Gerald Conn has worked as artist in residence with Engage Cymru and Pen-y-Dre School to digitally bring to life paintings from the collection of Cyfarthfa Museum in Merthyr. The project called ‘Letting in the Light’ involved pupils from the school who chose paintings donated by the Contemporary Art Society for Wales and created animation sequences for their 80th anniversary of the society.

The premiere of Gritty’s second film based on Die Fledermaus made for Welsh National Opera was launched at the Millennium Centre, Cardiff. A WNO singer performed extracts from the opera and pupils from the schools involved attended and the film was screened accompanied by a live oboe performance.

Gritty’s new app, using children’s animation on the subject of Climate Change is now available on the App Store. Funded by the Arts Council of Wales ‘You’re Getting Warmer!’ uses the ideas and animation of young people from the Aber Valley and Riverside, Cardiff to explore what they know about the subject of global warming and includes quiz elements to create an educational tool that can be used in schools.

Gritty Realism will be premiering ‘Striking Stories’ a new film about the 1984-1985 miner’s strike tomorrow night at Blackwood Miner’s Institute. The film is based on the reminiscences of miner’s wives and was made by young people from Senghenydd Youth Drop in Centre and St Martin’s School, Caerphilly. The film was funded by the Arts Council of Wales and will be screened alongside ‘The Man Who Was’ based on a true story about a man from Aberbargoed that changed the course of the Second World War.

The Sweeney Teach animated film, made by Gritty Realism working in conjunction with Welsh National Opera, will be given its world premiere on Friday at Wales Millennium Centre. `The film was made with four South Wales schools with over 160 children involved.