"On 25 May there will be an opportunity for anyone who is interested to come along to Aberystwyth bandstand and find out about a new project.

There will be all sorts of opportunities to take part in the project but this is a very early stage in its development. We want to know what you think and want to gather together ideas about what can be achieved. So, if you are a member of a group that might want to take part or just come along as an individual to find out and see what has happened so far you will be very welcome.

Besides a gathering of ideas we will be walking around the harbour and there will be a free talk given by curator Michael Freeman at Ceredigion Museum in the afternoon at 2.30pm

The new group is called Rivers to the Sea, Harbour to the World.

This is an interpretive project that links the industrial history of Aberystwyth's hinterland with the harbour and the world.

Our aim is to create and communicate an interest in the past for the enlightenment of those in the future. This will be achieved through installing public art, creating new media and publicising performance and events.

We have chosen to hold this Awareness Day on the bandstand during Museums and Galleries Month so as to highlight the importance of history in our community. It is our unique history that makes Aberystwyth what it is today.

Before the coming of the railway, and the resulting diminishing importance of the role of the sea, the harbour was the most active area of Aberystwyth.

Communication with the world was channelled through the harbour. Hundred of ship were built here and sailors from here sailed the world making all sorts of connections.

There is little that remains on site to reflect this past.

This group is interested in promoting and interpreting history for visitors and locals through working with visual artists, performers and historians.

Community groups will be included in this process and we welcome any comments or volunteers who wish to help.

The project will be ongoing and we are aiming to build up a variety of interpretive schemes. After the success of the Award Winning 'War and Peace' Castle mosaics project organised by Ceredigion Museum we are aiming to work together and achieve a high level of interpretation, We want people to be involved at all stages, young and old.

Mining, especially of lead, has been one of the most regular of industries in north Ceredigion. At its' climax, in 1870, there were 230 mines working in the area. Shifting and exporting the ore resulted in a busy and active harbour at Aberystwyth.

Sailors travelled all over the world from here. Many imported products from far away places. We want to connect with those places again and our aim is to make links with places all over the world.

Part of the groups aims are to tell people about the varied history of mid Wales.Mid Wales is our home and we are proud of it. Let us tell the world we are here and forge links.

Two art and history projects have already been completed which link to Aberystwyth harbour. Pupils from Penglais school have already made a floor mosaic which illustrates four of the types of ship that used the harbour, it also shows the emblem of the Aberystwyth Harbourmaster. This can be seen near the north west end of the harbour.

A series of six colourful banners have also been made by the pupils and these are currently on show in the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. They were financed by European funding scheme called 'On Common Ground' which attempts to link teenagers with their local history.

They will be on show at the bandstand during the Awareness Day on 25 May and are eventually going to be hung in the harbour during the summer months, as well being shown at Ceredigion Museum in a new shipping display.

Article written by Shelagh Hourahane