To celebrate UNESCO granting World Heritage Site status to the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales, a new exhibition will travel through the slate communities of Gwynedd.

The project was created by pupils of secondary schools in Gwynedd under the guidance of artist Catrin Williams.

The exhibition is currently open for public viewing in Storiel, Bangor, before going on tour to the areas and communities that have inspired the work.

Cllr Gareth Thomas, Gwynedd Council’s cabinet member for economy and community said: “This is a very special exhibition where young people were given the chance to respond creatively to the slate landscape and create art in partnership with their contemporaries of the area.

“It was an opportunity for pupils of the secondary schools of Dyffryn Ogwen, Brynrefail, Dyffryn Nantlle, Eifionydd, y Moelwyn and Tywyn to work with the artist Catrin Williams on the project.

“I’m sure that it has been a worthwhile experience for the pupils and it is a nice touch that the schools will each receive a copy of the work in the form of an information panel to keep as a record of the project.”

The artist leading on the project, Catrin Williams said: “By completing the project, the pupils had the opportunity to expand their understanding and then respond creatively to the industry, culture and influence of the slate.

“From the visual scars of the landscape to the brass bands – the focus of interest changed with the areas.

“In Dyffryn Ogwen, Brynrefail, Y Moelwyn and Dyffryn Nantlle, the influence of the bands was of great interest.

“It was the history of the ports and the histories of the slate sailing to the four corners of the world that took Eifionydd and Tywyn’s main interest, whilst Ysgol Brynrefail visited the National Slate Museum for first-hand historical inspiration and influence.

“As the knowledge and understanding developed, so too did the creative work.

“The result was multi-medium colourful images working together to create one large piece of work in textiles to celebrate the history of the areas, the stories and the culture.”

The work was commissioned as part of the LleCHI project and financed by the National Lottery Heritage fund and Creative Gwynedd.

Also on view will be a series of photographs by LleCHI young Ambassadors portraying the unique beauty of the slate industry and the surrounding landscape organised as part of the Welsh Government’s Winter of Wellbeing campaign, led by photographer Helen Walker Brown.

The exhibition will be available to view in Dyffryn Ogwen, Dyffryn Nantlle, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Porthmadog areas, having already been exhibited at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis. The next destination for the exhibit will be the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, Tywyn from 22 March to 13 May.