Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales) is rethinking the way the organisation uses its collections to interact with audiences across seven sites. Its powerful new vision, Inspiring People, Changing Lives, is being manifested through its aim to embed community engagement in every department of the organisation.
This ethos is evident in Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd’s (National Museum Cardiff) current exhibition, Who Decides? Making Connections with Contemporary Art. Despite many collections being in public ownership, it is usually only a relatively small number of people who make the key decisions on collecting and display.
One of the aims of this exhibition is to ask the question: “Is that fair?” Another is to celebrate particular milestones in contemporary collecting; and a third is to “create a more democratic and accountable museum”.
The exhibition has been co-curated with staff and service users of the Wallich, a charity that supports people who have experienced homelessness in Wales. The curators were tasked with selecting 50 works from the Derek Williams Trust collection. This collection, given on long-term loan to the museum in 1992, features the work of nearly 100 artists. There is also an installation of over 70 ceramic works, which belonged to the late London gallery owner, Anita Besson, who bequeathed her collection to the trust. The two collections are being exhibited together for the first time.
I can’t pretend to be an authority on art and art exhibitions as I fall into the “I know what I like” category on the art-appreciation spectrum. However, so do many of the exhibition’s co-curators from the Wallich, so I am in good company.
Meeting the curators
On entry, the scene is well-set with a display of planning material, highlighting the main discussion points and identifying assumptions about art spaces and ways to challenge these. There are also introductions to the curators, who range from members of the Wallich staff who have studied art at university to people who have never been into a museum before.
A film provides further insight into curators’ motivations for selecting particular works, such as their interest in a certain subject matter. This context made all the difference as I walked around the exhibition, as it enabled me to imagine the curators’ experiences of such an exciting task.
Early on, one of the highlights for me was the Who Decides? store. This space is given over to works that did not make it onto the final roster this time. The People’s Choice feature invites visitors to vote for their favourite work in the store, and each month a different one is displayed on rotation. This keeps the exhibition dynamic and adds another element of inclusivity. The space itself must have seemed like a wonderful blank canvas for the curators, with its high ceilings and diffuse light from overhead panels providing a calming, neutral space. So the exhibition lighting is nicely stripped back with just some accent lighting applied to the ceramic display.
The open spaces have also meant that the curators appeared relatively unconstrained in their selection of works. Although the exhibition film explains some of the logistical constraints on certain works, there is a nice balance of painting, sculpture, photography and decorative art.
Some contemporary issues are also addressed, including female genital mutilation, through a series of arresting pieces. And our ignorance of those most in need is documented in a film shot on a train of a homeless person blanked by fellow travellers. In addition, many labels ask probing questions to help the viewer relate what they are seeing to their own lives, such as “Who was the last person you ignored who needed your help?” and “What are your earliest memories of home?”
Along with the basic artist-title-media format label, many of the works are also “narrated” by the curators, who explain their choice and what it evokes for them. Some of them are pleasingly simple – childhood memories for instance – which can reassure uncertain visitors that fluency in art-speak or over-analysis is unnecessary.
Useful guidance
This nurturing, encouraging approach is projected throughout the exhibition, with content devised to help people form their own opinions. Helpful “House Rules” feature early on in the display, but perhaps would have been better placed closer to the entrance. Similarly, the fantastic “Thought Exchange” sheets, which encourage discussion around the artworks, would have worked well spaced at points around the gallery, rather than just part-way through. The mid-point break-out space however does serve well as an area for reflection.
Accessible media stands provide more information about the curators’ involvement in the planning. More questions are asked and visitors can give their responses on cards, which are then displayed. It is great to read, on one of the museum’s blog posts, that the curators were keen to gather more public feedback, continuing the discussion around what art is.
To the uninitiated (such as myself), contemporary art can be intimidating and make you feel like an imposter when you step into a gallery. But this exhibition made me feel the exact opposite. It drew out all those thoughts I shared with the curators and other visitors and made me feel as if I actually belonged there.
It’s apparent from the exhibition film that, as the process ran on, the curators grew in confidence. And this confidence rubs off on the visitors too. It is probably the first art exhibition I’ve seen that I would return to and encourage others to see.
Through this exhibition, National Museum Cardiff has taken a big step in breaking down barriers between user and producer. It is sharing some of the power at play in the stewardship of collections, and this has proven beneficial for users, communities and staff.
There is still some fine-tuning to do, as there always is with new ideas, but the curators and the museum should congratulate themselves for creating something that truly puts co-production and participation at the forefront of exhibition design. Llongyfarchiadau – congratulations – to National Museum Wales.
Morwenna Lewis is the curator of the Pontypridd Museum
Main funders Derek Williams Trust; Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales)
Exhibition design The Wallich
Lighting design In house
Display cases In house
Exhibition fit-out Fernleigh Design Cardiff
Graphic design DLT Design
AV design In house
Exhibition ends 2 September
Admission Free
This ethos is evident in Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd’s (National Museum Cardiff) current exhibition, Who Decides? Making Connections with Contemporary Art. Despite many collections being in public ownership, it is usually only a relatively small number of people who make the key decisions on collecting and display.
One of the aims of this exhibition is to ask the question: “Is that fair?” Another is to celebrate particular milestones in contemporary collecting; and a third is to “create a more democratic and accountable museum”.
The exhibition has been co-curated with staff and service users of the Wallich, a charity that supports people who have experienced homelessness in Wales. The curators were tasked with selecting 50 works from the Derek Williams Trust collection. This collection, given on long-term loan to the museum in 1992, features the work of nearly 100 artists. There is also an installation of over 70 ceramic works, which belonged to the late London gallery owner, Anita Besson, who bequeathed her collection to the trust. The two collections are being exhibited together for the first time.
I can’t pretend to be an authority on art and art exhibitions as I fall into the “I know what I like” category on the art-appreciation spectrum. However, so do many of the exhibition’s co-curators from the Wallich, so I am in good company.
Meeting the curators
On entry, the scene is well-set with a display of planning material, highlighting the main discussion points and identifying assumptions about art spaces and ways to challenge these. There are also introductions to the curators, who range from members of the Wallich staff who have studied art at university to people who have never been into a museum before.
A film provides further insight into curators’ motivations for selecting particular works, such as their interest in a certain subject matter. This context made all the difference as I walked around the exhibition, as it enabled me to imagine the curators’ experiences of such an exciting task.
Early on, one of the highlights for me was the Who Decides? store. This space is given over to works that did not make it onto the final roster this time. The People’s Choice feature invites visitors to vote for their favourite work in the store, and each month a different one is displayed on rotation. This keeps the exhibition dynamic and adds another element of inclusivity. The space itself must have seemed like a wonderful blank canvas for the curators, with its high ceilings and diffuse light from overhead panels providing a calming, neutral space. So the exhibition lighting is nicely stripped back with just some accent lighting applied to the ceramic display.
The open spaces have also meant that the curators appeared relatively unconstrained in their selection of works. Although the exhibition film explains some of the logistical constraints on certain works, there is a nice balance of painting, sculpture, photography and decorative art.
Some contemporary issues are also addressed, including female genital mutilation, through a series of arresting pieces. And our ignorance of those most in need is documented in a film shot on a train of a homeless person blanked by fellow travellers. In addition, many labels ask probing questions to help the viewer relate what they are seeing to their own lives, such as “Who was the last person you ignored who needed your help?” and “What are your earliest memories of home?”
Along with the basic artist-title-media format label, many of the works are also “narrated” by the curators, who explain their choice and what it evokes for them. Some of them are pleasingly simple – childhood memories for instance – which can reassure uncertain visitors that fluency in art-speak or over-analysis is unnecessary.
Useful guidance
This nurturing, encouraging approach is projected throughout the exhibition, with content devised to help people form their own opinions. Helpful “House Rules” feature early on in the display, but perhaps would have been better placed closer to the entrance. Similarly, the fantastic “Thought Exchange” sheets, which encourage discussion around the artworks, would have worked well spaced at points around the gallery, rather than just part-way through. The mid-point break-out space however does serve well as an area for reflection.
Accessible media stands provide more information about the curators’ involvement in the planning. More questions are asked and visitors can give their responses on cards, which are then displayed. It is great to read, on one of the museum’s blog posts, that the curators were keen to gather more public feedback, continuing the discussion around what art is.
To the uninitiated (such as myself), contemporary art can be intimidating and make you feel like an imposter when you step into a gallery. But this exhibition made me feel the exact opposite. It drew out all those thoughts I shared with the curators and other visitors and made me feel as if I actually belonged there.
It’s apparent from the exhibition film that, as the process ran on, the curators grew in confidence. And this confidence rubs off on the visitors too. It is probably the first art exhibition I’ve seen that I would return to and encourage others to see.
Through this exhibition, National Museum Cardiff has taken a big step in breaking down barriers between user and producer. It is sharing some of the power at play in the stewardship of collections, and this has proven beneficial for users, communities and staff.
There is still some fine-tuning to do, as there always is with new ideas, but the curators and the museum should congratulate themselves for creating something that truly puts co-production and participation at the forefront of exhibition design. Llongyfarchiadau – congratulations – to National Museum Wales.
Morwenna Lewis is the curator of the Pontypridd Museum
Project data
Cost £20,000Main funders Derek Williams Trust; Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales)
Exhibition design The Wallich
Lighting design In house
Display cases In house
Exhibition fit-out Fernleigh Design Cardiff
Graphic design DLT Design
AV design In house
Exhibition ends 2 September
Admission Free
