Folk of the Footbridge

The Folk of the Footbridge project tells the stories of the Usk, its banks and the people who cross it every day.

The history of the River Usk in Newport is being brought to life in a new collaboration between Newport museums and heritage service and the Friends of Newport Museum and Art Gallery. 

Using the city centre footbridge as a focal point, the project shares stories and artwork from residents about their relationship with the river and their use of the footbridge.

Operasonic & Tin Shed Theatre Company  are collaborating with FONMAG and Newport Museum to create three podcast walks, including six piece of music commissioned and recorded specially for the project.

You can find the three podcast walks on at the Folk of the Footbridge Podcast page. 

Houdini Arias - composed by Helen Woods and young people in Newport for Opera Creators 2019. Performed by Helen Woods and sung by Dyfed Wyn Evans
Dragon's Breath - composed by Stacey Blythe and pupils from St Julians School in 2015 for Port Songs. Remixed and sung by Rhian Hutchings
Ebb and Flow - composed and performed by Mandy Leung
The Ship - composed by Stephanie Irvine and performed by Kate Willetts and Rachel Waters
Stave Bridge - concept by Bongo Peet, performed by Aled Evans with production by Jon Lilygreen
Journey with the Sewers - composed by Tayla-Leigh Payne and Year 4 pupils from Clytha Primary School using sounds collected by the pupils.

The project is funded through a 15 minute heritage grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Follow the project on social media for stories and information @FolkoftheFootbridge or at https://folkofthefootbridge.blogspot.com/