The Elan Links Scheme is hosting an ambitious arts event in Elan Valley and Rhayader this Friday, 22 September.

Watershed will showcase the experiences and work of 14 artists who have taken part in a residency and fellowship programme in Elan Valley, bringing together the local community, resident artists and a wider artistic community, to explore the importance of arts in a rural setting, particularly that of the Elan Valley.

In the daytime, three artists - Gareth Bonello, Isa Suarez and R.M. Sánchez-Camus - will share their experiences and work developed in their time in Elan through presentations and in situ performances in locations throughout the Elan Valley Estate. In the afternoon they will be joined by Ffion Rhys, visual arts manager and curator at Aberystwyth Arts Centre and Professor Heike Roms from Exeter University for a panel discussion on arts in a rural context.

This is the first time that all the artists from the scheme will come together to share their impressions of Elan with each other and the local and wider community.

In the evening the audience will move on to CARAD’s theatre space in Rhayader, where resident artists will be sharing work developed throughout their residencies and beyond in a group exhibition, with performances and speeches.

Audiences will have the opportunity to experience A Forest, a virtual reality installation, created by artists Anna TrapenciereSchokker and Adri Schokker, who have used 3D scanning techniques in Elan’s woods to develop a virtual archive.

Both events are fully catered and free to attend. People can book through Eventbrite – www.eventbrite.ie/e/695843004157.