A new four-year arts initiative has been launched by Cadw and the Arts Council of Wales at eight heritage sites across Wales, as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

The Cauldrons and Furnaces programme incorporates a range of artist-led schemes and workshops in partnership with local communities, which will develop into a number of large scale events over the course of the Cultural Olympiad. Caerphilly Castle and Blaenavon Ironworks in South Wales; Laugharne Castle in Carmarthenshire and St Davids Bishop's Palace in Pembrokeshire are among the sites to be included in the scheme, as well as Caernarfon Castle, Denbigh Castle, Flint Castle and Harlech Castle in North Wales.

The Cauldrons and Furnaces projects are being funded by Cadw, the Welsh Assembly Government's historic environment agency, and Legacy Trust UK, the government-funded charity set up to support legacy projects for the 2012 London Olympics. Welsh heritage minister Alun Ffred Jones said: "As part of the overarching Power of the Flame programme, the Cauldrons and Furnaces initiative, which will be delivered in partnership with Cadw, promises to excite every community in Wales and bring the values of the Olympics to our diverse linguistic and cultural communities."

Gwyn L Williams, 2012 Cultural Olympiad programmer for Wales, added: "Cauldrons and Furnaces represents an enormously ambitious project undertaken by Cadw and the Arts Council of Wales as part of the developing Cultural Olympiad. "Over the next six months more than 40 artists will work in communities throughout Wales with several hundred young people to deliver specific installations inspired by these magnificent Cadw sites."