The Wye Valley River Festival CIC is an innovative arts organisation, led by artists and communities creating work with the environment at its heart.
Mae CBC Gŵyl Afon Dyffryn Gwy yn sefydliad celfyddydol arloesol, a arweinir gan artistiaid a chymunedau sy’n creu gwaith gyda’r amgylchedd yn ganolog iddo.
We bring local people, environmentalists, and talented artists together in an internationally important landscape, for a creative exploration of what is possible.
Rydym yn dod â phobl leol, amgylcheddwyr, ac artistiaid dawnus at ei gilydd mewn tirwedd o bwysigrwydd rhyngwladol, er mwyn archwilio’r hyn sy’n bosibl yn greadigol.
We support and drive a programme of community engagement and co-creation activity which culminates in a unique cross-border biennial arts and environment festival: The Wye Valley River Festival.
Rydym yn cefnogi ac yn llywio rhaglen o weithgarwch ymgysylltu â’r gymuned a chyd-greu sy’n diweddu gyda gŵyl gelfyddydau a’r amgylchedd trawsffiniol unigryw bob dwy flynedd.
Our story / Ein stori
The first Wye Valley River Festival was created and developed in partnership by the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Desperate Men, and Phillippa Haynes. The biennial festival grew from strength to strength, delivering live programmes in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022, and a digital programme in 2020.
Crëwyd a datblygwyd yr Ŵyl gyntaf mewn partneriaeth gan Ardal o Harddwch Naturiol Eithriadol Dyffryn Gwy (AHNE), Desperate Men, a Phillippa Haynes. Tyfodd yr ŵyl a gynhelir bob dwy flynedd o nerth i nerth, gan gyflwyno rhaglenni byw yn 2014, 2016, 2018 a 2022, a rhaglen ddigidol yn 2020.
In 2021 the Wye Valley River Festival CIC was established. Alongside the biennial festival, the WVRF CIC now supports co-created cultural activity year-round. These exciting new initiatives are led by ‘Creative Community Champions’ in partnership with local people and organisations.
Yn 2021 sefydlwyd y CBC Gŵyl Afon Dyffryn Gwy. Ochr yn ochr â’r ŵyl eilflwydd, mae CBC WVRF bellach yn cefnogi ac yn gyrru rhaglen lawn o weithgareddau ymgysylltu cymunedol a chyd-greu, dan arweiniad ‘Hyrwyddwyr Cymunedol Creadigol’ o bob rhan o’r rhanbarth mewn partneriaeth â phobl a sefydliadau lleol.
WVRF in numbers
Across WVRF 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022 we have attracted over 133,000 audience members, actively engaging 19,550 people in outreach or participation projects with workshop attendees of over 10,400. Evaluation indicates that the economic impact of the four ‘live’ festivals generated more than £2,450,000 for the local area.
In 2020 we offered a re-imagined, mostly digital festival. This offered employment for 222 artists, providing creatives and specialists with 1207 paid days’ work during a time when most other work had evaporated. We commissioned and created 141 new pieces of work, plus 19 short films. We successfully delivered an online version of the conference that we planned in partnership with Articulture. For the period that the festival film content was available it was viewed or played 9,881 times, a total of 533,050 hours’ worth of entertainment.
Our team / Ein tÎm
Our team may be small and part-time, but we’re agile and ambitious, with the will to make extraordinary things happen!
Efallai bod ein tîm yn fach ac yn gweithio’n rhan-amser, ond rydym yn sionc ac mae gennym gysylltiadau da iawn, yn ogystal â’r ewyllys i wneud i bethau rhyfeddol ddigwydd.
CIC Team / TÎm CBC
Co-Director and Festival Director – Phillippa Haynes
Co-Director – Mijanou Blech
Co-Director and Company Manager – Rachel Buchanan
Social Media – Claudia Peake
2024 Festival team / TÎm gŴyl 2024
Creative Producer – Lindsay Stockley
Ensemble Creative Producer – Chez Dunford
Production Manager – Anthony Clements
Creative Community Champions: Artspace Cinderford, Katie Hanning, Olivia Preye
Schools Outreach – Think Creatively
Marketing and PR – Osborn PR
Print Design – Sam Charrington Design
Festival Photographers for 2024 – Emma Drabble and Gemma Wood
Advisory board / Bwrdd cynghori
Aileen Atkinson, Andrew Blake, Claudia Peake, Dawn Thompson, Deasy Bamford, Helen O’Kane, Jenny Singleton, Jim Bell & Roger Drury
Our partners / Ein partneriaid
We are extremely grateful to our funders, partners and communities, without whom the biennial festival and local projects would not happen.
Rydym yn hynod ddiolchgar i’n cyllidwyr a’n partneriaid, na fyddai’r ŵyl eilflwydd a’r prosiectau allgymorth cysylltiedig yn digwydd hebddynt.
Current Funding
Thank you very much to UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund, Arts Council England, Arts Council Wales, Welsh Government, the Wye Valley AONB Sustainable Development Fund, the Ashley Family Foundation, Monmouth Town Council, High Sheriff of Gloucestershire Fund, Cadw, Forest of Dean District Council and GAVO for funding for 2023-25.
The 2024 festival programme was supported by:
Mae rhaglen ddigwyddiadau WVRF wedi cael ei hariannu a’i chefnogi gan:
Arts Council England, Welsh Government, Monmouth County Council, Community Renewal Fund, Community Cohesion Fund, Sustainable Development Fund, Forestry England, Cadw, Wye Valley AONB, Redbrook Village Trust, Bridges Community Centre, Building Bridges, Savoy Youth Theatre, Diversity Arts Network (DAN), PriorMade, Artspace Cinderford, Phoenix Theatre Ross-on-Wye, Visit Dean Wye, Articulture, SFL Group, d&b audiotechnik UK, Launch Bikes Monmouth, Soundbeam Ltd, Simon Preston, Redbrook Arts Hub, Lydbrook Tump Fete, Desperate Men & PACTS Bristol and many more…
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