Iwan Bala (born Richard Iwan Ellis Roberts) is a Welsh artist, born May 1956 in Sarnau,

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

, near

Bala Bala may refer to: Films * ''Bala'' (1976 film), an English-language dance documentary * ''Bala'' (2002 film), a Tamil-language action film * ''Bala'' (2019 film), a Hindi-language black comedy Life forms *Bala shark (''Balantiocheilos melano ...

.Iwan Bala profile
BBC Wales North west, last updated September 2009.

Biography

Iwan Bala was raised in

Gwyddelwern Gwyddelwern is a small village and community of 508 residents, reducing to 500 at the 2011 census, situated approximately north of Corwen in Denbighshire in Wales. Historically the village was part of the Edeyrnion district of Meirionnydd. Edey ...

, near Corwen, Denbighshire, and attended

Ysgol y Berwyn Ysgol y Berwyn is a high-school situated in the town of Bala, Gwynedd, Bala, in Gwynedd, north Wales. According to the 2013 Estyn report, 79% of pupils are from Welsh-speaking homes. In 2017, 80% of pupils achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*- ...

comprehensive school in Bala. He studied geography and politics at the

University of Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

from 1974, then from 1975 until 1977 he studied fine art at

Cardiff College of Art Cardiff School of Art & Design (CSAD) is one of the five schools that comprise Cardiff Metropolitan University. It originated as the Cardiff School of Art in 1865. History Cardiff School of Art & Design opened in 1865 as the Cardiff School of ...

. He gained an MA in fine art from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff in 1993.http://www.gomer.co.uk/gomer/cy/gomer.ViewAuthor/authorBio/1292 Curriculum Vitae
, Iwanbala.com Bala is

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

-speaking. In 1990 he became artist in residence at the

National Gallery of Zimbabwe The National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) is a gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe, dedicated to the presentation and conservation of Zimbabwe's contemporary art and visual heritage. The original National Gallery of Rhodesia was designed and directed by ...

.Iwan Bala
'Byd o Liw',

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

, 2006. In 1993 he presented the

arts programme . From 2007 to 2015 Bala was senior lecturer at the School of Creative Arts and Humanities at

University of Wales, Trinity Saint David The University of Wales Trinity Saint David () is a public university with three main campuses in South West Wales, in Carmarthen, Lampeter and Swansea, a fourth campus in London, and learning centres in Cardiff, and Birmingham. The universit ...

, Carmarthen.Biography
, Iwanbala.com Bala creates his art-work using memorised and imagined maps and landscapes, commenting on Welsh culture. He has won many prizes including the

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in Fine Art at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

in 1997 (and a prize winner in 1988, 1989 and 1993). He won the

Glyndŵr Award The Glyndŵr Award ( Welsh: Gwobr Glyndŵr) is made for an outstanding contribution to the arts in Wales. It is given by the Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust to pre-eminent figures in music, art and literature in rotation. The award takes its name ...

in 1998, "for outstanding contributions to the arts in Wales". He has also been recipient of grants from the

Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; ) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council (), its English name w ...

, including a travel grant to visit

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

in 1990, research funding for "Certain Welsh Artists", a collection of essays published by

Seren Books Seren Books is the trading name of Poetry Wales Press, an independent publisher based in Bridgend, Wales, specialising in English-language writing from WalesFelicity Wood (23 August 2013). Rhyme and reason: The poetry market is a notoriously diffic ...

in 1999 and a Career Development Grant (

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

) 2001. He was also awarded a Wales Art International travel grant to Galicia in 2004 and

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

in 2007. Bala's work is held in many public and private collections including the

National Museum Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(Derek Williams Trust), the Museum of Modern Art Wales, the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

, the Contemporary Art Society for Wales,

Newport Museum and Art Gallery Newport Museum and Art Gallery () (known locally as the City Museum ()) is a museum, library and art gallery in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is located in Newport city centre on John Frost Square and is adjoined to the Kingsway Shop ...

Y Gaer Y Gaer () is a Roman fort situated near modern-day Brecon in Mid Wales, United Kingdom. Y Gaer is located at (Landranger 160). History Y Gaer was built around AD 75 and sits on a crossroads of Roman roads in the valley of the River Usk at ...

, A Fundacion Casa Museo "A Solaina" de Pilono, Galicia, The

University of Glamorgan The University of Glamorgan () was a public university based in South Wales, that merged with University of Wales, Newport to form the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university was based in Pontypridd, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, with ...

and The

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...

. In 2012 Bala collaborated with poet, and fellow lecturer at Trinity Saint David's,

Menna Elfyn Menna Elfyn , FLSW (born 1952) is a Welsh poet, playwright, columnist, and editor who writes in Welsh. She has been widely commended and translated. She was imprisoned for her campaigning as a Welsh-language activist. Background During the 1970 ...

for an exhibition called ''Field-notes''.Polly March
"Fieldnotes – an exhibition by Iwan Bala and Menna Elfyn"
BBC Wales blog, 28 December 2011.

Publications

* ''Intimate Portraits'', 1995 ( Seren)Iwan Bala: Books by this author
Seren Books. * ''Welsh Art Goes International'', 1996 (

Planet A planet is a large, Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets b ...

)http://www.planetmagazine.org.uk/html/newsite/index.htm * ''Welsh Painters Talking'', 1997 (Seren) * ''Appropriate Behaviour'', 1997 (Planet) * ), 2000 (

Gwasg Carreg Gwalch Gwasg Carreg Gwalch () is a publishing company based in Llanrwst, Wales. They specialise in publishing works in the Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is ...

) * ''Certain Welsh Artists'', 1999 (Seren) * ''here+now'', 2004 (Seren) * ''Groundbreaking – The Artist in the Changing Landscape'', 2005 (Seren) * ), 2007 (

Gwasg Gomer Gomer Press (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Gwasg Gomer'') is a family printing (and formerly publishing) company based in Llandysul, west Wales. It was the largest publishing house in Wales. History The company was first established in 1892 and began ...

)

References

External links

Iwan Bala's websiteBBC: Places and pictures
*
BBC: Report on Iwan Bala's exhibition with poet Mena Elfyn by Polly March
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130725130316/http://www.trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk/en/news/newsarchives/trinityuniversitycollege/name,1029,en.html Trinity Saint David: Overview of Iwan Balabr>British Council: Overview of Iwan BalaWales Arts International: Overview of Iwan Bala
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bala, Iwan 1956 births 20th-century Welsh painters 20th-century Welsh male artists 21st-century Welsh painters 21st-century Welsh male artists Living people Gwyddelwern Alumni of Cardiff School of Art and Design Alumni of Aberystwyth University Welsh Eisteddfod Gold Medal winners Welsh male painters People from Denbighshire