Moving the Museum

Students from Cardiff School of Art and Design recently had an exciting opportunity. Not only did they get to spend lots of time at National Museum Cardiff, but a lucky few also got to display their work in our Main Hall!

Moving the Museum was a five-week project which brought together students from across the entire breadth of courses that CSAD offer—including animation, illustration, textiles and ceramics.

After an introduction to the museum and tours of the galleries, the students were tasked with creating original work in response to the wealth of inspiration at National Museum Cardiff. Each student brought their own skills and experience to the project, and it was very interesting to see the variety of ways the students approached the brief.

Including both fine and applied art, the responses encompassed everything from paintings and sculptures to ceramics and textiles. There were even lighting products, metalwork and reinterpretations of Marcel Duchamp’s Box in a Valise, a mini museum full of tiny treasures. We didn't get pictures of everything, but you can see some examples below.

As well as the physical works, there were also several screen-based pieces. These ranged from stop motion animation, explorations of our vertebrate collection and even a trailer for a computer game set in the museum.

The finished projects were presented during a grand finale in our Clore Discovery Centre. To see the finished works and to hear the students discuss their experiences with enthusiasm was a real pleasure. The day felt like a celebration of both the museum’s collections and the students’ creativity and skill.

After the final presentation day, some suitable works were chosen for display in our Main Hall. The students brought their work on a Monday, when we are closed to the public, and worked with our technicians to install their work.

The cases got much of attention over the following few weeks and our visitors very much enjoyed seeing the displays. We’re sure you’ll agree they look great! Diolch yn fawr to the students for all their hard work, and to CSAD's Owen Stickler for organising the project.