Sid (Jonathan Smith) and Gordon (Patrick Driver) in For Once. Photo: Robert Day

For Once is a dark comedy by Tim Price, one of the founder members of the Dirty Protest theatre company.

Set in a small picture postcard market town on the Welsh borders, it focuses on the emotional upheaval after a car crash in a country lane kills three local teenage friends.

For Once is a family drama which revolves around three interweaving monologues by the young survivor of the crash, Sid, who was blinded in one eye during the accident, and his parents April and Gordon. And in this idyllic setting everything is not quite as it seems.

The horror of what has happened exposes cracks and divisions in the family unit which pre-existed this tragedy. But the tensions also provide the opportunity for plenty of comedy in an exploration of the terse relationship between any adolescent and his parents.

The kitchen sink drama also offers an insight into why teenagers, and adults, living in such places might be inspired to seek their thrills elsewhere.

For Once premièred in Hampstead last summer and scooped four star reviews from Time Out, The Evening Standard and the Financial Times. It is directed by Orla O'Loughlin, the newly appointed artistic director of Traverse Theatre Edinburgh.

The premise for the play evolved out of one of the Ludlow-based Pentabus Theatre's writers' weeks as a 10-minute exercise, but was inspired by time Price spent in a similar market town and the young people he met there.

Image taken from For Once. Photo: Robert Day

Orla O'Loughlin said: "During these weeks we invite writers to come and explore a local issue with us.

"These have found us, among other things, out in the wilds following a fox hunt, witnessing life in an abattoir and working shifts in a Michelin-starred kitchen."

For Once will be performed at Sherman Cymru from Thursday 23 February to Saturday 3 March at 8pm before embarking on a short tour which will include the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven on 20-21 March.

The cast features Jonathan Smith as Sid, Geraldine Alexander as his mother April and Patrick Driver as his father Gordon. All three starred in the original run in London.

Jonathan Smith as Sid in For Once. Photo: Robert Day

Price's work will soon return to his native Wales when his other play, The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning is produced by National Theatre Wales in April.

Tickets for For Once at the Sherman Cymru are £14 and under 25s can receive up to 50% off their tickets.

For further information and tickets, please contact Sherman Cymru's Ticket Office on 029 2064 6900 or visit shermancymru.co.uk. There will be post-show talk on 28 February.

According to the Film Agency for Wales, producers Elizabeth Morgan-Hemlock, Caradog James, John Giwa-Amu and Vaughan Sivell will be at the city's prestigious event to promote their latest projects.

Among the 400 films being screened for the international audience this year are Resistance by Owen Sheers and Hunky Dory, a film directed by Marc Evans and set in 1970s Swansea.

Hunky Dory, in which Minnie Driver stars as a teacher trying to stage a musical version of Shakespeare's The Tempest in the summer of 1976, is set to be released in March, with a premiere scheduled for Cardiff on 22 February.

Elsewhere, it looks like another exciting year for Welsh film-making with various development projects in the pipeline.

Caradog James and John Giwa-Amu of Red and Black Films will be using the networking event, which usually attracts 400 companies from across the world, to try to fix international backing for their latest venture The Tunnel. The film is about a Palestinian fugitive, trapped in Israel, who digs a tunnel back to his village to save the woman he loves. It already has support from Film Agency for Wales.

Another producer hoping for exposure of her latest project is Elizabeth Morgan-Hemlock of Arturi Films, who will be promoting Bouncing Back. The film has three settings and tells the stories of three survivors of natural disasters based in South America, Africa and the Far East, comparing their experiences as shell-shocked, they recover from the horror of what has befallen them.

Morgan-Hemlock is hoping to capitalise on the recent success of her documentary Mugabe and the White African, which was Oscar Shortlisted, BAFTA Nominated and a winner of the British Independent Film Award for feature film in 2010. The film documented the story of a farmer in Zimbabwe who brought a case for racism against President Mugabe.

She said: "The business of film is incredibly competitive and Berlin signifies an important event in the business calendar for sales agents, distributors and many of Europe's leading producers.

"It is therefore essential for us to have a presence there as it provides a great opportunity to meet with potential co-producers, financiers and distributors."

Rik Hall and David Howard of Monster Films will be promoting A Song For Robin Orange which tells the story of the eponymous music talk show host.

Keith Potter, head of production for the Film Agency for Wales said: "Berlin is a fantastic opportunity for filmmakers to sell films on the basis of their artistic quality and is therefore a popular venue for film producers to launch their new films and attempt to sell their works to the distributors who come from all over the world.

"Indeed, we are proud to be profiling some of the very best of Welsh talent at this year's festival and getting the message out there that Wales is a great place for film.

"The Festival also gives us the opportunity to attend a programme of industry events and meet with fellow members of Cine-Regio, a lobby group for European film funds. We'll be looking for support for Welsh filmmakers and discussing pressing issues of film finance.

"Our purpose is to strengthen and maintain a dynamic film business across Wales, providing support for Welsh filmmaking talent and their films. Working with established, emerging and new talent, we adopt a fully integrated approach from script to screen and that's why the major international film festivals like Berlin are so important."

Now as an artist living in Cardigan and looking back east at the landscape of his youthful imagination, he has chosen to re-evaluate his place within it via a short film, Lament, which blends and interweaves animation, poetry, folk music and found objects.

The trigger for the piece, which has been funded by Arts Council Wales and features a soundtrack by acclaimed folk artist Ceri Rhys Matthews, came with the death of Sean's father, himself an artist, in 2006.

Sean said: "My mother and father have always lived in the same house north of Shrewsbury and his death prompted me to re-evaluate my roots and where I came from.

"I came home and spent a lot of time at their cottage and my father's print studio which is crumbling and needs a lot of attention. While this was distressing, it also enabled me to look at things from a very different perspective."

Thus the idea for Lament was born, with Sean using his skill in animation and macro photography to examine objects he has found in the natural environment which he believes are part of the DNA of a specific area.

Using items like lichen, animal remains, berries and twigs, he took them back to his studio and animated them so they could be reintroduced into the landscape on a larger scale or floating, disembodied in the area they originally belonged to.

Still taken from Sean Vicary's Lament. Image courtesy of the artist

Part of the project uses a technique which will delight all fans of "augmented reality", where spectators can access an app via their smart phones and go out into the countryside, using GPS, and see these objects, such as a giant spinning leaf, suspended in specific locations.

This site-specific approach of 're-compositing' the objects back into the landscape allows the viewer to physically interact with the artwork.

The five objects are currently on display outside the Oriel Davies gallery in Newtown, but will be taken out into the landscape in April. For more details visit the gallery website.

Still taken from Sean Vicary's Lament. Image courtesy of the artist

Because Sean was keen to make a moving image piece, he started discussions with Ceri Rhys Matthews about producing some music that would convey the narrative of loss, longing and belonging he was so eager to capture.

"It was very strange how it all came together, but he introduced me to the seventh century Welsh poem cycle Canu Heledd," says Sean.

"These poems deal with the fall of the Brythonic Kingdom of Pengwern, or eastern Powys, in what is now Shropshire. This particular lament originates from the border area describing the silence and ruin of Prince Cynddylan's home after his death.

"Coincidentally there are 15 verses relating to the village of Baschurch where I went to school and there was this lament for Cynddylan's crumbling empire which had particular resonance for what I was going through with losing my father and having to work out what to do with his art studio.

"Ceri put a band together and recorded a soundtrack which uses fragments of the poetic cycle in both Welsh and English to help further portray that sense of border space and questions of belonging."

Still taken from Sean Vicary's Lament. Image courtesy of the artist

The project's partners are Arts Council of Wales, Animate Projects and Small World Theatre, which is hosting a screening and music performance event on Friday 24 February to showcase Lament.

Sean and musicians Ceri Rhys Matthews, Christine Cooper and Ceri Jones will take part in an innovative performance with live projection of Lament's footage and improvised music.

At the end of this performance there will be an opportunity to explore the ideas and making of the work in a discussion chaired by cultural activist, Osi Rhys Osmond. The project will go online at the beginning of March via the Animate Projects website.

For more information about Sean Vicary and Lament visit seanvicary.com.

For more details on the performance at Small World Theatre on 24 February at 8pm visit the Small World Theatre website.

Tickets are £6/£4 and can be bought through whatevertheweatherwales.co.uk and by calling Small World Theatre on 01239 615 952.

The contest is being organised by the energy charity Awel Aman Tawe, the body behind the development of a community wind farm on Mynydd y Gwrhyd in the upper Swansea Valley.

The wind farm project has been many years in the offing but the charity says there are just a few more planning hoops to jump through before it is able to start generating green energy.

The original mission statement of the development was that all profits from the sale of wind energy would be transferred back into the community and would help fund environmental ventures.

The charity has an active arts arm which regularly hosts events to get local people thinking about greater environmental issues.

This is the second annual poetry competition it has hosted. Last year the competition was judged by National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke and the award-winning Welsh language poet Menna Elfyn.

It attracted 350 entries from adults and children and Awel Aman Tawe published a book of the best entries called Heno, Wrth Gysgu and launched it at the prize giving night at Pontardawe Arts Centre.

Organiser Emily Hinshelwood said: "I talk with people all the time about climate change and there's a terrible feeling of powerlessness in the face of ever worsening scenarios for the earth.

"Whether it's the diminishing sparrow populations in their own gardens, or the flooding of entire islands, most people have a personal response to the subject.

"We want them to capture that feeling in poetry.

"The place where poetry happens," she says, reflecting on her own poetry, "is that creative place within us - the same place where we improvise, and play.

"And sometimes unexpectedly we come across solutions to problems that have been bugging us for years."

AAT manager, Dan McCallum, said: "It's only by involving people that we can build something sustainable."

Duffy was asked to be a judge because of her own interest in the subject of climate change. Her poem "Atlas" examines the fragility of the planet and the theme is one she has been returning to with frequency in recent poems.

Adults and children are welcome to contribute to the competition, which has a closing date of 31 March 2012.

Carol Ann Duffy will judge the English entries while Elin ap Hywel will judge the Welsh entries.

First prize for adults is £500, £100 for second place and £50 for third place.

For children the first prize is £50; second is £30; while third is £20.

Entry fees do apply. Visit awelamantawe.co.uk for more details.

Performance artists Reckless Sleepers have revived their production of Schrödinger, named after the Nobel Peace prizewinning scientist Erwin Schrödinger, and his thoughts on quantum mechanics.

The Austrian physicist made a name for himself in 1935 with a paradoxical "thought experiment" about the possibilities offered when a cat is placed in a box with a bottle of poison gas.

Because he believed light particles are in different states of being at the same time, Schrödinger concluded it was possible for the cat to be both alive and dead in the box simultaneously.

Schrödinger decided that whether or not the bottle of gas opens and the cat is poisoned depends on whether a radioactive atom decays which will trigger the poison to be released. So quantum theory allows for the cat to be both 'decayed' and 'not decayed' until the box is opened.

Reckless Sleepers have used this concept as a springboard for a whole performance with the production revolving around their very own box of endless theatrical possibilities.

Reckless Sleepers in action

The box is covered with hatches and doors and acts as an experimental chamber used by the group of artists on stage. They climb in and out of it, carrying out research into immeasurable theories and creating a world where the boundaries between truth and illusion are blurred.

Mole Wetherell, artistic director, says: "Laws are made, bent then broken. It's a visually mesmerising performance that sways between question and answer, chaos and order, what we can measure and what we can't.

"Over the past 10 years we have looked at the project again and again.

"The structure - the box or sixth performer as it is called is a constant - the doors, hatches, walls exits and entrances are in the same place.

"But the people who occupy it will have changed - like the spaces that we perform it in, the cities that we visit will have gone through a transformation."

The Anglo-Belgian company has made a name for itself devising original theatre pieces and installations for theatres, galleries and museums. The company embraces all ideas, even those arrived at in error, and prides itself on the fact that sometimes its concepts can be uncomfortable to watch.

Schrödinger will be at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre on 6 and 7 March. For full tour details visit reckless-sleepers.co.uk.

Despite growing up in Cardiff, Peter Gill's lengthy and illustrious career has never once seen him direct a play in his home city, until now.

As part of National Theatre Wales' action-packed second year, the prolific playwright and director is heading a new production of A Provincial Life, a play he adapted from Chekhov's story My Life - The Story of A Provincial, and first directed at The Royal Court Theatre in 1966.

Gill himself admits he "feels like a different man" revisiting the play so many years later and cannot remember much about directing it as a younger man, which gives him the freedom to view the text and "Chekhov's wonderful poetry" afresh.

Peter Giil. Photo: Helen Maybanks / National Theatre Wales

A Provincial Life is set in 1890s Russia and centres on the life of Misail Poloznev, a young gentleman who renounces the "privilege of capital and education" in favour of earning his living through manual labour.

This daring decision causes ructions within his family, with his architect father beating him and his sister begging him to rethink his chosen path. After working in construction on a railway line, he takes up a position alongside a painter and labourer but finds that society is not accepting of his lifestyle choices.

He is disinherited by his father who accuses him of shaming the family but falls in love with an engineer's daughter who finds his idealism exciting, that is until they marry and her true feelings for the peasants they are surrounded by become known.

For Gill it is a play that still resonates today and he hopes audiences in Cardiff will appreciate the themes of struggle, a thwarted search for equality and disillusionment through failed ideals.

"Whatever they think, it's a marvellous story and portrait of a mind at a very specific point in history," he said.

"What struck me about it most was the wonderful characters and how they are involved in what is a very engaging and moving story.

"It's fascinating to come back to after all these years, a very curious thing."

The production sees Gill once more join creative forces with the designer Alison Chitty, who has been a long-term collaborator with Mike Leigh and Peter Hall in the past and was resident designer at the National Theatre in London for eight years.

Gill and Chitty first began working together at the famous Riverside Studios Gill founded in London in 1976 and have teamed up many times since. She too has more than four decades of experience designing operas, plays and films all over the world.

Gill says: "I'm not very conceptual but Alison is and she can bring something to the production beyond my grasp. We have always worked well together. The first time I saw her theatre design it struck me and I liked it very much. We have a good method of working."

He would not be drawn on the exact staging of the show, particularly as rehearsals began in London only last week, but said: "I'm not too worried about a traditional setting or fitting in with convention."

The cast of professionals will include Kezia Burrows, Alex Clatworthy, Richard Corgan, Helen Griffin, Lee Haven-Jones, Mike Hayward, Mark Lewis, Sara Lloyd-Gregory, John-Paul Macleod, Liam Mansfield, Clive Merrison, Kenneth Price, Nicholas Shaw, William Thomas and Menna Trussler.

Alongside these will be an ensemble of 12 semi-professional performers from Cardiff, gathered as part of National Theatre Wales' TEAM programme, with help from Sherman Cymru and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Gill has high hopes for the cast, hand-picked by himself and currently being put through their paces in London.

He said: "We've a Welsh crew and largely Welsh cast which I think will give it a Welsh flavour. They are a wonderful and very balanced bunch.

"Our lead actor Nicholas Shaw is particularly talented and I think will bring something wonderful to the role of Misail."

Gill is excited to be leading one of the first productions at the revamped theatre, which has just undergone a £6.5m redevelopment.

The changes include an entirely new exterior, and redesigned foyer space, public areas and access.

Cast and crew will also benefit from improvements to rehearsal rooms and backstage areas. He said: "It looks fantastic and I'm really looking forward to being a part of its relaunch.

"And if the audience in Cardiff likes human stories, filled with poetry, good acting and fascinating characters then they will love A Provincial Life."

Peter Gill was born in 1939 in Cardiff and initially worked as an actor before making his foray into directing and writing.

His varied career has seen him at the helm of more than 100 productions in the UK, Europe and North America.

His time at the Royal Court in the 1960s saw him credited with introducing the plays of DH Lawrence to the theatrical world.

He was the founding director of Riverside Studios and the Royal National Theatre Studio.

The raft of plays he has directed include Wilde, Shakespeare, Chekhov, Congreve, Otway, as well as Hampton, Orton, Osbourne, Pinter and Wright.

A Provincial Life is at the Sherman Cymru in Senghennydd Road, Cardiff from 1-17 March 2012. For tickets contact the Box Office on 029 2064 6900 or visit shermancymru.co.uk.

The exhibition is just one of hundreds of events planned to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the monarch's accession to the throne.

From Chris Levine's curious photograph of HRH with her eyes closed to Justin Mortimer's famous painting where the Queen's head appears disjointed, floating away from her body, the display aims to incorporate the many visual representations of Elizabeth II from the 1950s until now - both conventional and unconventional.

The Queen by Justin Mortimer, 1998 Oil on canvas, 1350 x 1350 mm The RSA © Justin Mortimer

Works by Pietro Annigoni, Lucian Freud, Annie Leibovitz, Andy Warhol and Gerhard Richter form part of the National Portrait Gallery's touring exhibition, The Queen: Art and Image, now on display at National Museum Cardiff until 29 April 2012.

It accompanies a wider exhibition at the Cardiff venue which aims to show how the Queen has been received in Wales during the numerous official visits of her reign and how perceptions of royalty have shifted via various social and historical contexts.

Archival artefacts and memorabilia from National Museum Wales' collections such as newspapers and film footage are used to explore the Queen's relationship with Wales from events like the opening of the National Library of Wales in 1955 and how this compared to her later visit to Aberystwyth in 1996 to open the Library's new wing, which was halted by protesters.

The material includes recollections from the Welsh language activist Meg Elis who in 1955, was the five year old girl chosen to give a posy of flowers to the Queen at the National Library.

By 1996, she played a lead role in the protest event in Aberystwyth.

David Anderson, director general of Amgueddfa Cymru said: "Amgueddfa Cymru is pleased to be working in collaboration with one of the UK's leading art institutions.

"This is an example of how effective partnerships between museums and galleries can make works by such influential artists such as Andy Warhol and Gerhard Richter, accessible to visitors across the UK.

"The National Portrait Gallery's exhibition is an innovative take on a traditional subject, and I'm glad that we have been able to add an extra dimension, using items from our collection and interviews with key figures to give the display a Welsh perspective."

Other images included in the collection are Gilbert and George's 1981 work Coronation Cross, where they used postcards of the nave at Westminster Abbey in a pattern with repetitions of Cecil Beaton's Coronation Day photograph.

Formal portraits and official pictures rub shoulders with multimedia images and unofficial paintings to contrast the more traditional styles of official portraiture with some of the more controversial portrayals by contemporary artists and to show how the task of depicting the Queen has undergone seismic changes since the 1950s.

Also included are less formal portraits by such photographers as Eve Arnold, Patrick Lichfield and Lord Snowdon.

The museum will also use multimedia interviews with Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM, Media Wales' chief arts correspondent Karen Price, Adam Phillips from Balchder Cymru, and two residents from Sunrise Senior Living - Major James Geary and George Malcolm Pearce, to share their impressions of the Queen.

The Queen: Art and Image tour will end at the National Portrait Gallery in London, 17 May - 21 October 2012.

Browse a gallery of photographs from the exhibition on the BBC Wales News website.

Wait Until Dark, which opens at the arts centre on Friday 3 February, Götz has created a series of new pieces that refer to and comment on the current use, architecture and history of the building.

He has also been commissioned to produce a work for the lightbox glass structure on the outside of the centre, which greets visitors as they arrive.

That work "will both reveal and affect the exterior and interior of the building and its inhabitants."

An example of Lothar Götz's work. Photo: M Franke

Götz's body of work straddles both ends of the scale, ranging from site-specific wall paintings and installations contained in one room to smaller drawings.

The German artist likes to continually engage with ever-changing ideas about architecture and space, blurring the boundaries between the historical accuracy and imagined past-lives of buildings.

He is renowned for using flashes of intense colour and abstract geometric forms and juxtaposing them in his work. His approach often sees him create floor plans of buildings for specific historical figures as well as domestic spaces for imagined dwellers. The colour splashes then convey the various functions or atmosphere of different rooms and link to the identity of the inhabitants.

His past public commissions include Platform for Art at Piccadilly Circus underground station in 2007; a collaboration with Caruso St John Architects at the Arts Council England Offices in 2008 and a commission at Haymarket Metro Station, Newcastle in 2009. He has also had commissions for the Ministry of Justice and Westminster College, London.

He has been on residencies in New York, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and enjoyed an Abbey Fellowship at the British School at Rome in 2010.

The exhibition preview is on Thursday 2 February from 6-8pm and it runs until Sunday 1 April 2012.

For its first display of 2012, the gallery is showcasing regular Anne Aspinall alongside the work of Caernarfon-based artist Stephen John Owen, plus new offerings by five arts students from across Wales.

Manchester-born Aspinall has proved popular for the gallery in the past with her striking collection of local vistas. She uses mixed media to bring well-loved scenes to life and this exhibition will give her a chance to test out her latest collection, with some new paintings from further afield such as Porthgain and Abereiddy.

Anne Aspinall, Abereiddy - Three Cottages. Image courtesy of the artist

She says: "I was inspired by the ghosts of their industrial past and the tenacity of the people who lived and worked in such a harsh environment on the very edge of the land. I am drawn to places like this.

"They have a gravitas and a melancholy but I see real optimism in the way they adapt and continue.

"Porthgain has a new life as a fishing village - the tiny boat dwarfed by the vastness of the old industrial harbour and the old cottages at Abereiddy are still there having witnessed the rise and fall of the quarry, now swallowed by the sea.

"I'm inspired by the spiritual feel of old places where people have lived and worked hard for hundreds of years especially those on the edge of the sea - hence my love for harbours."

Stephen J Owen is best-known for his vibrant scenes of Gwynedd and Anglesey. His contributions for this exhibition have been influenced by his own recent house move to Groeslon.

He says: "It is strange how light and colour can change so dramatically from one place to the other, even if it's only within a couple of miles."

Stephen J Owen, Clothes Drying. Image courtesy of the artist

As well as paintings, his display includes a collection of three-dimensional clay pieces which have been inspired by people in the local area.

"Originally made as a gift for my wife, these figures are only intended as a bit of fun. They capture images and moments that I see on my regular walks about the area."

To accompany the other two artists, there will be a group exhibition by art graduates from last year on the first floor of the gallery, funded by the Arts Council for Wales and Gwynedd Council.

They are: Rhian Haf MA from Swansea University, Laura Hunt MA - Aberystwyth University, Dave Byrne BA - Bangor University, Lara Usherwood Art Foundation - Coleg Menai, Ffion Evans BA - Cardiff, Samantha Ellis BA- Glyn Dŵr University and work by blogging site 'Animation Newport' from Newport University.

Ffion Evans, Dead Bird. Image courtesy of the artist

Selectors have whittled down the choice of talent from 576 different artists to just seven, who will now vie for the prestigious £40,000 prize.

The seven artists are: Miriam Bäckström (Sweden), Tania Bruguera (Cuba), Phil Collins (England), Sheela Gowda (India), Teresa Margolles (Mexico), Darius Mikšys (Lithuania) and Apolonija Šušteršič (Slovenia).

They were selected by Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, who is curator of contemporary art at Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, New York and curatorial agent for dOCUMENTA (13), and Anders Kreuger, curator at M HKA in Antwerp, Belgium.

Ben Borthwick, Artes Mundi's chief executive and artistic director, who joined the team from Tate Modern in 2010, said: "We are delighted with the exceptional quality of this shortlist, which was drawn from a very strong field of nominations.

"I look forward to welcoming the artists to Wales and creating an exhibition in October that will give audiences the opportunity to engage with the most exciting international contemporary art."

Anders Kreuger added that he was honoured to have been a selector for the prize: "Almost 600 artists were nominated this year, and it was a huge challenge to whittle these highly accomplished individuals down to just seven.

"We have chosen seven very different but equally talented artists, of different generations and from all across the globe, to exhibit at the National Museum of Art this autumn."

All of the shortlisted artists will exhibit their work in a 14-week show at the new museum from 6 October 2012.

The final decision on the winner will be made by an international judging panel halfway through the exhibition, with £4,000 handed out to all the runners-up. And one of the shortlisted artists will also get the chance to exhibit in a solo show at the Oriel Mostyn in Llandudno in 2013.

The artists selected have all used various mediums to explore life and comment on their experiences and social issues, but all of their work is said to share the common threads of action and performance.

Swedish artist Miriam Bäckström uses photography, text, theatre and video to explore the idea of the documentary and the fictional and to recreate memory.

In 2005 she represented Sweden at the Venice Biennale and collaborated with artist Carsten Höller.

Miriam Bäckström, Attractions/Red Vitrine (2010).
Coloured (red) vitrine in glass and wood, with interior made of wood and coloured mirrors, neon light (red) with electric support. Four black painted iron legs. Objects placed in the interior, on the mirrors.

Tania Bruguera, from Cuba, uses performance, installation and social interventions to reflect on what it means to be Cuban.

She is particularly interested in how art transects daily political life, and how the individual's sense of self links to a collective historical and contemporary social memory.

In 2003 she founded the alternative art school Cátedra Arte de Conducta (Art of Behaviour) in Havana to help up and coming Cuban artists access channel intellectual and technological resources unavailable in Cuba. It has been credited with helping an entire generation to display their work internationally.

Tania Bruguera, Tatlin's Whispers #5, 2008.
Photo: Sheila Burnett, Courtesy Tate Modern

Phil Collins is from the UK but based in Germany and works mainly in video and photography in places that have experienced political unrest such as Baghdad, Belgrade, Bogotá, and, most recently, Jakarta.

He is keen to explore the relationship between producer, participant and viewer and how history is narrated in various forms, be it documentary, reality TV, soap operas and music videos.

Phil Collins, Auto-Kino!, 2010.
A stationary drive-in cinema with a curated programme of films and videos. Co-organised with Siniša Mitrović. Installation view, Temporäre Kunsthalle, Berlin - courtesy of Shady Lane Productions

Sculptor Sheela Gowda from India is fascinated by the social and cultural reality of her home country and how the unconventional materials she uses in her work can reference that context.

From thread and hair to traditional dyes, patterns and weaving, she investigates India's traditions of labour, inequity and oppression.

Sheela Gowda, Of All People, 2011.
Wood, metal, Print on paper. Installation, variable dimension

Mexican Teresa Margolles' work has a particular focus on the drug culture of northern Mexico and the impact of violence and murder on the community.

She has a diploma in forensic science and explores how the morgue and dissecting room often bear witness to social unrest.

Teresa Margolles, What Else Could We Talk About, Cleaning, 2009.
Image courtesy of the artist and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich

Darius Miksys from Lithuania is a fan of experimenting and re-imagining processes of making, displaying and engaging with art.

For the 54th Venice Biennale, he invited all Lithuanian artists who had received European grants to submit a work to his project Behind the White Curtain, 2011. Visitors were then able to select works to create their own displays of post-Soviet Lithuanian art.

Darius Mikšys, Artist Parent's Meeting.
Lithuanian Art 2000-2010: Ten Years (2010), Contemporary Art Centre Vilnius (CAC), Vilnius.

Finally Apolonija Šušteršič of Slovenia uses her background in architecture to create works within urban environments and encourage a socially engaged practice that brings together artists and architects, critics and curators.

Apolonija Šušteršič, Garden Service (2007).
Project by Apolonija Šušteršič and Meike Schalk, Edinburgh 2007

Established in 2002, Artes Mundi supports contemporary visual artists from around the world whose work engages with social reality and lived experience.

Every two years, the organisation works with artists, galleries, art institutions, curators and the British Council, to seeks nominations of artists perhaps famous within their own countries but little known on the world stage.

In 2010 the Artes Mundi 4 Prize was awarded to Yael Bartana who went on to represent Poland at the 2011 Venice Biennale (June-November 2011).

Artes Mundi is publicly funded by the Arts Council of Wales and by Cardiff City Council.

Following that theme, on Friday comedian Phil Evans is hosting a night of stand-up involving seven other artists at the Pontardawe Arts Centre.

Comedian Phil Evans

The event is to raise money for the Follow Your Dreams charity, and support their work with children with learning disabilities throughout south Wales.

The charity raises awareness and helps young people with learning disabilities to realise their full potential or special dream within sport, art, music, drama and ICT. As they grow older, they are also helped on the road to a career and learn to prepare themselves for adulthood, with the aim of living independently and securing employment.

"It's a great cause and a great occasion," said Phil, who is a warm-up comedian for TV shows on BBC, S4C and ITV.

"St Dwynwen's Day is on 25 January, so we may be a couple of days later celebrating it, but better late than never. I've hand-picked a team of seven other Welsh comedians for this show, so laughs are guaranteed."

Joining him on stage will be other BBC names including reviewer and presenter Gary Slaymaker, BBC Radio Cymru presenter Daniel Glyn and actress and writer Eirlys Bellin.

Alan Wightman, Matt Steel, Geraint Evans and Ignacio Lopez will also bring their unique blends of comedy to the fore on the night.

The theme of the evening is 'relationships' which follows on from St Dwynwen's Day and it has a parental advisory of "mature content" so children under 16 will not be admitted.

Evans is adamant that the Welsh for hug should always be spelled cwtsh rather than cwtch.

The word is said to be one of the nation's favourites and has been adopted by many in the cross-over language of Wenglish, particularly popular in the south Wales valleys.

Comedy and Cwtshes is on Friday 27 January, 7pm to 9.30pm at the Pontardawe Arts Centre, Herbert Street, Pontardawe, Swansea.

Tickets are £10 and can be bought via boxoffice.npt.gov.uk.

Davies, who is head of fine art at Swansea Metropolitan University, was the only European artist shortlisted for the prestigious award in its first-ever year in 2004.

Tim Davies

He was also selected to represent Wales in a solo exhibition of video and two-dimensional work at the 54th Venice Biennale of Art in 2011. It was only the fifth time that Wales had staged an exhibition in the festival's history.

His appointment to the charity comes at its busiest time, as it is gearing up to announce the international shortlist for the fifth Artes Mundi Prize at the end of January.

Accepting the appointment, he said: "I am thrilled to become part of an organisation with such an outstanding record - not only promoting contemporary visual art in Wales but also building Wales' cultural standing on the world stage."

William Wilkins, Chairman of Artes Mundi, added: "I am delighted that Tim Davies has agreed to join us.

"As one of Wales' best known and most distinguished artists, his experience and knowledge of the visual arts and of arts education in Wales will be invaluable to us."

Ben Borthwick, Chief Executive and Artistic Director, who joined Artes Mundi from Tate Modern in 2010, said: "Artists are at the centre of everything Artes Mundi does so the recruitment of Tim Davies as a trustee is an important step forward.

"Crucially, at a time of development for Artes Mundi's activity and ambitions, he brings to the board the experience and insight of being shortlisted for the prize himself."

Davies, who is based in Swansea, works in a range of media. He is primarily an installation artist whose work often derives from environmental or political concerns.

His contributions to the Biennale included two pieces inspired by the Venetian city. 'Drift' gave audiences an unusual view, whilst 'Frari' was a result of an "emotional" visit to the inside of a little-seen landmark bell tower.

Artes Mundi was established in 2002 as a contemporary visual arts initiative to promote artists who are "socially-engaged" and give them exposure on an international platform. Work is already under way to prepare for its autumn exhibition at the new National Museum of Art in Cardiff.

The company is producing Fala' Surion, a Welsh-language adaptation of Rachel Trezise's acclaimed Fresh Apples.

The collection of observational short stories, which casts a wry eye at the awkwardness of adolescence in modern Wales, shot to notoriety after scooping the EDS Dylan Thomas Prize in 2006. It features 11 darkly comic stories dealing with topics from drugs and adultery to stalking and first sexual experiences.

Promotional still from Fala' Surion

The cast includes Mold-born Rhodri Meilir, who appeared in the BBC hit comedy My Family and Terry Pratchett's Hogfather on Sky One.

He said: "The raw emotional power and directness of the book had a profound effect on me. "It's a moving exploration of adolescent innocence with a dark comedy vein running through.

"There are laugh out loud moments in the book that only serves to heighten the tenderness of the stories. It's humour that the Welsh will appreciate and associate with."

Also starring are Pobl y Cwm's Catrin Mara and Rhodri Miles, who won the Best International Artist award at the 2010 Hollywood Fringe Festival for his portrayal of Welsh icon Richard Burton in the one-man show Burton.

Other actors include Lowri Gwynne from S4C's Rownd a Rownd and stage actress Lynwen Haf Roberts, who took the lead role in the National Theatre's Welsh translation of Frank Wedekind's musical Spring Awakening.

The production is being directed by Iola Ynyr, who was supported by Manon Eames and Catrin Dafydd, who translated the work from English to Welsh.

She said: "They are among Wales' finest wordsmiths and have been very courageous in transferring the characters from page to stage.

"They have used the dark humour, poverty and oppression to portray Welsh urban life in all its glory."

Trezise was born in Cwmparc in the Rhondda Valley in 1978. Her semi-autobiographical debut novel In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl depicted a harsh childhood. It also marked her out as a writer to watch and scooped her a place on the Orange Futures list, highlighting 21 promising young female authors at the turn of the century.

Having studied at the University of Glamorgan and University of Limerick, In And Out Of The Goldfish Bowl was picked up by Parthian before Trezise had even completed her degree. Published in 2002 to critical acclaim, the book prompted Harpers & Queen to vote her the new face of literature in 2003.

Her style of prose is often described as witty and shocking, and in the past has been dubbed 'Welsh urban fiction', speaking vast truths about a perceived emotional and physical wasteland in urban Wales.

She said: "Where there's real pain; poverty, political oppression, injustice, there's also good jokes and a dark and quick sense of humour.

"Often I don't realise that what I'm writing is humorous. I've been working recently on a novel set in America with Orthodox Jewish characters and some characters from the Deep South, and their tendency toward humour is similar to that of my Welsh characters."

Trezise is currently involved in writing a screenplay with Human Traffic director Justin Kerrigan, about which she said: "To see actors lift characters off the page, characters that you dreamt up in your head, is both a frightening and very gratifying experience."

The tour kicks off on 28 February at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, where there will be a post-performance discussion with Trezise and the artistic team.

From there it moves to Theatr Felinfach, the Taliesin Arts Centre, Galeri, Caernarfon, Theatr John Ambrose, Ruthin, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Neuadd Dwyfor, Pwllheli, Pontio, Bangor, Theatr Colwyn, Colwyn Bay ending at Theatr Lyric, Caerfyrddin on March 28.

Further information and tickets are available via falasurion.com or 01248 715 048.

Ffresh - the Student Moving Image Festival of Wales - takes place from 8-10 February at the Newport Film School and the Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre in Newport. Its overarching aim is to celebrate the cream of new talent in low-budget filmmaking from Wales and across the world.

There will be more than 30 screenings that are a must-see for students of film and anybody interested in the industry. And as well as the Leigh masterclass, devotees of film can enjoy sessions with a range of inspiring film-makers.

On 10 February there will be a masterclass with the American Jonathan Caouette, whose new film Walk Away Renee enjoys its UK première at the festival on 8 February.

Jonathan Caouette

Caouette's first documentary Tarnation, about his deeply troubled upbringing growing up with a schizophrenic mother, was a hit in America and went on to win awards including Best Documentary from the National Society of Film Critics, the Independent Spirits, the Gotham Awards, and the LA and London International Film Festivals.

It was the result of hours of Super 8 film, home video, photo albums and voicemails he had recorded over 20 years, chronicling his problematic relationships with his mother Renée and his grandparents.

His latest offering sees him take a road trip across America to help his mentally ill mother move from one facility to another.

Renée's troubles began when she fell off the roof of her house aged 12, losing the use of her legs. Her parents believed her inability to walk was psychosomatic and so took her to receive electric shock therapy. The invasive treatments left her with bipolar and schizo-affective disorders while her legs regained their use after a trapped nerve recovered naturally.

Her life since has seen her institutionalised more than 100 times and at one point saw her and a five-year-old Caouette end up on the streets of Chicago where he witnessed first-hand her being raped.

The latest film uses the present road trip as a prism through which to examine their complicated mother son relationship, with numerous flashbacks to their traumatic past.

On 9 February comedy director Matt Lipsey will share his insights on the highs and lows of working on some of Britain's best-loved hit comedy series with the audience. He has worked with many of the UK's best comic actors including Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Julia Davies, Matt Lucas, Reece Shearsmith, Reeves and Mortimer, and Dawn French with his credits including such hit shows as Armstrong & Miller, Human Remains, Little Britain, Jekyll, Saxondale and Psychoville.

Asif Kapadia, the brains behind the recent biopic Senna, about the tragic Brazilian Formula One star, will chart his journey from graphic designer to acclaimed director on 9 February.

Kapadia dipped his toe in the industry as a production runner, before himself studying at Newport Film School. His debut The Warrior, a Hindi-language film set in the deserts of Rajasthan, won a BAFTA for best British film and one for special achievement in first feature film in 2003.

Merlin Crossingham, who directed Wallace and Gromit, will also share his knowledge with audiences on 10 February.

The festival also sees the premieres of six new short films about Newport and five Welsh language films about community made from young filmmakers from around Wales as well as showcasing work by the winners of its own Ffresh awards.

Despite its obvious allure for film students, those behind the event are keen to stress that all the screenings and events are open to the public.

Chris Morris from the Newport Film School is chair of this year's festival. He said: "We wanted to focus on something which is at the heart of everything we teach: how to tell a great story.

"From the Newport Stories project to the Ffresh Awards, and masterclasses with such renowned filmmakers as Mike Leigh, Matt Lipsey, and Jonathan Caouette, storytelling is at the very heart of this year's Ffresh programme.

Mike Leigh

"I'm also thrilled to have two graduates from the University, Asif Kapadia and Merlin Crossingham who've gone on to achieve so much, come back to the Film School to share their experience with the festival audience.

"Jonathan Caouette is someone I regularly teach about in my classes so to have him travelling all the way from New York to talk to the students in person is tremendously exciting.

"We're very grateful to British Council Wales for their support which has enabled us to host the first ever UK retrospective of Jonathan's work including the UK première of his new film Walk Away Renee which I'm sure will be fantastic and well worth seeing.

James Nee, festival director added: "We wanted this year's festival to celebrate how new talent can shine in tough times through great ideas and mutual support and I think the programme clearly demonstrates this.

"As well as the shortlisted work for the Ffresh Awards - which all the judges have commented are of a very high standard - we're premièring 11 fantastic new short films, which were made on minuscule budgets, and have guests like Jonathan Caouette who made his first film for only $218!"

Full programme details and information about individual tickets and festival passes are available on the Ffresh website.

The Crashmat Collective

Super Pseudo is co-produced by the centre and the Crashmat Collective and marks a foray into experiential theatre.

The idea is that the audience is totally immersed in the experience they are witnessing and are almost eavesdropping on the restaurant staff's lives. The aim is to blur the boundaries between performer and the audience.

The Crashmat Collective is a new company involving experienced performers from No Fit State circus and Mary Bijou Cabaret.

Although café staff will be present, the artists will bring pre-ordered dishes to the tables for the audiences to eat and serve drinks at the bar, offering snippets of insights into imagined lives. The centre tweeted on Wednesday that audiences will be in for a real surprise.

Performances began last night and will continue until Saturday 14 January 2012, where the Riverfront's studio theatre will be transformed into a circus-café space.

The Crashmat Collective in rehearsal earlier this week

Spokeswoman Rachel Kinchin said: "A café in a circus or a circus in a café? Come and meet Crashmat's performers, see their stories unfold in thrilling and touching ways; while eating and drinking at your table - served by those same performers.

"The performance provides an insight into the restaurant staff's internal thought processes, varying from beautiful to funny and always unpredictable."

Ticket prices range from £11 to £14, although any food must be pre-ordered. Some drinks-only tickets are still available.