Cardiff Giant exhibition programme, part of the Charles Street Carnival, Cardiff, 1987

Description

A collection of three A4 sheets linked to the 1987 Charles Street Carnival, Cardiff. The first is a draft Cardiff Giant exhibition programme and shows a drawing of a man playing an accordion and a prone Cardiff Giant and handwritten text: “See the Great American Hoax! Hear the Ballad of the Cardiff Giant! Witness the worlds smallest phantasmagoria!” Below the drawing is written, “Seven Wonders Arts uses theatre Arts to make original Celebrations.”

The second sheet is a proposed handout advertisement in old style typography, on buff-coloured paper “The Great Cardiff Giant, discovered in Cardiff, Onandaga Co., N.Y. is now on Exhibition in the Charles St Carnival for one day only." It then lists the dimensions of the giant. Under the dimensions is written “SEVEN WONDERS ARTS”.

The author is not stated but Terry Chinn of Seven Wonders Art designed and made the Giant, and his CV is included as the third page of these documents. Terry Chinn was born in Neath and is “now working as director, designer, and devisor, all over Great Britain mainly working on theatre Arts in the community.”

The Cardiff Giant was a well-known hoax. It was a gypsum model over ten foot tall that was buried and then ‘discovered’ at a farm outside of the hamlet of Cardiff in New York State, USA. Even though it was exposed as a hoax, it was displayed in a museum in New York City “in time to capitalise on the Christmas shopping crowds”. Terry Chinn thought it would be fun to recreate the hoax for the Charles Street Festival in Cardiff, Wales. Apparently many people believed that the genuine story of the hoax was itself a hoax!

In June 1977, Cardiff Community Concern started the Charles Street Carnival as a community groups' alternative celebration of the Queen's Silver Jubilee. This became an annual event and grew into a separate organisation, Charles Street Arts Foundation. The Foundation came to employ artists and staff but was founded and run by volunteers. Cardiff Community Concern, also founded and run by volunteers, was an alternative advice and information centre for young people, based at 58 Charles Street. Both organisations were founded by Ian Horsburgh.

Glamorgan Archives, D20/4/1/2
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