The Arts Council of Wales, Addo and Glandŵr Cymru - the Canal & River Trust in Wales - are pleased to announce the appointment of Cheon Pyo Lee, who will take up the six-month position starting this month.
The role aims to celebrate both the heritage and historical significance of the canal, which dates back to the late 1700s, as well its current relevance to local communities and contemporary Welsh culture.
International
Cheon Pyo Lee was born in Korea but grew up in Paraguay, and lives and works in New York. He has an MFA from the School of Art, Yale University having gained a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006. He has an international practice that encompasses exhibitions, awards and residencies, including the Queens Museum, New York and Atelier Mondial Studio Residency in Switzerland.
His residency will be based at a workspace in Hafod, in the Tawe Valley, allowing Cheon the opportunity to produce work inspired by the local community and surroundings of the canal.
The fourth artist
This is the fourth artist in residence on Wales' waterways – following the appointment of Alan Goulbourne (Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal), Mair Hughes (Montgomery Canal) and Andrew Dodds (North Wales). The programme is run in partnership between Addo, Glandŵr Cymru and the Arts Council of Wales to explore how contemporary arts can play a new role in conserving, animating and re-interpreting the waterways in Wales.
Tim Eastop, executive producer of Glandŵr Cymru's Arts on the Waterways programme, said: “We're delighted Cheon has been appointed and we're looking forward to seeing what he produces. He'll be the first ever artist-in-residence for the Swansea Canal, it's a coup for us to have him working in Wales. It'll be great for him to get started and really involved with the community to explore and animate the canal."
