The Arts
Artists have been drawn to Bardsey for many years and the Trust has welcomed numerous artists in residence to the island, these range from writers to painters to mixed media.
This spring and summer of 2024, Bardsey Island Trust is offering Artist in Residence opportunities on Enlli. We are seeking emerging and established artists from any discipline with a connection to Gwynedd, north Wales. Their work must respond to the Welsh language, culture, ecology, environment, or historical heritage of Gwynedd or Ynys Enlli. Selected artists will be invited to spend up to 4 weeks on the island, in self-catering accommodation with a studio.
DEADLINE 29th February 2024.
For an application pack, or If you have any questions before making an application, please get in touch. celfenlli@gmail.com
Funded by the Gwynedd Council (SPF) Culture fund.
We've featured a snapshot of photographers, artists and writers who have been inspired by Bardsey Island.
Ben Porter
Ben Porter lived on Bardsey from the age of 11 with his family who worked the farm until 2018. Ben has been photographing the wildlife of the island since arriving and has featured in a number of national photography competitions, coming Runner Up in the RSPCA photography competition 2014, with Highly Commended and Shortlisted images in the 2014 British Wildlife Photography Awards. His images have also featured in various publications, such as Birdwatch, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Natur Cymru and British Birds.
Christine Evans
The poet Christine Evans has been associated with the island since the sixties, when she married into the last of Bardsey’s farming families. She and her family live and work on the island for much of the year. She has published five volumes of poetry: Looking Inland, Falling Back, Cometary Phases, Island of Dark Horses, which is based entirely on her life on Bardsey and Dreaming the Candle.
Some lucky visitors to the island may catch one of her poetry readings on the island during the summer.
Jo Porter
Jo lived and worked on Bardsey from 2007-2018 and enjoys using raw materials such as wool and willow from the island to make useful and beautiful pieces. Jo makes wool rugs, willow baskets and numerous items from flets, these are available to buy from their shop on the island or through her website.
Emma Stansfield
Emma lives at the Bird Observatory on Bardsey Island with her husband Steve, Observatory Warden, and son Connor. Emma studied Wildlife Illustration at the Carmarthenshire College of Art and Technology and completed an MA in Natural History Illustration at the Royal College of Art in 2001.
Kim Atkinson
Wildlife artist Kim Atkinson lived on the island for the first seven years of her life and again for ten years in the 1980s and ‘90s. Her work has been exhibited all over Wales and England and her artistic reputation has brought her invitations to work in many parts of the world, including Australia and Poland. Many of the goods produced for the Bardsey shop bear the unmistakable images created by Kim.
Brenda Chamberlain
The artist, writer and poet Brenda Chamberlain lived at Carreg from 1947 to 1962. It was an especially productive period in her life. During this period, she twice won the Gold Medal for Art at the National Eisteddfod. Some of the murals she painted can still be seen on the walls of Carreg, and several of her paintings and drawings are inspired by the island, as is her volume Tide Race, Tide Race: 1962, now in its fifth printing - Seren Books, March 2019.
A comprehensive Education Pack has been developed and can be downloaded here.
R S Thomas
The poet R S Thomas was vicar of Aberdaron before his retirement in 1978, when he moved a couple of miles down the coast to Rhiw. He was closely associated with the island, especially in the early days of the Trust.
Dilys Cadwalader
The first woman to win the Crown at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1953 for her long poem, Y Llen, Dilys Cadwaladr spent several years on Bardsey in the 1940s, as farmer and school teacher to the island’s children.
Literary Residence
A Welsh language literary residency was offered for the first time in 2002 in collaboration with the Welsh Academy. Fflur Dafydd, poet, scriptwriter and columnist spent six weeks on the island, working on a collection of poetry and prose, as well as contributing several articles about the residency to Welsh magazines and newspapers. Her play entitled 'Hugo', produced by Sgript Cymru, was inspired by her island experiences.
Artists in Residence
The first artist in residence scheme, organised in collaboration with Artworks Wales and Oriel Mostyn, began in 1999. Artists spend several weeks on the island, producing work which is later exhibited on the mainland.
Since 2006 Carole Shearman has worked on Bardsey as a long term artist in resident and encourages those staying on the island to join workshops to create art work inspired by the island.
