This project demonstrated SPW’s capacity to support a group of artists working collaboratively to create a prestigious collector’s item and touring exhibition. It raised the profile of the organisation nationally and internationally as well as contributing to the standing of Swansea in a wider creative context.
To mark the 50th anniversary of Dylan Thomas’ death, twelve Wales-based Printmakers selected and responded to Dylan Thomas’ poem, ‘especially when the October wind’ – a poem with particular resonance to the Swansea landscape, the town of his birth and source of inspiration.
Contributing Artists | Sheila Clark | Lucy Donald | Elissa Evans | Jackie Ford | Sally Hands | Sarah Hopkins | Sue Kelsall | Ruth Parmiter | Judith Stroud | Ceri Thomas | Peter Visscher | Alan Williams
Each artist produced a limited edition [100] of their print to create a boxed set of twelve prints. The prints were printed on specially commissioned paper from the Wookey Hole Papermill, Somerset, with the paper moulds supplied by Aimes & Son Ltd., Coxheath, Kent. The boxed sets are custom-made and handcrafted with embossed copper motifs of Dylan Thomas’ signature made at the Fine Bindery, Northampton.
Following a preview show at the Welsh Assembly’s Wales Week in the Theatre du Residence Palace, Brussels, an exhibition of the prints was launched by Aeronwy Thomas, Dylan Thomas’s daughter in 2003 at the Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea
Further exhibitions followed throughout Wales, including the National Eisteddfod in Meifod in August 2003 and The National Library of Wales in January 2004 and was on display in Hay as part of that year’s Hay Festival of Literature.
The set was selected for display by the Welsh Assembly Government in their newly opened offices in The Chrysler Building, New York, USA. The prints were on display for one year and were featured as part of the St David’s Day celebrations in New York City in March 2004.
More recently, in 2007, as part of a cultural exchange, the prints were exhibited in Alhambra Arts Centre, Lahore, Pakistan. A set of the prints was given to the Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea and is now part of the permanent collection. The prints are on display in the main hall.
Special Hors Commerce editions (ISBN 0 9544976 1 9) are in the collections of the six UK and Ireland National Libraries: The British Library; The Bodleian Library, Oxford; The University Library, Cambridge; The National Library of Scotland; The Library of Trinity College, Dublin; The National Library of Wales and in 2013 was added to the Poetry Collection of the University of Buffalo, New York.
Argraffiad Dylan Thomas | 2003 | Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru
Dangosodd y prosiect hwn allu GAA i gefnogi grwˆ p o arlunwyr sy’n cyd weithio er mwyn creu eitem glodfawr i gasglwr ac arddangosfa deithiol. Codwyd proffil y mudiad yn genedlaethol ac yn rhyngwladol gan godi statws Abertawe mewn cyd destun creadigol ehangach
More About the Boxed Sets
The twelve signed prints are loosely bound in a tejo green handcrafted box with embossed copper lettering and cinnamon lining, made at the Fine Bindery, Northampton.
Printed on acid free cotton paper, commissioned from the Wookey Hole Papermill, Somerset, with the paper moulds supplied by Aimes & Son Ltd., Coxheath, Kent, the paper weighs 425 gsm and carries the watermarks SPW and GAA, abbreviations for the Swansea Print Workshop and its Welsh name Gweithdy Argraffu Abertawe.
All prints are fully authenticated and the box contains a colophon signed by Aeronwy Thomas, Dylan Thomas’ daughter.
Aeronwy Thomas, Dylan Thomas’ daughter signing the colophons
In addition there is a special colophon insert containing a copy of Thomas’s poem, and an essay entitled ‘A Momentary Peace’ by the writer, poet and translator, Malcolm Parr, in which he explores the links between genius, imagination and the written word. Malcolm Parr, who also opened the exhibition of the twelve prints in The Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea, has individually signed each of these inserts, as has Andrew Davies, Assembly Member, Welsh National Assembly, who wrote the foreword to this unique booklet.
All text is fully bilingual, in English and Welsh.
A limited number of the box sets and a number of individual prints are available to purchase (subject to availability). To view the prints and purchase please visit our online shop here.
This exhibition is also available to tour. The Touring Package includes: a framed set of twelve prints |a boxed set for display purposes |beautifully designed, bilingual catalogue for sale | illustrative material for wall display | PowerPoint presentation Please visit Touring Exhibitions here.
The publication (copyright SPW) which accompanies the exhibition can be viewed here and is available to purchase.
This project took place in 2003 and was made possible through funding from the Arts Council of Wales.
