Awen Cultural Trust’s library and arts services deliver significant support to Bridgend’s communities

Awen Cultural Trust was established in 2015 as a charitable organisation with objectives to enhance cultural opportunities in Bridgend and the wider region. On behalf of Bridgend Council, Awen manages the library, arts and culture services for the benefit of communities.

Library services

During the pandemic, the library services have supported the community through:

• Home delivery was one of first services to restart. Extended to carers and those home shielding. Extensive H&S measures put in place to ensure safety of beneficiaries and staff.
• Hundreds of calls made to regular customers who staff felt to be vulnerable or isolated – just for a chat, to see if they wanted to use the books on wheels service, to let them know about click and collect, talk them through accessing our online services if they wanted it.
• Over 1,000 library members contacted so far to let them know about click and collect, talk them through accessing our online services if they want it and to see if they’re happy to take part in short user survey – so that we can better understand people’s priorities as we come out of lockdown, how they want to use the service, what (if anything) we can do to help them feel more confident using the library.
• Identified need for PC use as safe as it was possible to re-introduce it – more people are now applying for benefits, searching for jobs, wanting to research online etc. Risk Assessed and implemented new processes and safety measures to accommodate it. Staff have undergone DANGOS and Census training while we’ve been closed to browsing so that we can signpost people to benefits support and advice, and will be ready for the online census that’s about to start.
• Getting more activities and resources online – invested in additional eBooks and eAudiobooks to meet demand; put storytimes and Bounce&Rhymes online to help engage with families; started social groups to alleviate isolation.
• Continued with Summer Reading Challenge and Winter Reading Challenge to offer encouragement and engagement for children with reading and libraries.
• Supported families with craft packs and story bags that could be collected from the library.

Doorbell Dances
Dozens of unsuspecting unpaid carers from across the county borough of Bridgend received a surprise delivery of Christmas cheer when they answered their doorbells in December. They were greeted with a socially-distanced dance from the Kitsch n Sync Collective as a ‘thank you’ for their tireless, and often unrecognised work, particularly throughout the pandemic. The visits were organised by registered charity Awen Cultural Trust and Bridgend Carers Centre, and funded by Arts Council of Wales, as a way of spreading some festive joy to unpaid carers whose lives have become even more isolated as a result of coronavirus, and to show their role within their local communities does not go unrecognised. Every carer was handed a special message of thanks, which triggered tears of emotion from all involved.

Outdoor Art Exhibition
Since October we have been transforming the front of the Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl by giving space to Welsh artists to exhibit and reach a new audience even in challenging times. Exhibitions to date have included Remembrance Sunday, Paul Robeson, 50 Years of Pantomime at the Pavilion, and seagull-themed work by Ceredigion printmaker Marian Haf. The current exhibition is by Welsh artist
Nathan Wyburn, who is known for creating celebrity portraits and pop culture imagery using non-traditional media such as food and other household items. This project is supported by Arts Council of Wales.

Bear
Awen Cultural Trust has worked with Welsh playwright Jon Berry and director Jack M Dunbar to repurpose their stage, Bear, which was heading to the Edinburgh Fringe, into an audio drama. The piece, which was available for download over a week long period, featured all four original actors cast for the Fringe – Jack Ayres, Meredith Lewis, Yasemin Ozdemir and Max Reid, and animation provided by Cardiff-based motion designer Emma Davies.

#LightUpBridgend
During the February half-term, we worked with outdoor arts experts Citrus Arts to develop kits for families to build a replica of their home in illuminated lantern form. The lantern making packs were distributed by the libraries, and an online tutorial was posted on social media. Participants were encouraged to take a photo of their lanterns and use the hashtag #LightUpBridgend to share their creations.