Pontypridd YMCA Hoardings are up!

Residents, businesses and visitors to Pontypridd Town Centre are seeing the start of activity at the YMCA building, a major £4.48m refurbishment project funded by Arts Council of Wales and RCTCBC.

To celebrate the redevelopment of the YMCA building, local community arts organisation Artis Community and Pontypridd YMCA have worked with artist Andy O’Rourke of Malarky Arts.  The artist worked with the community to create a colourful piece of street art that represents elements of Pontypridd.

The local community has contributed to the Hoardings project, a colourful piece incorporating elements of Pontypridd. With input from the community including from Llamau’s Learning 4 Life programme and Pontypridd YMCA’s Our Place group. The project draws together local people’s recollections of good times at the YM.

YMCA Memories Project is available on the Pontypridd YMCA website or if you’re in town, explore the memories on the hoardings around the building. By downloading the Zapper app, users can unlock further content by scanning the codes that can be found on the artwork.

The YMCA venue has been at the heart of Pontypridd since 1910, and the redevelopment will bring it back into use.  Once the development is complete, local participatory arts organisation Artis Community will run the building on behalf of Pontypridd YMCA when it opens mid 2021.