The Road Show is still going ahead in Blaenau Ffestiniog

More than 30 international artists are due to descend on Blaenau Ffestiniog between 6-8 June to take part in a UK tour called Road Show.

The former slate town was chosen as the venue to represent Wales in the venture reaching out to rural communities.

It is described as "a wacky weekend of international art, music, film, performance, stalls and sport".

The touring artists include a hermit living in a forest according to rules set by local schoolchildren, an artist who explodes melons and hunts cars with a crossbow and a woman who cleans slate dressed as a pig.

It would be a huge embarrassment if no Welsh artists took part Iwan Williams, Real Institute

Despite putting forward a bid for �16,000, film society Real Institute - presenting the show in association with Grizedale Arts in Cumbria - have learnt they are only getting �5,000 from the Arts Council of Wales.

They say the event will now not be the showcase for Welsh talent they had hoped for and that some of the plans have to be scrapped.

Inflatable house

Iwan Williams from the Real Institute said: "We had hoped to get 10 artists from Wales and pay them professional costs and expenses and so on.

"Now we can't do that. We have to cut corners and scrap some of the projects we planned.

"We wanted to close the road into Blaenau and one artist was going to install a huge inflatable house there, but that is now cancelled.

"This is a massive project, the biggest ever in Blaenau - it would be a huge embarrassment if no Welsh artists took part," he added.

One of the artists involved is furious that the Arts Council of Wales are not fully funding the event.

Tim Iliffe of Llanfairfechan says he will now not be able to take part in the project.

"The young Welsh artists who are taking part are part-time artists who have to scratch around to survive," says Mr Iliffe who also runs a farm and a small business.

"They have been let down and deserve more."

Support

But Real Institute hope they can still persuade the Welsh contingency to take part by offering each artist �50, which they admit is inadequate.

The Arts Council of England is giving �35,000 to the venture in England and funding has also been granted by the Scottish Arts Council, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Oriel Mostyn and the Gulbenkian Foundation.

Mr Iliffe is highly critical of the Arts Council of Wales and says that chief executive, Peter Tyndall, is turning his back on the very people he ought to be supporting.

Arts Council of Wales spokesman, Iestyn Davies, said that they could not fund the whole project because of financial constraints.

"I can assure Mr Iliffe we are taking this very seriously, but unfortunately, as we receive so many good applications, with a restricted budget, we are unable to fund everything fully.

"If we had a magic wand, we would fund everybody and everything," he said.