Skilled and proud artisans have been a feature
of Welsh life for centuries. Inspired by beautiful and dramatic
countryside, the range of natural materials available to them, and
the history all around them, those traditions thrive today. Your
choice as a visitor is endless, with something to suit all tastes,
but these 10 suggestions will get you started and whet your
appetite for more.
North Wales Coast & Dee Estuary
The Royal Cambrian Academy in
Conwy offers nine temporary exhibitions a year, a lively education
programme and an exhibition programme showcasing the best of
contemporary Fine Art in Wales.
Isle of Anglesey
Welsh artists Kyffin Williams and Charles F. Tunnicliffe are
celebrated at Oriel Ynys
Môn, an arts and heritage centre in Llangefni, Anglesey, which
also houses a gallery to introduce you to the island’s history.
Menai, Llŷn & Meirionnydd
In September, follow the Helfa Gelf, an Art Trail between
the studios of over 100 artists, from painters to potters, and talk
to them about their creative processes.
Ceredigion
The Teifi Valley in southern Ceredigion was once the heart of
the thriving Welsh woollen industry. Take a free tour around
Curlew Weavers, a
traditional Welsh woollen mill at Rhydlewis. There’s a large
craft shop and picnic area there too – and demonstrations by
appointment.
Pembrokeshire
Visit the home of an unusual Welsh treasure - a 30-metre long
tapestry
hanging in Fishguard Library, produced to mark the 1997 bicentenary
of the last invasion of mainland Britain by a French force in
February 1797. Or take a tour around Oriel y
Parc, a free world-class gallery showcasing artists’
interpretation of landscape, taken from the vast collections of
Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum
Wales.
Carmarthenshire
The Boathouse at Laugharne was home for the last four years of
his life to Dylan Thomas . Now a
heritage centre, this is where he wrote Under Milk Wood and other
works.
Gower & Swansea Bay
Celebrate an ancient Welsh tradition. The Lovespoon
Gallery in Mumbles takes you on a love filled journey with
hundreds of traditional designs.
The beaches of Gower are the inspiration for The Ultimate
Drifter, a craft business which creates unique objects ranging from
mirrors to table lamps made from salvaged
driftwood.
South Wales Coast & Severn Estuary
In the heart of Cardiff Bay sits Craft in the Bay, a
gallery specialising in Welsh-made craft. Run by The Makers Guild
in Wales, which has over 70 maker-members, a different craft-maker
works in the gallery each day.
When a wealthy resident of Penarth, near Cardiff, built a new
gallery in 1888, he wanted it to open on Sundays, to attract as
many people as possible. Turner House Gallery thus became known as
‘The Sunday
Gallery’, and today offers a changing programme of travelling
and local visual art.