Amazing new artwork has started to appear in Swansea city centre as part of a project aiming to celebrate the very best of what the city has to offer. A visual art project called 'From Swansea, With Love' has been created to celebrate the city's redevelopment and to mark the opening of Swansea Arena.
The artwork features beautiful phrases, celebrating the city and its music, sunshine, art, creativity, memories and its coastline, contributed by musician, author and broadcaster Cerys Matthews, broadcaster Huw Stephens, actor and comedian Keith Allen, actor and singer Luke Evans, actor, producer and activist Michael Sheen and musician Rachel K Collier.
Taking inspiration from the people of Swansea, the phrases have been brought to life via illustration and animation. The visual art appears on poster sites, digital screens and hoardings across the city, in addition to screens at Swansea Arena and two hand-painted murals from creative agency Fresh Creative. It joins plenty of other public artwork around Swansea that you pass every day and probably don't notice. You can read more about that by clicking here.
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The project has been unveiled as Swansea Arena, operated by Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), is due to host its opening live music show from Royal Blood on Saturday, March 19. The 3,500 capacity arena will host up to 200 live performances a year across comedy, theatre, music and gaming. Its presence will bring an additional 260,000 visitors a year to the city, and generate 467 full-time direct and indirect jobs in Swansea. On Tuesday, March 15, John Bishop became the first act to perform at the arena, and he made the most of the city during his visit. You can read more about that by clicking here.
Head of marketing and communications for Swansea Arena, Joe Bayliss said: “We are completely delighted to be welcoming the world to Swansea Arena and of course our brilliant city, as it reaches its potential as a cultural destination. We commissioned From Swansea, With Love, so that we could share words of love and welcome with residents and visitors alike, and have been overwhelmed with both the creative contributions and the stunning artworks they have become.”
The new art can be found at Kings Lane, near Swansea Rugby Club (Gorse Lane and Bryn Road), on the corner of High Street and Mariner Street, several sites on Orchard Street and Bernard Street, and in the arena itself.
Swansea Arena is at the centre of the Copr Bay project, which includes a landmark public bridge and a 1.1 acre coastal park, plus apartments and independent restaurants. Delivered by Swansea Council, and advised by development managers RivingtonHark, Copr Bay phase one alone is said to be worth £17.1 million a year to the city’s economy. The arena also forms part of the Swansea City and Waterfront Digital District project which is being part-funded by the £1.3 billion Swansea Bay City Deal. You can keep up to date with Swansea stories by subscribing to our daily newsletters here.
