YOUNG artists from Mid Wales will present an exhibition of new work within the famous Australian artist Sidney Nolan’s former Powys home next month.

The Cultivate programme, an exhibition by the Sidney Nolan Trust youth arts programme, will be held at The Rodd, in Presteigne, on Saturday, December 11.

Sir Sidney is renowned as one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century. He is best known for his series of paintings on legendary Australian outlaw Ned Kelly. He died in 1992, aged 75, with Presteigne’s Rodd Court, a Jacobean manor house, being the last home of Sir Sidney and his wife Mary.

The Sidney Nolan Trust, founded by Sir Sidney in 1985, is a vibrant centre for arts learning and cares for Nolan’s former home, studio, and 250-acre estate, and houses a large collection of Nolan’s artworks, as well as his library and personal archive.

The Cultivate programme has been running since June this year and provides young people aged 15-25 with an interest in the arts with a social space and opportunity to work with professional artists and makers to explore, discuss and question ideas. To date the young artists have worked with Machynlleth-based artist and producer Jony Easterby, Stefhan Caddick, a visual and participatory artist from Crickhowell, and North Wales filmmaker Lal Davies.

Through the exhibition they will present experimental artworks created over the past six months including image, sound, film, drawing and installations with microcontrollers and electronics. Two overarching themes have been used to structure the programme, the first was ‘input/output’ and the second, current theme is ‘illuminate’. The programme places a strong emphasis on making and this exhibition provides an opportunity for them to showcase their work up to this point.

Emma Posey, the project’s lead artist and facilitator, said: “One of the opportunity barriers for young people living in rural Mid Wales and Herefordshire is a lack of easy access to making and experiencing art.

“At Cultivate, we’re building a vibrant community of young people who can experiment, share and learn about art together.”

The sessions, which are made possible through funding from Community Foundation Wales, run once a month and anyone interested in attending should contact creative producer Antony Mottershead via email on info@sidneynolantrust.org.

The Cultivate exhibition, which will also include live music by young, local musicians, will take place between 5.30-7pm on December 11, with musical performances beginning at 6.15pm. The event is free and refreshments will be available.

For more information on the trust, visit www.sidneynolantrust.org.