Urdd Eisteddfod 2025 first day winners announced
The first winners of the opening day of the Urdd Eisteddfod have been announced. The Urdd got underway yesterday (Monday) with tens of thousands of people from across Wales expected at the event, to celebrate talent of the nation's young people, Welsh language and culture.
And the first winners of Eisteddfod yr Urdd Dur a Môr, Parc Margam a'r Fro 2025, were announced as Chloe Swinburn from the Flint and Wrexham region - as Main Artist - and Lleucu Haf Thomas from Pembrokeshire as the winner of the Art, Design and Technology Medal.
The ceremony this year is sponsored by Elw Park-Jones Foundation. The Main Artist receives the Young Artist Scholarship of £2,000 thanks to the generosity of the late Dr Dewi Davies and his family for the most promising work from an individual year 10 to 19-year-old categories.
Chloe is a 22-year-old mature student studying Art and Design at Coleg Cambria. Her ambition is to continue studying art at university, pursuing a degree in Illustration, with the hope of a lifelong career in the art industry.
Chloe said: 'My journey through mainstream education has come with many challenges due to complex personal circumstances. It resulted in having to take time away from my studies and I returned to Coleg Cambria at the age of 19 to resit my GCSEs. My decision to pursue art and design stems from my personal relationship with art and its ability to express what is difficult to convey with words; a struggle I faced growing up.
'Embarking on the foundation art and design program allowed me to enhance my ability to express and illustrate narratives. Along the way, I discovered various artists who have further inspired my creative process. Illustrators such as Angela Harding, Aubrey Beardsley, and Arthur Rackham are particularly significant to me; their work has encouraged me to incorporate elements of storytelling and composition into my own creations.'
The adjudicators for the competition were Bethan Ash and Scott Keenan from Queen Street Gallery and Owain Sparnon. In their adjudication, they said: "The standard of work was high, and several competitors deserved to be in the top five." The three decided on Chloe's work, noting: "The starting point for Chloe's project was a trip around North Wales, where she visits different beaches, chapels and galleries. She was particularly fascinated by the cemetery on Llandysilio Island.
"Among the gravestones, she found the names of local residents, some who had been injured in the war and most notably, the writer Sir Albert Evans-Jones (Cynan). Chloe was inspired by his poem 'Aberdaron' and depicted the landscapes described in his poem."
The Art, Design and Technology Medal is awarded for the most promising work from amongst the national winners of all the year 10 to 19-year-old categories.
This year's judges are Siwan Thomas, Edwina Williams-Jones, Hannah Evans, Owain Sparnon, Laura Thomas, Betsan Haf Evans, Katie Louise Trick, Rhian Stone and Robyn Tomos.
Lleucu Haf Thomas, this year's winner is 16 years old and a year 11 pupil at Ysgol Aberteifi. A regular competitor with the Urdd in the Art, Design Technology and music competitions she loves the expressive arts. Her winning piece has been created entirely from hay.
She said: "I am proud to be a girl from the countryside, and what better than to create art out of nature. I believe it is vitally important to keep the old traditions alive and I'm so grateful to Aeres James from Pembrokeshire for introducing me to the art of weaving back in 2020.
"I now have this extraordinary skill which gives me such great pleasure. I think of an idea and get planning, developing and creating it over countless hours. I get so much pleasure in creating art, and it's a privilege to win this medal and to share my work with everyone."
The judges said: 'The standard of all the pieces made the judges' smile – the work was skilful and full of imagination. It was a pleasure to see such creativity amongst the young people in Wales.
'Different pieces appealed to different judges, but we were all drawn to one specific piece, the tractor made from hay. Hay crafting is one that is in danger of disappearing, so it was nice to see it being used here. The work is precise and full of imagination. It reflects artistic talent and promise, along with knowledge of current politics, drawing attention to the awareness of the political protest 'No farmers, No food'. It's a striking piece, for many reasons.'
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