In Y Lle Celf at Blaenau Gwent, there will be a large multi media exhibition which includes both fine and applied art (including the moving image and performance art).

Y Lle Celf is a partnership project between the National Eisteddfod and the Arts Council of Wales.

We’ve followed the story of Y Lle Celf over the past few months as the underground bunker has been transformed into Wales’ national art gallery for the wek. It’s one of the Eisteddfod’s most ambitious projects ever, and as we approach its completion, it’s difficult to imagine how much work has gone into the transformation.

In March this year we published the first photos of the basesment, and it was difficult to imagine that such a project would see the light of day, but with only days left before the Eisteddfod, the building project is nearing its end, and it looks as though Y Lle Celf at the Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod will be the world’s largest underground art gallery when it is officially opened for the week on Saturday 31 July.

We have created an image gallery showing the work of creating Y Lle Celf, and with a photographer on the Maes a number of times a week at the moment, the photos clearly show the work as it happens. We’ve also put some of these photos on our facebook profile page.

This year, the building itself will play an important role in Y Lle Celf. The building and the project itself represents the confidence we have in the arts sector and in our culture. The history and industrial past of Blaenau Gwent and the Heads of the Valleys had a profound effect on us as a country, and this effect is clearly seen in the visual arts. Many artists use industrial and historical elements to look to the future, and the fact that we are using a wholly industrial space for this year’s exhibition is sure to appeal to our visitors.

What better home to a gallery which links the industrial past with the cultural future that the stack annealer basement – part of one of the world’s most important steelworks – and the workplace of tens of men at its height, as the steel was treated before leaving Ebbw Vale and travelling all over the world.

Robyn Tomos, the National Eisteddfod’s Visual Arts Officer, said:

“I’ve never felt such excitement around Y Lle Celf before. This year’s exhibition has inspired so many artists, and the opportunity to exhibit in such an amazing space has appealed to those working in so many different mediums. I very much hope that people will flock to Y Lle Celf on this year’s Maes. The combination of the great art and the unusual atmosphere is sure to appeal to everyone who enjoys Y Lle Celf.”

Y Lle Celf activities during the Eisteddfod

Monday 2 August

11.00 A poetic response to Y Lle Celf

15.00  Presenting the Ivor Davies Prize

Tuesday 3 August

12.00 Presentation by Osi Rhys Osmond in Societies 1

14.00 Jochen Eisentraut

Thursday 5 August

14.00 Jochen Eisentraut

Friday 6 August

12.00 Introduction and tour for Welsh learners

12.00 Presentation by Gafyn Owen in Societies 1

Saturday 7 August

14.00 Highlights of the Week

15.00 The People’s Choice 2010