Not to be confused with channel four’s popular constructed reality drama, Made in Chelsea, Made in Roath is a ten-day festival that celebrates the creative endeavours of the Roath community. The festival, now in its fourth year, has been bigger and better than ever before with interventions, installations, events and exhibitions across Roath and into the wider city centre as a whole.

For my first foray into the festival I joined two friends to meet artists and other members of the community in the uncharacteristic Welsh afternoon sun at the end of Plasnewydd Street for ‘Close the Road.’

Close the Road

With a man wrapped in black bin bags lying in the centre of the road, it was with some trepidation that we approached the small number of stalls at the end of the street. But the man and his entourage of curious red-nosed quasi-clowns were a slight distraction from the main event: artists from the community engaging with their neighbours through the medium of art.

It was an enjoyable couple of hours with the artists who were keen to show us how they worked and it gave me a great opportunity to meet people who lived and worked in Roath. We started at the lumen prints stall. The artist, Sera Wyn Walker, was fantastic at getting everyone involved and although (by her own admission) she didn’t have a clue how the process worked, was so captivating that people were queuing at her stall to get stuck in.

Lumen prints at Sera Wyn Walker’s stall

The badge making stall was next on our list. The whole experience made me question my life somewhat as a rather bemused 7 year old girl, complete with chocolate smeared face, gave me a look of utter reproach as I agonised over the best way to arrange cut-outs of National Geographic to make the perfect badge. It seems I didn’t take much persuasion to regress to the gleeful state of an over-enthusiastic toddler. But the badge making was great for everybody as it wasn’t taxing and brought people together in such a way that communication was free and easy.

Having collected my inspired artwork from Sera – I like to call it ‘Petal and Leaf’ (image to follow later) – we headed up to The Attic, an exhibition space on the corner of Plasnewydd Street, in a building used primarily by a mental health charity. The exhibition was wonderfully intimate, located at the top of a rickety staircase which only served to exemplify the romance of the space. The art inside explored themes of mental illness, grief and loneliness through varying mediums. We were lucky enough to be provided with a comprehensive guide that explained the motivation behind each piece; perhaps some would argue that this veered into the realms of ‘spoon-fed art’ but I found it elevated the art by facilitating a more meaningful insight into the artist’s mind.

From Me To You is a deliciously eccentric idea. Behind the ubiquitous facades of two terraced houses were concealed the most beautiful stories. The owners of these two houses, Gail Howard and Sara Annwyl had been lifelong friends before unexpectedly moving in opposite one another. They decided to set up a bucket and pulley system to pass recycled letters back and forth to explain how they were feeling. These letters expressed guilt, depression, helplessness, friendship and every other emotion. I could have read the few that were available in The Attic over and over again. To be treated to such an insight into something so intimate was particularly humbling.

For our final visits, and perhaps my favourite part of the day, we headed along to two open houses. The first of which was situated on Connaught Road where we met Nikita McBride, a third year student at Howard Gardens, Cardiff School of Art and Design who was exhibiting her work alongside her friend’s, Michele Mulhall. This was what you might call a ‘warts and all’ exhibition as we were free to roam around the entirety of this small ground floor flat which was covered with art. The canvases themselves were so large and dominating in the small rooms that you felt they were enveloping you. Nikita’s work was visceral and gruesome in its appearance – as if she had grabbed hold of an animal’s entrails and hurled them at the board – which suited the themes of decay and degradation perfectly. Chatting to Nikita was great, especially as she gave us an insight into what it’s like to create such pieces; her sketchbooks dotted around the house were also fantastically self-bearing.

Artist Nikita McBride with her favourite piece of work

Roath Court Road is home to Hilary Roberts, though her neighbour Jackie Shackson was also there to exhibit her work. It was Jackie who greeted us in the hallway to explain how she created the collagraph prints that adorned the walls. It was a pleasure to see how enthusiastic she was about her chosen methods that were inspired by her studies of Welsh folklore. By cutting out sections of drinks cartons and etching patterns onto them she was able to create an intricate image reminiscent of patchwork quilts. Hilary’s work was displayed in her dining room, which provided an excellent exhibition space with stark white walls and impressively high ceilings. She specialises in ceramics, from tiny birthday candle holders to large salad bowls. Her decorative street scene whose elaborate design was akin to a Byzantine masterpiece or classical architectural frieze was clearly technically impressive while also managing to evoke a whimsical childish curiosity.

What was particularly enjoyable was our conversation with Jackie and Hilary about the community they lived in. They told us that along their street were a number of artistic people who all knew one another; as a result there was a real sense of community in the area where creativity was a key element.

Jackie said of the open house event: ” What a lovely weekend, Such a great experience. I think the best thing was talking to so many lovely people about art.If I were to visit a gallery I might only speak to one or two people but having them come to you means you get to chat to everyone! Brilliant fun.

What Made in Roath gave me was far more valuable than just an insight into the work and lives of artists. It gave me an insight into a community that does exist which, as a student for the last three years, was seemingly obscured from my blinkered view. It was a happy coincidence that such a festival whose premise is so in accord with that of The Pick should fall at the same time I finally open up my laptop to begin. A festival like Made in Roath should be embraced and celebrated, it’s certainly left me eager for the arrival of its sister festival, Made in Spring.