From 15th – 19th October, Neath Arts Festival returns and celebrates arts and culture in venues across the town centre. Highlights include Dame Siân Phillips who will be in conversation about her life and career, and former Super Furry Animal frontman Gruff Rhys playing a special solo set.
Following the theme of ‘Dramatic Icons’ – a nod to the Dramatic Heart of Wales, by which Neath Port Talbot is often referred – the festival encourages locals and tourists to discover the creative threads that tie this region together.
With live music in the Duke, the Gwyn Hall, and St David’s Church, performances and workshops at Neath Little Theatre, talks from authors and artists at the Town Hall, the Festival offers a whole host of family-friendly activities and experiences.
What’s more, the Festival sees the return of a Museum to Neath in the form of a pop-up Museum at the Orchard Street Community Centre. The heritage exhibition will invite visitors to gain an insight into the proud history of Neath town. The museum will also facilitate workshops for children in local primary schools, ensuring enhanced access to arts and culture for younger generations.
As 2025 is the year of the Richard Burton Centenary, Neath Arts Festival also aims to inspire a new generation of performers and will celebrate the legacy of creative voices from the Neath Port Talbot region, particularly in the Belonging to Pontrhydyfen exhibition in Studio 40, led by the Bont Burton Group, and the Richard Burton Portrait Masterclass by Burt Evans.
Organised by a team of passionate volunteers, Neath Arts Festival promotes cultural engagement in Neath. It is run by the community, for the community, ensuring that access to the arts and culture is available for everyone.
Roger Williams, the director of this year’s Festival, said: “Neath Arts Festival is now in its third year, and we are proud to build on the success of our previous two events and encourage even more people to experience a wide variety of culture.
“The festival is an opportunity for the community to listen to celebrated writers such as Joe Dunthorne and Welsh book of the year winner Gwenno Gwilym, visit an array of art and photography exhibitions, experience musical and theatrical performances such as acclaimed new play “Martin Decker: DAD”, and learn new skills at painting, singing and acting workshops.
“We hope the festival will inspire, educate and entertain. People often complain there aren’t enough arts events in Neath but our five day festival will prove them wrong. There’s a creative passion in this area that runs naturally through the community. Our festival is about giving the arts a focus and introducing people to work they would not otherwise have encountered. It is a celebration of creativity but also a celebration of all this is good about the town and the people who live here.”
