The Gallery has been named as a key partner in a prestigious new national contemporary art gallery for Wales.
Swansea Council’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery has been announced as one of nine network galleries in the national contemporary art gallery for Wales – a dispersed model aiming to bring Wales’ national contemporary art collection to communities across the country, free to all.
This is a key commitment of the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government and the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru. The commitment is being made possible through a collaboration between three partners: Arts Council of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru and the National Library of Wales.
The exciting national flagship project for Wales is designed to widen access to Wales’ publicly owned art collections and support artists currently living and working in Wales by providing associated commissioning and exhibiting opportunities.
Work to establish the network of galleries across Wales is due to complete at the end of March 2025 with the nine network galleries confirmed as:
- Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth
- Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea
- Mostyn, Llandudno
- Newport Museum & Art Gallery
- Oriel Davies, Newtown
- Oriel Myrddin, Carmarthen
- Plas Glyn-y-Weddw, Pwllheli
- Ruthin Craft Centre, Ruthin
- Storiel, Bangor
Elliott King, Swansea Council’s cabinet member for culture, human rights and equalities, said: “We’re really excited to be part of this innovative project. We’ll be delighted to share Wales’s contemporary art collections with the Glynn Vivian’s knowledgeable visitors who are passionate about art in all its forms. We look forward to sharing an amazing array of artworks with our diverse local audiences and to working with artists, curators and local communities on exhibitions and learning programmes. Being part of the national contemporary art gallery for Wales is a fantastic opportunity for the people of Swansea.”
National Contemporary Art Gallery Wales Chair, Mandy Williams-Davies said: “Contemporary art can help us confront the big questions about who we are as a nation, what’s important to us and where we’re going. Works from the national collection will be loaned and exhibited across this network; artists’ commissions and outreach activity will engage communities locally and nationally and collaboration across the network of partners is set to increase opportunities for sector development and for public interaction with visual art.”
A new online resource Celf ar y Cyd continues to grow as part of the national contemporary art gallery for Wales. This gives instant access to a digitised collection of the nation’s contemporary art, accessible to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
The gallery is currently Celebrating 25 years of the Wakelin Award, with a retrospective exhibition that brings together work by all past winners, on display until 1 September 2024. The Award is administered and supported by the Friends of the Glynn Vivian, together with donations in memory of Richard and Rosemary Wakelin.
Selected artworks in this exhibition have been loaned from Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, as part of the National Contemporary Art Gallery for Wales initiative, Celf ar y Cyd.
The development of a national contemporary art gallery for Wales is a new approach to building the profile and accessibility of contemporary art in and of Wales, to ensure everyone in Wales, and beyond, can access Welsh contemporary art in both a physical and digital space.
Formed of a diverse network of galleries across 11 sites in Wales, a digital platform, and national partner organisations, it is a unique dispersed, co-created model which will connect communities and artists with our national collection.
Artes Mundi 10, Cyd Gyflwynydd: Sefydliad Bagri – Taloi Havini yn ennill degfed ymgorfforiad Gwobr Artesd Mundi
