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The Arts

We held a TEDx event in the smallest pub in Cardiff. Here’s what happened…

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On a hot and sticky Saturday afternoon in May, the very first TEDxCanton event was held in our favourite micro-pub, St Canna’s! A tiny, very special audience attended the main event, and more watched through the day from the viewing party in the Printhaus, and even more caught the Facebook Live stream!

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We had SUCH an amazing day listening to incredible speakers with fascinating ideas. We also drank (a lot) of Pipe’s special ‘From Acorns’ IPA (inspirational pale ale…), ate delectable smoked aubergine canapes made from food waste, and were captivated by beautiful music.

And even on the day of the Royal Wedding AND the FA Cup Final, TEDxCanton was trending in Cardiff on Twitter! Over 600 people watched the live stream on Facebook too.

This week, TEDx have uploaded the talks to YouTube. Here’s a round-up of all the speakers so you can re-live the day all over again!

Sabrina Cohen-Hatton: Ordinary people who do extraordinary things

How do firefighters make decisions in emergency situations? Sabrina explores who protects the protectors, and how our brains work in high stress situations.

“Firefighters are the last thing standing between a dying breath and another day…. Whose job is it to prioritise firefighters’ safety, so they can prioritise yours?”

Follow her @sab_cohenhatton / sabrinacohenhatton.com

Stepheni Kays: Building cohesive communities, beyond the buzzwords

What do we mean by ’empowerment’, ‘citizenship’ and ‘cohesion’? Stepheni tells her story of being a refugee in Wales to explain why welcoming, inclusive communities are better for everyone.

Imagine if you had no alternative but to leave everything behind that is dear to you…. For people looking for a place of safety, citizenship means ‘my humanity is acknowledged’.

Follow her @madamekays

John Parker: Why trees are better than people

Did you know that trees in urban areas can improve child development, reduce violence and boost house prices? John tells us about ‘nature’s air-conditioners’, and why we shouldn’t take them for granted.

The benefits of trees to human health are massive. Pregnant women who spend time close to green infrastructure have bigger, healthier babies. Children exposed to green infrastructure at a young age show less signs of allergies. Patients in hospitals recover more quickly and are discharged faster if they have a view over green infrastructure than a hard landscape or no view at all.

Follow the London Tree Officers Association @LTOA33

Josh Doughty: From west Wales to west Africa

The kora is a 21-string lute-bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa, which Josh learned to play under the Master player Toumani Diabate. Hear his beautiful music and listen to the extraordinary story of how he came to play the instrument.

One of the rules of the kora is that you don’t play it at night by yourself, because the spirits come and listen and corrupt your soul. But if you don’t fear the spirits and you listen to them, they have things to teach you.

Follow him @joshdoughtykora / joshdoughtykora.co.uk

Becca Clark and Lia Moutselou: How we turned a city’s food waste into a supper club

How much food do you put in the bin? Becca and Lia are community food waste trailblazers. Together they run Wasteless Suppers, which bring together local food businesses, food lovers and passionate people to create positive change and reduce food waste.

Our Wasteless Suppers are a collaborative platform of local food businesses to create a food surplus feast. We collect food surplus and our chefs create beautiful dishes from food that otherwise would have been wasted.

Follow them: @greencityevents @liaskitchen @moutselia

Matt Callanan: How to change the world with £10

What would you do if you found a £10 on the floor? Matt introduces us to the We Make Good Happen project, a movement that promotes everyday good deeds.

On Groundhog Day, I hid a number of £10 notes around the city and put photos of their location on social media. It turned into a good deed treasure hunt.

Follow him @matt_4_good / @wemakegoodhappn / mattcallanan.co.uk

Keep up to date with future events on tedxcanton.co.uk and @tedx_canton!

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The People, Whats on

TEDxCanton speakers announced!

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As we (very excitedly) announced a few weeks ago, TEDxCanton is happening on 19 May! We’ve been announcing our AMAZING speakers and performers all week on Twitter, but here’s a roundup. The event is sold out, but tickets for the viewing party at Printhaus will be on sale next week!

Lia Moutselou and Becca Clark

Becca and Lia are community food waste trailblazers. Together they run Wasteless Suppers, which bring together local food businesses, food lovers and passionate people to create positive change and reduce food waste.
Lia is a self-taught chef and the director of Lia’s Kitchen, running pop-up food events, cooking classes and social enterprise projects around the world.
Becca is the director of Green City, a community of local green experts who are passionate about sustainable living and the environment, which offers fun, affordable and practical workshops, events and activities.

Follow them: @greencityevents @liaskitchen @moutselia

Stepheni Kays

Stepheni is an integration officer for the Swansea City of Sanctuary project. After leaving her home country in 2008, she was granted asylum and began studying a degree alongside her full-time job. She graduated in 2016, and began a Master’s in human rights shortly after.

Stepheni passionately believes that the effective integration of refugees and asylum seekers can make communities better for everyone, not just for new residents.

Follow her @madamekays

Sabrina Cohen-Hatton

Sabrina is an experimental psychologist and deputy assistant commissioner in the London Fire Brigade. Her unique perspective allowed her to research decision-making in places where most psychologists can’t – actual emergency incidents – from the viewpoint of the operational commander.
Sabrina’s work included fitting helmet-mounted cameras to capture incidents from commanders’ point of view, followed by cognitive debriefs afterwards to analyse their decision-making process. Her findings changed the way that rescuers respond to incidents.

Follow her @sab_cohenhatton / sabrinacohenhatton.com

Matt Callanan

Matt is a former worldwide DJ and music producer turned filmmaker. He is also the founder of kindness project We Make Good Happen.
The project started after meeting Bill Murray in George Clooney’s house (yep), and now he hides £10 notes in public places (#Tenner4Good), encouraging people to use the money for a random act of kindness.

Follow him @matt_4_good / @wemakegoodhappn / mattcallanan.co.uk

John Parker

John is the chair of the London Tree Officers Association, and an arboriculture and landscape manager. He promotes urban forests and the benefits of green spaces, from better social cohesion to improved child development.

Follow the London Tree Officers Association @LTOA33

 

Josh Doughty

Josh is a kora player, which is a 21-string lute-bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.

He started learning the instrument from age 8, and was spotted by the Master Kora musician, Toumani Diabate. In 2007 Josh was invited to Bamako, the capital of Mali, to study under Toumani in his home.

During this time Toumani became Josh’s teacher, mentor and friend. Josh would spend hours playing Kora with him, improving his skills and immersing himself in Mali culture.

Follow him @joshdoughtykora / joshdoughtykora.co.uk

Jon Vaughan-Davies

Jon is a lifelong magic fan. When a friend invited him to perform his fun blend of psychological illusion at an event in a pub one night, it led to many more pubs and many more nights. From predicting people’s choices to future headlines, he has a keen interest in why we want what we want and how understanding that can help us all to make better and more informed choices.

 

Lorna Prichard

Lorna, who will be hosting TEDxCanton, is a former TV news reporter now focusing on comedy. In the last year she has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, established her own comedy night ‘Howl’ in Tramshed and started a regular all-female comedy night – ‘Howling Women’ – thought to be the only one outside of London.

She’s also bilingual and also technically a world record holder having taken part in a 96-hour comedy marathon in Banbury.

Follow her @lorna_corner / @howlcomedy1

You can read more about the team of volunteers behind the organisation of TEDxCanton here!

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Whats on

Introducing TEDxCanton: the tiny event with BIG ideas

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On Saturday 19 May, a specially curated event will bring inspirational speakers and performers to the heart of Canton to share exciting new ideas and discussion.

Speakers include a firefighter who changed the way emergency services make decisions, and a man who believes trees can solve social problems. The talks aim to challenge, inspire and motivate the audience, and give them ideas to improve their lives and the world they live in.

Only 30 tickets will be available for the main event in local micropub St Canna’s, and there will be a viewing party down the road in the Printhaus with some extra community-led events. The talks will also be streamed online.

Event organiser James Karran said:

I opened St Canna’s to help create a place where people could meet, talk and drink great beer. Running an event licensed by the world-famous TED conferences is a fantastic way of bringing new ideas to our little community.

The three organisers and our team of volunteers have worked really hard to find the most inspiring speakers and amazing performers, and we can’t wait to reveal our full plans for the afternoon’s event!

Tickets will be released at midday on Tuesday 3 April. The price is £15, which includes four talks, two performances, two videos, a goody bag and a snack. Follow @tedx_canton for updates on ticket sales, speaker announcements and more exciting news!

About us

TEDxCanton is being organised by James, Hannah and Sara.


James Karran is the owner of St Canna’s and the holder of the TEDx license. He is a Baptist minister with a history of arranging unusual events, once running a ‘pub church’ project around Cardiff city centre. He opened St Canna’s in April 2017 with the intention of creating a space for the local community to meet, chat and drink great beer.

Hannah Johnson co-runs We Are Cardiff, an award winning volunteer-run blog that celebrates Cardiff’s alternative culture, arts scene and diverse communities. In her day job she’s a parliamentary researcher specialising in equality, human rights and poverty. She also writes for a human rights public education project, and works as a consultant for the UN Development Programme.

Sara Williams has managed corporate partnerships between businesses and the third sector for six years. She is incredibly passionate about bring local community and businesses together, and has led on sponsorship for the TEDxCanton.

About TEDx

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.

At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organised events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organised TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organised.

Sponsors

TEDxCanton is kindly supported by the Waterloo Foundation, and sponsored by a range of very generous local businesses and organisations:

Notes for editors

Contact
For more information about the event, contact tedxcantoncf@gmail.com.

About TED
TED is a nonprofit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today’s leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED’s annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

TED’s open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a “wish,” or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED or Instagram at https://instagram.com/ted.

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The Arts, Whats on

Cooooontenders, are you ready?! Celebrate Gladiators THIS Friday!

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Well, kinda. Splatch, the wonderful company that ran the Y Mor circus show in August on Penarth Pier, and Platform Cluedo, are celebrating the 90s TV show Gladiators this Friday 11th November!

Fluidity Freerun Academy and Splatch care coming together to explode the idea of cabaret, with fierce challenges, audience games and contemporary circus.  The event is being run to raise money for the wonderful organisation Performers Without Borders, which teaches performing arts to vulnerable children in countries of high child poverty.

Here’s Esther from Splatch to tell us more… 
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We’re celebrating the nostalgic Gladiator TV show using the newly opened freerun academy as a platform to create a high adrenaline night with circus spills and thrills, extreme athletic challenges and classic games. Bring your comfy shoes ready to move around and dance your tootsies off after. It runs 8pm until late with a DJ and drinks. 
And it’s all in aid of a charity that’s close to our hearts …..
Two Nofit State performers, Sam Goodburn and Esther Fuge will be sharing, teaching and creating the life changing experience and skills of circus with vulnerable and poverty stricken children in Nicaragua. They will be joining a team of 8 performers for a three month tour around schools and community groups to build confidence, develop empowerment and overcome social barriers.
Tickets
Tickets are only £5. What a bargain! Get them here: http://splatch.brownpapertickets.com/
However there are £10 and £15 tickets available if you an afford a larger contribution to donate to the cause. 
We recommend printing or sending a ticket to your mobile (at no extra cost) to be checked at the door.
Under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult.
Check out the Splatch Facebook page for more info: https://en-gb.facebook.com/cardiffsplatch/ 
The Arts, Whats on

Super secret giant guerilla cross-stitch street art is landing in Cardiff…. intrigued?!

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Oh, this is very exciting! With needles, thread and grand ambitions at their disposal, cross-stitchers of Cardiff have been plotting a super secret street art project that they plan to unleash at this year’s Made In Roath arts festival……

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Whether you are cross stitch crazy, mad about the arts or just looking for something different at the Made In Roath week, look no further! All kinds of cross stitch lovers from the local community have been working hard behind-the-scenes to bring a new and exciting project to the streets called Crossing Paths.

The Crossing Paths team have been meeting regularly in secret, in order to create a series of giant cross stitch street art that will appear overnight just in time for Made In Roath Festival.

As Becca Clark at Green City Events explains:

“We had no idea that so many people wanted to create street art and it seems we have found a really accessible and unique medium – giant cross stitch! Plus, I think the secretive, guerrilla style group was a factor!”

Every piece has been made by a member of the community using different recycled materials such as t-shirts, tights, naturally dyed sheets and even old bicycle wheels. The aim of the project is to bring colour and art to the streets of Roath and Adamsdown using the resources within the community. It aims to create awareness of the beautiful community gardens in the area that can sadly be overlooked at times.

People from all different backgrounds and parts of Cardiff have joined forces and contributed their own personal pieces of art. Ten year-old Osian Allsopp explains why he wanted to get involved:

“I wanted to learn a new way of sewing and I had good fun experimenting. I can’t wait to tell people; I’ve been very good at keeping this a secret!”.

On Saturday 8th October, everyone involved in the project will come together to cross-stitch ‘bomb’ the Plasnewydd and Adamsdown community gardens and surrounding streets. There will be an array of designs that all relate to what you may find in a garden; plants, wildlife, garden tools and maybe even a Pokémon or two!

The guerilla stitchers tell us more:

How did the Crossing Paths project idea originally begin?

“After a trip to Valencia where the streets were just bursting with colourful art I thought it would be fun to brighten up our own streets back home. A couple of weeks and a sneaky Facebook group later we had gathered a group of keen cross stitchers to make our dreams a reality!” – Becca Clark, Green City Events.

What do you hope to achieve from this project?

“We hope that people stumble across our unique pieces of street art during Made in Roath and maybe see a part of their everyday surroundings in a new light. For those keen to see them all, you’ll find a map on the Green City Events website, you can follow the path of plants and wildlife and in turn discover three beautiful community gardens. We hope this is just the start of a new community project and that others are inspired to create random acts of art!”

What do the crossing paths team think of the giant cross stitch street art?

“The perception of cross-stitch needs to taken out of the parlour and onto the streets; nothing like a bit of subversiveness to challenge the every-day!” – Dorcas Frazer

“As a prolific stitcher, I was thrilled to be part of Crossing Paths. Not only was it a great opportunity to meet other Cardiff Creative types it was so much fun stitching up giant cross stitches” – Charlotte,Twin Made

Why will Crossing Paths be a great addition to the Made In Roath week?

“The made in roath festival is all about bringing art out into the community, be that in schools, on street corners, in community gardens, and anywhere else we can find. CDF Cross Stitchers & Green City Events have done just that, with the unexpected element of stumbling upon their work whilst we wander the streets we think we know so well. We can’t wait to discover what’s on our doorstep!”

MORE INFO – CROSSING PATHS STREET ART PROJECT

Dates:
On display from Sunday 9th October – Sunday 16th October

Locations:
Mackintosh Community Gardens – 38 Keppoch St, Cardiff CF24 3JW
Plasnewydd Community Gardens – 5 Shelley Walk, Cardiff CF24 3DX
Adamsdown Community Gardens – Moria Terrace, Adamsdown, CF24 0EJ
And the surrounding streets.

CROSS-STITCH ‘BOMB’

Date: Saturday 8th October 6.30pm

Location: Secret meeting place – please contact Becca at Green City events to get involved.

We Are Cardiff Press

We Are Cardiff Press – debut book pre-orders and launch party announced!!

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Well, this is so blimmin’ exciting that we’re tempted to write this whole post in CAPITAL LETTERS, but we’ll refrain for the sake of your eyes!

Our long-awaited new venture, the We Are Cardiff Press, is officially launching on Thursday 5 November 2015 , AND AND AND we are taking pre-orders for our very first book, The 42b, which is an anthology of short stories and illustrations based around a fictional Cardiff bus route.

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You can be one of the first people to order the book by heading over to our Indiegogo page – the first 125 people to order will get their name printed in the back cover of the book! Other rewards include limited edition prints, and a place on a We Are Cardiff writing workshop.

Pre-order the book here: http://igg.me/at/wac-press/x/332021

Our launch party on 5th November is going to be part of Sŵn Festival, and will feature some dramatic readings from the book as well as a couple of spangly new Cardiff bands. The 42b Launch party Facebook event is here – make sure you come along for a drink and a dance!

Our debut book

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‘The 42b’ is an anthology of short stories and illustrations based around a fictional Cardiff bus route.

Each story follows a different character as they get on and off the number 42b bus. It’s a series of warped kaleidoscopic reflections of the Cardiff that we live in today.

From wrestlers to adulterers, pensioners to murderers, the passengers on the 42b exist in a city of different realities, where everyday life brings the threat of grisly mutation, and citizens are bound by their occupations.

Although self-contained, the plots weave in and out of each other to form one whole piece of fiction: a journey through life, death, epiphanic moments, shopping bags full of intestines, and all the extras that can come with a bus pass.

Eleven writers and illustrators created the book, which is the first publication for We Are Cardiff Press. All books are beautifully designed and made with high quality materials  to ensure that each copy is a piece of art that you’ll want to keep forever. There will also be limited edition prints of the illustrations available.

The Press

We Are Cardiff Press is a small, non-profit collective, publishing literature and art from creators in the city. We’ll be crafting collectable, limited edition runs of beautiful books, from literature to photography, and illustration to personal storytelling.

Each book will be a special, high quality piece that you’ll want to keep and read over and again. We’ll be working with the city’s best writers, photographers and illustrators to tell you the stories that make up Cardiff. These gorgeous publications will be sold online and in local outlets.

Founder of the Press and editor of the book, Hana Johnson, explains her reason for setting up the Press:

“I wanted to create the Press to showcase the city’s incredible creative energy by publishing work as a legacy to the writing and artistic talent of Cardiff.

“There’s a lot of creative talent here – writers, illustrators, photographers, and I want to harness that and make collectible books about Cardiff. It’s an exciting, vibrant place to live, with a long history and diverse population, and we’re looking forward to creating more books to celebrate that.”

We Are Cardiff Press is a non-profit small press, and all profits from sales will be put back into the organisation to fund new books, and run creative writing workshops.

For more info on the Press, get in touch with Hana – hana@wearecardiffpress.co.uk

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Whats on

LACED 2 at the Boiler House – this Sunday!

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IMG_0404 LACED is all about bringing together people with a shared love for the ‘sneaker game’ and all that it represents. This Sunday, the Boiler House graffiti project plays host to the second of these special very special events, from 12pm until late.
Whether you’re into trainers or not, get down there and check out the amazing line up of music, shops and food.
Expect sneaker stalls, competitions, clothing, live graffiti, breakdancing and music.
There will also be:
  •  a pop-up barbers shop from Sleep When You’re Dead offering fresh cuts to all for a discounted price, and Captain Cats beard oil helping tame the wildest of facial fuzz;
  • the cool guys at Punk Bikes, who will be bringing along a range of their wares, and also running a sprints competition for anyone to try;
  • silent film screening of ‘Style Wars’ by OnerSigns;
  • tasty grub will be coming from Pieminister, Dirty South BBQ and Bake my Day cake specialists and vegan fare; and
  • an on site bar selling Pipes ales, Red Stripe, processo by the bottle, shorts and soft drinks for children.

As well as all of that, Cardiff Geek Party will be bringing a load of old Sega and Nintendo consoles, and they’ll be running competitions and bringing back a whole load of nostalgia through the day.
So dust off your freshest kicks, rock that Kangol hat, bring along the kids and join LACED events for the coolest Sunday ever!

Check out their Facebook event  for more info!

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The City, Whats on

Can you dig it? Canton community garden opening party!

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The bees were partying this morning at the official opening of Canton’s community garden! Canton Grows Wild are a group of residents who are turning various plots around Canton into community gardens, with the permission of the council.

Seed bombs, bee hotels and cake were the order of buzzness (sorry, couldn’t resist)this morning, and the garden is already looking great. If you’d like to get muddy, get yourself down to Lansdowne Road, just near the pub, at 10am every Saturday.

Check out Canton Grows Wild’s Facebook page or Twitter to keep up to date with how the garden grows. If you’d like to find out more, get in touch with community environmental activist and all-round local hero Gareth Sims garethcsims@gmail.com.

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Photos by Hana & James