Telling the World about Wales
The reputation of our nation’s collections is growing around the world.
Our museums attract around 1.5 million visits a year. Up to one in ten visitors come from outside the UK and we expect the numbers to increase in the future.
International work is one of our main priorities. We're growing Amgueddfa Cymru’s international profile with an array of projects and partnerships, so that we can promote our wonderful collections around the world.
Working with Visit Wales and other departments within the Welsh Assembly Government, the USA tour of the exhibition Turner to Cézanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection drew on our nation’s rich and unique assets in culture, history and the environment.
A visually stunning survey of the evolution of modern art– American Federation of Arts Director Julia Brown
Amgueddfa Cymru plays a crucial role in promoting a positive image of Wales. At any one time, hundreds of works are on loan to museums and galleries across the globe. They are missionaries not just for the exceptional quality of our national art collections, but also for Wales as a destination for art-lovers and cultural tourists.
However projects like the US tour, Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2009 and numerous other ventures benefit Wales as a whole, not just the culture and tourism sectors. Our website Rhagor raises the profile of our collections and research by extending the reach to global audiences and creating a presence for Wales on the world stage.
This exciting and powerful exhibition will capture the public imagination and will tell one of the greatest stories ever told by Wales
– Alun Ffred Jones AM, Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Heritage
Turner to Cézanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection was organized jointly with the American Federation of Arts, a non-profit body that organizes art exhibitions around the world, publishes exhibition catalogues and develops education programmes.
The tour was huge success, having opened at the Columbia Museum of Art in March 2009 and moving on to four other venues over 18 months. It featured 58 iconic paintings from the collections of Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, including works by Cézanne, Monet, Renoir, Millet, Manet and Turner. Some have never been seen in the USA before.
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, inaugurated in 1967, attracts a million visitors from across the USA and around the world. Wales was invited to be the guest nation this year. Over one hundred individual practitioners, performers and presenters from Wales participated in the festival and three of Amgueddfa Cymru’s museums - St Fagans, the National Slate Museum and the National Wool Museum - were represented at Smithsonian 09.
The festival was another opportunity to raise the profile of Wales with a largely U.S. audience. Taking place in what’s known as The Mall in Washington D.C, it includes daily programmes of music, song and dance, crafts, occupational skills and cooking demonstrations, storytelling, workshops and discussions.
For more information about the exhibition Turner to Cézanne and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival visit Wales.com.
If you would like to get involved in promoting Amgueddfa Cymru overseas, contact Heledd Fychan.
