8 August 2011

The future of the wall sculpture Avo Penn Bid Pont (which is more familiarly known as Y Bont), currently in the students’ refectory at Coleg Harlech, continues to cause concern due to the imminent demolition of the building in 2012. While there have been expressions of interest in relocating the sculpture to another public building in Wales, so far these have only been tentative. Meanwhile the deadline is running down.

It is the wish of Coleg Harlech, the owners of the work, for the sculpture to remain in Wales and be securely displayed indoors in a public building. Given the scale of Y Bont, this will not be easy to accomplish. What may be required is a large-scale new-build or refurbishment with a substantial public open area, where the sculpture would provide a visual focus and centrepiece.

The availability of the sculpture provides a major opportunity for the right scheme, and if such a scheme exists, Scene & Word would be delighted to act as marriage brokers! It is essential above all else that this major work should not be lost to Wales.

For further information see the ‘Hidden Histories’ story published in this website’s news section on 17 November 2009.