The Arts for Health and Wellbeing team commissioned Ophelia Dos Santos to produce a piece of art that celebrates diversity and inclusion within Cardiff, The Vale of Glamorgan and across Wales.
This piece was commissioned as a result of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board inviting applications from artists and creative collaborators to work on projects that provide messages of support, respect and to reaffirm the commitment to continue to work with patients, staff and colleagues and provide support as part of our collective commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion for all, not just while the Black Lives Matter movement is so prominent in the media, but every day.
Ophelia Dos Santos is a Bath Spa University graduate, where she studied Textile Design for Fashion and Interiors. Her art is influenced by her hugely inspirational grandfather, Grampy Mike, who has sadly passed away.
The photos and supported written piece addresses her mixed-race Welsh family history.
Growing up in Cardiff, she had been surrounded by creative business owners and freelance artists. Her grandfather was a carpenter, who had worked as an antiques restorer at the National Museum, who encouraged her to draw and paint as a child. He has also played an important part in preserving Welsh culture and heritage, having featured in a short film ‘After many a summer – the changing face of Tiger Bay’ (1968) which documents the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay.
Ophelia’s body of work aims to encourage cultural awareness, that people can be both Black and Welsh and to highlight stories and amplify voices that may not have been heard
‘In loving memory of Micheal Dos Santos 1938-2021’
This project was supported by NHS Charities Together.
To find out more about Ophelia’s work please visit: https://www.opheliadossantos.com
To find out more about Cardiff and Vale Arts for Health and Wellbeing or to make a donation please visit: http://www.cardiffandvale.arts