Members of YesCymru Abertawe have been pulling out all the creative stops to publicise the Indy March in the city on May 20th. Talented members have been creating GIFs, Graphics and Guerrilla Yarnbombing to get the word out.
Chair of the Swansea branch, Rose Davies, herself an artist explains,
“Swansea is an immensely creative and cultured city, and has a terrific sense of humour and social justice. We wanted this march to focus on poverty but also to mix up the serious with the, frankly, plain daft to get the message out there.”
Guerrilla Yarnbombing
The yarnbombing group grew from an idea earlier in the year, when some knitters and crocheters were making hats and scarves for two local food banks that are supported by YesCymru Abertawe and had a think about what to do in the better weather. Yarnbombing struck a chord and YCA members Rhiannon Barrar, Lindsay Thomas, Kat Watkins, Kathryn Murphy along with Canadian visitor May Stewart, have been producing bunting, post-box covers, bollard hats and tree banners.
They’ve been taking them out and about in the city, photographing them for social media.
“It’s a guerrilla campaign”, laughs Rhiannon, “we don’t leave them there in case they get stolen or vandalised. Our aim is to get them across social media and they’re really popular.” They’re hoping to festoon Wind Street on the day of the Indy March.
Thank You Swansea
Graphic designer Nigel Cousins has designed a series of GIFs for social media called “Thank You Swansea” a sarcastic reference to the complete lack of regard given to the city and to Wales by the government in Westminster.
“I wanted to show clearly how we in Swansea are being neglected and even ripped off by the Westminster Government”.
Scooters with Hooters and Front Row Seats
Nigel also designed logos for members with disabilities who will be leading the march on electric scooters and wheelchairs.
Rose explains, “Poverty isn’t just about money, it’s also about lack of opportunities, facilities and even the chance to take part in society. YesCymru Abertawe’s focus on poverty includes our disabled members.”
Nigel wanted to do something fun and eye-catching,
“Previous marches have had a band at the front, so I designed two logos to attract people with scooters and chairs to come and lead the march.”
Blinged-Up Seagull
Everyone in Swansea has their own seagull story to tell! Writer and filmmaker Melvyn Williams has chosen the iconic seagull to walk the route of the March on social media, week by week leading up to May 20th.
Melvyn says,” I came up with the idea of a blinged-up seagull strutting around the city in a goldie-looking chain and a big YesCymru medallion. It’s an iconic look and people seem to love it.”
And the Swansea Seagull has also been teasing local people with little quizzes about his location.
The Local Flag
YesCymru Abertawe even has its own flag.
“We’re privileged to have a design by the renowned graffiti artist SOK (Son of Ken) and we use it extensively” explains Rose. It’s not just on flags, which will be flying at the Independence March, but also for branch publicity, like this digital advert for one of YC Swansea’s Fringe events.
“The creative output of our members in such a short time has been brilliant,” Rose says, “and we’re hoping to go into the summer in Swansea with loads more”.
