School Children Get Creative To Celebrate History, Heritage and Home
Pupils from Aberdare Town Church in Wales Primary School have created a beautiful new stained glass window artwork for display at St Elvan’s Church.
The Cynefin Window was created in partnership with local artist Judith Beecher and members of the St Elvan’s Community Heritage Trust Heritage Research Group as part of St Elvan’s ongoing National Lottery Heritage Fund and Pen y Cymoedd Community Fund supported project. It is the first in a series of projects for all ages that the church is undertaking over the coming months, as part of their new Cosmos, Collieries & Cynefin project.
St Elvan’s stained glass windows were the inspiration for the piece, together with the Welsh word ˋCynefin’, a term defined by Curriculum for Wales as 'the place where we feel we belong, where the people and landscape around us are familiar, and the sights and sounds are reassuringly recognisable.’
The children took photographs of significant buildings in Aberdare, to celebrate the town’s industrial past and heritage. They also created houses they would like to live in from their imagination. The window also makes a statement on the importance of protecting the environment, with an array of insects and animals featured in the design.
Artist Judith Beecher said, “I would like to thank The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Pen Y Cymoedd Community Fund and the Shared Prosperity Fund for their support and Clare Werrett and her staff at Aberdare Town Church In Wales Primary School for their faith in our ideas.”
Clare Werrett, Headteacher at Aberdare Town Church in Wales Primary School, said, “We are so proud of our pupils who have used such creativity to produce this beautiful work of art.”
Fr Robert Davies, vicar in the Cynon Uchaf Ministry Area with pastoral responsibility for St Elvan’s, said, “The children have worked so hard to create a really brilliant piece of art which so beautifully ties together the faith, history and aspirations of our town.
It has always been important to us that whilst celebrating and remembering our past, we look to, and embrace, our future. Projects like this play such an important role in that.”
The Cynefin Window is on display at St Elvan's and available to view daily, Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Additional information on all of St Elvan’s heritage work is available at www.stelvans.com/heritage-activities