University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) has joined forces with Swansea Council to bring the ambitious, marine-themed Coleridge in Wales Festival to Swansea for the first time.
The festival sees a band of artists, performers and storytellers travel the length and breadth of Wales, following in the footsteps of world-renowned poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge set off on a tour of Wales back in 1794, with dreams of founding a fairer society, discovering along the way an enduring inspiration in the unique Welsh landscape which went on to fuel some of his most important works.
UWTSD and Swansea Council will host this year’s festival on Friday May 20 and Saturday May 21 in and around the Prince of Wales Dock through the kind permission of the Associated British Port. The area is the site for the University’s new Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter, which is due to open in 2018.
Festival highlights include a replica medieval sailing ship which will be berthed at the Prince of Wales Dock, themed around Coleridge’s epic and mysterious seafaring poem, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Throughout SA1 there will also be live music, school and public tours of the ship, poetry readings, seminars and, for extra visual spectacle, a large block of ice will be installed close to the ship to act as a conversation piece around climate change.
Jane Davidson, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Sustainability and Engagement at University of Wales Trinity Saint David, said: “We are delighted to be joint sponsor of the Swansea and Coleridge in Wales Festival, bringing culture and regeneration together with the ship coming to the Prince of Wales dock. This is a great opportunity to be part of an event celebrating Swansea’s maritime links in the heart of the city’s dock area where we are developing our Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter to create a learning-centred neighbourhood for the University and for our academic, business and cultural partners.
“The University is keen to act as an engine for growth and prosperity across the region aiming to attract through its activities at SA1, both inward investment and collaboration with commercial enterprise and creative industry partners.”
Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Development, Enterprise and Regeneration, said: “As a city that’s steeped in maritime history, it’s fitting that Swansea should welcome a medieval ship to help celebrate the Coleridge in Wales Festival 2016. From Dylan Thomas to Kingsley Amis, Swansea also has a proud tradition of cultivating and inspiring some of the greatest wordsmiths the world has ever known, so this is a further opportunity to celebrate yet another revered writer. We’re delighted to be supporting an event that will be entertaining and educational for local residents and visitors to Swansea.
“The University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s Waterfront Innovation Quarter will combine with our city centre regeneration plans, as well as with other projects, to lead to the biggest changes in Swansea’s landscape for many decades as we set about developing a world class retail, leisure and academic destination.”
The Coleridge in Wales Festival is part of an on-going drive by UWTSD to create a vibrant neighbourhood within the SA1 area. The Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter will include purpose-built facilities for learning, teaching and applied research as well as social, leisure and wider recreational spaces. The long-term goal is to create an inclusive learning environment which is situated in a modern waterfront location with easy access to the city centre.
As part of this regeneration UWTSD will also be the main sponsors of Wales’s first city centre triathlon, Activity Wales Events’ Swansea Triathlon, which will see around 1,000 competitors take to the water and to the roads of the city centre on Sunday, June 5. Swansea Council will also help facilitate planning for this event.
The council recently appointed development managers for the St David’s and Civic Centre development sites. Regeneration could lead to a new retail street, a new restaurant and café quarter, a state-of-the-art cinema, an indoor arena, hotels, town houses and apartments.
Visit http://coleridgefestival.org for further details about the festival.
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