Theatr na n'Óg have had a passion for telling stories for 40 years and have collaborated with several of the Amgueddfa Cymru sites. Together they have collaborated on many projects that have brought the history and culture of Wales to life, inspiring young people and adults across many workshops and performances. 

In previous years National Museum Cardiff and the National Waterfront Museum have collaborated with them on a variety of projects. In 2009, Alfred Russel Wallace, who’s discoveries spurred Darwin to produce ‘On the Origin of Species’, was the focus. In 2022, the story of Elgan Jones, a 14-year-old boy who was arrested for poaching in 1898, became a court room drama which placed the audience as jurors. Now, in 2024, the National Waterfront Museum is working with them once more on a project exploring the story of the Merthyr Tydfil born boxer, Cuthbert Taylor, in a production called ‘The Fight.’

To get a deeper understanding of Theatr na n'Óg, ‘The Fight’, and the role Amgueddfa Cymru plays in the partnership, Leisa Williams, Senior Learning Officer at National Waterfront Museum and Geinor Styles, the Artistic Director at Theatr na n'Óg, sat down for a chat about projects past and present.

Use the media player to listen to the conversation in full. 

About ‘The Fight’ |

'The Fight' is a brand-new play telling the true story of a Welsh boxing legend.

In the deprived valleys of the 1930s, boxing was more than just a sport; it was a way out of poverty. Merthyr-born Cuthbert Taylor, now seen as one of the best boxers of his generation, should have had the opportunity to fight for a British title, but was denied this chance because of the colour of his skin.

Written by Geinor Styles, Directed by Kev McCurdy

Click here for information on school performances, workshops, learning resources and more. 

We're busy getting ready for the redevelopment project at the National Slate Museum, which is due to start November 2024! We want to give volunteers the opportunity to be a part of this phase of the project by helping us clean, catalogue and pack our collection in the Pattern Loft. 

To ensure our wonderful industrial collection is protected whilst essential conservation and renovation work is done on the Gilfach Ddu, the collection will be moving. Or at least some of it! Our Collections & Cataloguing Assistants, Osian and Mathew, have been busy labelling and cataloguing items of the collection that haven't before been looked at in such detail. They will be cleaning them, and packing them safely in crates with tissue paper. 

This is a unique opportunity to welcome volunteers and involve them in new ways. We want to make the most of this opportunity to provide experiences, skills development and help improve people's wellbeing through volunteering. 

Sound interesting? Want to Take Part? Take a look at the full Collection Volunteer role description on the website.  You will be able to volunteer on Tuesdays or Thursdays, 10:00-1:00. We can be flexible to suit public transport. This project will run from 24 September to 31 October, but further collections volunteering opportunities will become available in the new year. Any questions? Get in touch with Chloe Ward, Volunteering & Engagement Coordinator on chloe.ward@museumwales.ac.uk. 

Perspective(s): Decolonising Heritage 
Perspective(s) is a decolonisation project commissioned by Amgueddfa Cymru in partnership with Arts Council Wales. As the lead artist at St Fagans National History Museum, I have been collaborating with Ways of Working, a socially conscious arts organisation,  to reimagine the museum as a space where narratives of power can both be upheld and dismantled.

Decolonising the Museum: Confronting Complex Legacies 
We began our project by asking a fundamental question: can a museum, an institution so deeply rooted in colonial histories, ever truly be decolonised? Audre Lorde famously said, ‘The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.’  This insight highlights both the complexity and urgency of decolonial work. It requires us to examine whose stories are present, whose voices are heard, and whose legacies are acknowledged within these spaces.  
Decoloniality, within an institution, manifests in many forms—visibility, inclusivity, and the decentring of dominant narratives, all while holding space for empathy.

These critical discussions were enriched by the insights of Professor Corrine Fowler an expert in the legacies of colonialism and Nusrat Ahmed, Head Curator of the South Asian Gallery at Manchester Museum. Their expertise guided us as we engaged with the complexities of decolonising St Fagans.

Creating Visibility at St Fagans 
St Fagans National History Museum tells the stories of the people of Wales. Yet as I walked through its halls, I struggled to see reflections of my heritage. This absence became central to our work. We asked: Who is represented here? Whose stories are told, and whose are missing?

In response, we invited the Aurora Trinity Collective—a grassroots group led by women of colour who create textile and embroidery art—to join us. The collective held textile workshops in the museum’s atrium, showcasing their artwork Ncheta, which explores remembrance, language, and the cultural significance of textiles. Through their presence, we reclaimed a space that had previously overlooked their contributions.

Unveiling Colonial Legacies at St Fagans Castle

Much of my art practice is research-led, often intersecting with my academic work. During my research, I uncovered a direct link between St Fagans Castle and Clive of India. Through the marriage of Clive’s grandson, Robert Clive, to Harriet Windsor, the wealth accumulated from colonial exploits flowed into the Windsor-Clive family. This wealth funded significant renovations to St Fagans Castle, embedding a colonial legacy within its very walls.

To further explore this history, we invited Bethan Scorey, whose doctoral project focuses on the architectural and garden history of St Fagans Castle to share her research.   
Armed with this broad spectrum of information, we set out to expose the colonial roots that continue to shape the narrative of the castle.

Our creative interventions focused on these legacies, particularly those tied to Robert Clive, also known as ‘Clive of India.’ The project brought to light Wales’ often overlooked connection to British imperialism, a history still hidden in plain sight.

Engaging Visitors: Interactive Installations 
Our first intervention is prominently placed in the museum’s atrium, where we invite visitors to engage directly with the uncomfortable truths of colonialism. Posing questions like, ‘The British Empire was...?; and ‘What is the museum’s job within society?’ we encourage the public to reflect on power, history, and the evolving role of museums. This interactive installation—featuring Post-it notes where visitors share their thoughts—sparked meaningful conversations and further ensures that colonialism remains a central topic as they explore the museum.

A Colonial Legacy in the Living Room 
Our second installation recreated a British South Asian living room, a personal memory from my childhood in the 1980s. For many diasporic families, the living room was a haven, a place of community, celebration, and respite from the hostility of the outside world. At the heart of this familiar setting, we placed an eighteenth-century giltwood sofa once owned by Clive of India. Acquired by the National Museum of Wales in the 1950s, its colonial significance had been largely overlooked for decades. By positioning this artefact in a domestic scene, surrounded by family photos and personal objects, we reclaimed the narrative, prompting conversations about colonialism, memory, and how history is remembered and forgotten.

Reimagining Tipu Sultan’s Dream Palace 
Our third installation, Khawaab Mahal (Dream Palace), reimagines Tipu Sultan’s tent, which was looted by Clive’s son, Edward Clive, after Tipu died in battle. This beautiful tent, now housed at Powis Castle, became a symbol of British domination, often used for garden parties—an insult to its original purpose. We created a reinterpretation, using digital images of the original tent, printed on fabric. Also printed inside the tent, are extracts from Tipu’s dream journal. His dreams were dominated by the desire to defeat the British and through this installation, I engaged in a personal dialogue with him. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in Tipu’s world, surrounded by soundscapes and dreams, reclaiming a space once taken through force.

Absent Presence: Reclaiming Space Through Film 
The fourth installation, Absent Presence, is a site-specific film shot within the grounds of St Fagans Castle. Featuring the dancer Sanea Singh, the film reflects on the castle’s colonial past. Sanea’s fluid movements engaged with the castle’s architecture and gardens, reclaiming the space as her own. The film speaks to the themes of plunder, rebellion, and the silenced stories of South Asia, drawing a connection between the past and present.

Reclaiming Histories and Rewriting Narratives 
Through these installations, we aimed to dismantle the dominant narratives surrounding St Fagans Castle and reclaim the stories that have been erased. For me and Ways of Working, Perspective(s) is more than just a project; it is a reclamation of history, a dialogue across centuries, and a call to recognise the enduring legacies of colonialism that remain embedded in our institutions today. By confronting these legacies, we can begin to reshape how we remember and who gets to tell the stories of our shared history. 
 

I’m currently studying heritage conservation at Cardiff University, so I wanted to undertake his placement as I have a keen interest in how museums digitise their collections for educational purposes and to increase the accessibility of the heritage they safeguard, and I also wanted to explore how museum collections are used for research purposes.

What are diatoms?

Diatoms are microscopic, single-celled algae that inhabit oceans, rivers, and lakes. They are notable for their intricate cell walls made of silica, which resemble delicate glass shells when viewed under a microscope. These cell walls, called frustules, have unique and complex patterns. Diatoms play a vital role in the environment by performing approximately one-fifth of the total global photosynthesis. This process not only produces a significant portion of the Earth's oxygen but diatoms also form an important part of aquatic food webs, supporting a diverse range of marine and freshwater organisms.

Their importance for research lies in their ability to act as bio-indicators in aquatic ecosystems. Analysis of diatom populations and diversity studies have been used to evaluate human impact on freshwater and marine environments. As bio-indicators, diatoms can be used to assess the levels of organic pollution, eutrophication and acidification of their aquatic environment. Different species have differing tolerance levels of environmental conditions like water pH (the acidity or alkalinity of the water) and nutrient concentrations. Several diatom indices have been developed and are used by the Environment Agency to monitor water quality in UK rivers and lakes.

Analysis of diatom populations can also be used to demonstrate trends over time, as Ingrid’s work on the restoration of water quality of the rivers Wye and Irfon through periodic liming shows (for more details visit https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X20309961#ab010). The same case can be made for historical collections stored in museums, which can provide unique insight into historical diatom populations, and which can be used to infer previous environmental conditions and compare them to those found in contemporary studies.

In addition to their environmental and research importance, diatoms are incredibly beautiful. So much so, that during the Victorian period, they were often assembled into decorative arrangements on microscope slides. For the uninitiated, I would highly recommend searching for images of Johann Diedrich Möller’s work as well as the more contemporary works of Klaus Kemp; they are truly astounding arrangements. 

The Placement

Under Dr. Ingrid Juttner’s excellent guidance I learned basic diatom morphology and how to identify Gomphonema species, which typically display asymmetry along the trans-apical axis (i.e. the top and bottom halves are not usually mirror images of each other).

Ingrid took me through the process of diatom analysis in light microscopy, from “cooking” the water samples with hydrogen peroxide to remove organic cell content and preparing the microscope slides, through to photographing, editing and uploading the images to the museum’s diatom website. The photographs featured were taken with a light microscope at x1000 magnification, and measurements (length, width, striae density) were recorded. These images were then edited and prepared as plates to provide an overview of the cell size distribution in the species population. The plates were uploaded to the website with corresponding literature and morphological descriptions. 

Some notable species I photographed which are now featured on the website are Eunotia arcubus, Eunotia botuliformis and Planothidium incuriatum.

Overall, my placement within the Lower Plants section has

• Provided me with invaluable insights into scientific and particularly, taxonomic, practices
• Highlighted the role that diatoms play in our natural environments
• Demonstrated how museum collections can and are being utilised for the benefit of science as well as being important repositories for mapping changes in biodiversity.
• Illustrated how projects like the Diatom Flora and Fauna of Britain and Ireland can help create accessible resources for professional and amateur researchers as well as opening up collections to a wider public, who might otherwise be unaware of their existence.
• Finally, this placement has been an opportunity to admire the exceptional beauty of diatoms.

If you would like to know more about the diatom collection at the National Museum of Wales, please see the museum’s Diatom Research page  as well as  blog posts by Ingrid entitled ‘Scientific expedition to Rara Lake, Nepal’ and ‘Diatom diversity of the Falklands Islands’. I would also highly encourage anyone interested in diatom identification to view the Diatom Flora and Fauna of Britain and Ireland website.

My heartfelt thanks go out to Dr. Ingrid Jüttner for her instruction, her wealth of knowledge and, not least, her conversation. I would equally like to thank the various staff members who coordinated and supported this placement at Amgueddfa Cymru, may there be many more such opportunities.

Written by Lindsey Sartin, MA Conservation Practice student, Durham University on Placement at National Museum Cardiff.

The Dodo bird was first documented in 1598 on the island of Mauritius in the East Indies, but unfortunately, it became extinct by 1700—before modern taxidermy processes were discovered and used for the preservation of animal specimens. However, some replica taxidermy models exist. One of these is at Amgueddfa Cymru –Museum Wales. The museum purchased it in 1915 from Rowland Ward Ltd. for 15 GBP (roughly the equivalent of 1288 GBP today). 

The Amgueddfa Dodo—named Dudley by the conservation team—contains information about the discovery, distinction, and documentation of the extinct Raphus cucullatus species, centuries of speculation and research about what the species looked like, the development and cultural fascination with taxidermy, and artistic model-making processes.

Before conservation, little was known about Dudley and how it was made. X-radiographs revealed the internal structure of the model, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) was used to understand the composition of Dudley's feet, face, and dressing (the external parts of taxidermy specimens, including the feathers and skin). X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and scanning electron microscopy with elemental analysis indicated arsenic had been used as a preservative for the skin to prevent pests from consuming it, so extra safety precautions had to be taken when handling Dudley. 

The analysis results were then compared with Rowland Ward's methods of mounting specimens, described in a book written by Rowland Ward in 1880. Letters between William Hoyle, the Museum Director at the time, and Rowland Ward Ltd also revealed that Dudley had a tail when he first arrived at the museum, but it had since been lost. An image of Dudley dated to circa 1938 also showed it had a tail in the past. 

All the investigations showed that iron rods make up the skeletal frame in the legs, extend through a wood base made of two boards held together with glue and dowels and are attached to a thin board cut to the shape of Dudley's body. The neck is probably circular and made from a separate board from the body. Dudley's head and feet are plaster, and tempera and oil paints were used to add colour to both parts. A piece of canvas connects the head to the body. The body is stuffed with wool, and the dressing includes real, natural bird skin and feathers (down, contour, and flight feathers). Polyvinyl acetate (PVA) between some toenails indicates that Dudley was conserved sometime after 1930. When the model first arrived at the museum, it should have had a tail with feathers that curved away from the head.

Condition Before Conservation

Being over 100 years old, Dudley's skin had become dry and brittle, and many feathers had fallen out particularly around the head, neck and legs. The plaster in the feet was crumbling. A claw was missing from one of the talons, feathers were missing from one of the wings, and the tail was missing. There was also a layer of dust on the entire model. 

Conservation Treatment

First, dust was removed from Dudley with a soft, sable brush towards a low suction museum vacuum. The vacuum nozzle was covered with a fine mesh to ensure no feathers or skin were collected into the vacuum. 

Then, the plaster on his feet was consolidated with a polyvinyl butyral resin (Buvtar 98) in ethanol. A replacement claw was made with Thibra thermoplastic painted black and adhered with an ethyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate copolymer resin (Paraloid B72). 

Feathers that had fallen off Dudley in the past were stuck back on with Paraloid B72. 

New feathers had to be purchased to replace the ones missing from the wing and tail, but the new feathers were bright white and did not match the appearance of the rest. So, acrylic paints were diluted with isopropyl alcohol and airbrushed onto the new feathers. Once dry, the tail feather was curled to the proper shape with steam. All the new feathers were then placed in their proper positions with entomology pins. 

With an improved appearance and stability, Dudley is now ready to meet the public! Dudley's visit to the conservation lab also allowed the conservation team to learn more about how the model was constructed, which will allow the museum to better preserve it for current and future generations to enjoy.