Looking back at Ghost Parade

We’ve just passed the halfway point in our nesting in Ebbw Vale and there has hardly been time to breath (let alone blog). But here’s a look back at our breathtaking arrival in Ebbw Vale as part of the highly charged Ghost Parade.

Ebbw Vale steelworks, originally Ebbw Vale Ironworks, first opened its doors in 1789. The works represented not only a secure job for successive generations, but also a focal point around which the community could gather.

In 2002 the steelworks closed; the occasion was marked by the remaining workforce who staged a march out of the gates accompanied by members of the wider community.
Adain Avion arrived in Ebbw Vale 10 years, almost to the day, after the closure of the Steel Works. The Ghost Parade, commissioned by Adain Avion and created by Stefhan Caddick symbolically marched the people of Ebbw Vale back on to the site of the works in order to claim the site back for the town.

Our community reporters in Ebbw Vale are married couple Jane and James Carver. James started his working life as an apprentice in the steelworks, before joining the fire service. Jane works at Coleg Gwent where she co-ordinates the Welsh Baccalaureate programme.

Back in the present, here’s today’s programme:

Thursday 5 July

• 10.00 – 11.00 Spinning class
• 12.00 – 14.00 Book Club and Picnic, Library Services
• 12.00 – 13.30 Cold Rolling, open rehearsal Tanja Råman & Ballet Cymru
• 15.00 – 16.00 SMS: Steel Men Stories, video installation Owen Sheers & Christopher Morris
• 16.30 – 17.30 Made by Hand, performance Head4Arts & Joanna Young
• 19.30 – 20.00 Terminal Velocity, performance Citrus Arts & Valleys Gymnastics Academy
• 20.00 – 21.00 VGSA, Valleys Gymnastics Subterranean Academy Architectural Reimagining of a Bunker