The artwork hidden in Cardiff's city centre is being restored this month after being stolen. As you walk along The Hayes in Cardiff, you were once able to find incredible artwork hidden inside 11 metal bollards.
Created as part of a £1.5m scheme and renowned as one of Cardiff's 'hidden gems', the artwork allows you to look inside the bollards and see pieces of art by artist Jane Edden and students at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama called Post Secrets.
However, only eight of the bollards remained intact after two were stolen and one was vandalised in March this year. But the work is set to be restored in June, with all of the bollard tops removed by St David's for a restoration programme which will see each of them replaced and brought back to their former glory. The project will take up to six weeks to complete and will see the original art returned to their location in The Hayes alongside a new, bespoke informational bollard.
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Artist Jane Edden said: “It is lovely for me as an artist that the ‘Post Secret’ bollards have been so appreciated and enjoyed by the people of Cardiff. I’m looking forward to providing a brand new bollard top with information about the project so that visitors and locals can learn more about the hidden artworks, and to restoring the original ‘Post Secret’ bollards so that they can be appreciated for years to come.”
Small monochrome worlds with black and white characters could be seen inside the bollards since 2010 and cost £30,000 to be installed. The original artwork was created by Jane Edden, depicting drawings of students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Helen Morgan, Centre Director at St David’s Dewi Sant, added: “It’s a pleasure to work alongside Jane to restore these secret treasures of the city, and we’re excited that the rejuvenation project will allow the artworks to be discovered by even more locals and visitors. Public art is created to be enjoyed, and we’re looking forward to unveiling the bollards in time for summer."
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