinkin
  • Karen Havskov Jensen
  • Jette Ellgaard Kristensen
  • Nick Lloyd
  • Amy Sterly
  • Morten Tillitz
  • Karen Thastum
  • Klavs Weiss

INTERVENTIONS WALES has been made possible through support from:

  • The Estonian Embassy
  • Estonian Artists Union
  • Tallinn University
  • Wales Arts International
  • Powys tourism Development Board
  • Powys Arts development Board
  • Arts Connection / Cyswllt Celf
  • The Danish Arts Council Committee for International Visual Art
  • Glasu
  • Powys Regeneration Project
  • The Llanfyllin Workhouse
  • Llanfyllin High School
  • Welsh Language Board

Walestonia 2008 by Tiiu Kirsipuu

I met Mrs. Reet Remmel – the Cultural Counseller of the Estonian Embassy
in London- at the end of the year 2007 in Estonia and she told me about
the WALESTONIA festival they were organising. This sounded very interesting.
I told Reet about my artistic contacts in Wales: Tom Gilhespy has been invited
many times to Estonia to take part in wood-carving symposia and exhibitions.
I have been 2 times in Wales taking part in symposia at Lake Vyrnwy. Reet
asked me do I have any idea to organize something interesting in Wales being
part of Walestonia festival and I passed the same question to Tom. He came
out with a very interesting idea using an old Llanfyllin workhouse for the
site-specific event and both I and Reet liked the idea very much. I involved
5 Estonian artists – teachers of Tallinn University to take part in this.
The artists were Sofi Arshas, Orest Kormaśov, Margot Kask, Kai Kaljo and
me.

It was really very interesting! I have taken part in site-specific workshops
before and have some idea about how it works but for the rest of us everything
was new – they had no experience and did not know what to expect. The place
itself was great and inspired people in so many ways. This week was unforgettable
–to work together with local Welsh artists, to be in this strange and mysterious
and potential place, to create something new, to get to know Wales and its
people and language, to see around etc. So many emotions and memories! We had wonderful hosts and interesting times in Wales. Also I think all the
works created during the workshop were very interesting and unique. I hope
Llanfyllin workhouse can continue with art events and hope one day it will
be really a local art centre.

Tiiu Kirsipuu