: Museums, Exhibitions and Events

In the quiet of winter, the gardens of St Fagans National Museum of History are alive with activity. January is the perfect time to prune apple trees, ensuring healthy growth and a good harvest later in the year. At St Fagans, the orchards are home to several heritage apple varieties, each with its own fascinating name and story.

One such remarkable apple is Gwell na Mil, meaning "Better than a Thousand." This variety, known as Seek No Further by English speakers in Monmouth, dates back to at least the 1700s and was mentioned in the Cambrian Journal of 1856. Another is the Pig y Golomen, or "Pigeon’s Beak," a traditional variety from Pembrokeshire, with a name inspired by its distinctive shape. There’s also Morgan Sweet, a favourite among Welsh miners, who valued its refreshing flavour during long shifts underground.

These apples, along with others, can be found in the many orchards across St Fagans. The old trees not only provide fruit but also act as vital habitats for wildlife. Birds, insects, and bats all rely on the orchards for shelter and food.

Every year, the apples are harvested and taken off-site to be pressed into juice, which is then sold in the museum shop. This annual cycle of care, from winter pruning to autumn harvesting, keeps the orchards healthy and productive and reflects traditional care that has supported orchards for generations.

January is also the season for wassailing, an ancient tradition to bless apple trees and ensure a good harvest. Wassailing often involves singing, offering cider to the trees, and sometimes driving away bad spirits. The museum’s collections feature beautiful wassailing bowls, traditionally used during these celebrations. Visitors can see some examples of these in the Gweithdy gallery, including pieces of Ewenny pottery.

January in the orchards is a time to reflect on traditions and care for the future. The pruning done now ensures the trees remain healthy and productive for years to come, continuing a cycle that has been part of Welsh rural life for centuries.

As part of Kids in Museums Takeover Day Ysgol Penboyr pupils enjoyed creative Christmas decoration workshops.

Craftsperson, Non Mitchell, taught pupils how to wet felt Christmas baubles and make Christmas God’s Eyes.

Ellie Smallcombe facilitated Christmas decoration weaving workshops, a good time was had by all!

The Summer holiday period saw the launch of the new sensory toy boxes at National Museum Cardiff. There are 5 boxes which are inspired by our collections and galleries. The boxes were developed to engage younger visitors and enhance their museum visit through multi sensory play. The boxes are located in five of our galleries and correspond with the objects on display such as woodland wildlife, sealife, dinosaurs and historical and contemporary art.

The boxes include a varied selection of toys and books which are accessible for children of all ages and needs. In museum spaces where collections on display cannot be handled, sensory resources allow children to learn through play and can spark intergenerational conversations about our collections.  

Visitors to the museum are encouraged to find all 5 boxes and share any feedback and photographs with us on X at @Amgueddfa_Learn.

When it came to writing this article, my thought space had been taken to the theme of journeys; the unknown ground between a beginning and an ending. My journey as a young producer for Bloedd’s latest project, an LGBTQIA+ oral histories exhibition, has been a nearly yearlong one. What began as conversation in a shared space containing mutual interests and passions, defined the nucleus of my work here. The beginnings of this time had been an unpacking of what we felt as a collective was important to represent for an upcoming exhibition. We knew from the jump that we wanted to represent voices that may often go unheard; those whose experience may not be recounted upon by the mainstream perception of what it means to live an LGBTQIA+ life. 

Moving away from the typical portrait of queerness being a thrown brick in protest, that while important, we are more than our fight for freedoms; our stories can be found in the everyday, in the places we visit, the jobs we keep, the people we love and share our lives with. The given name of this exhibition, Ours to Tell, came only after we had completed our collection of stories, the self-described journey we undertook over several months of visits and interviews, holding dialogue with well over fifty years of experience. But what is in a name? Ours to Tell is a reclamation. It’s our way of saying “here is a story, told by a firsthand account of the storyteller”. It’s our way of saying “these words are cut from a book hidden away in the attic of my mind. I’ve ventured into the attic, and I’m dusting it off for you.” It’s our way of saying “this is where I come from”. 

While the journey of this project has been underpinned by a great deal of planning and preparation, what you can’t prepare for is what you might uncover in someone else’s story. You commit to the routine of presenting a series of questions, from you to the storyteller, with only a table between you. It comes as a surprise the level of detail, which is excavated by the storyteller, they are like a hoarder being handed a stepladder, invited to dig up their stowed away possessions from the attic. Your questions are prompts: “when did you first see your identity reflected in someone else?”, “what does a safe space look like to you?”, the list goes on. The exciting part is that you don’t know what’s coming next, and you are there, alongside the storyteller, who guides you through a journey which may well bring up a familiarity or nostalgia for the listener. During these times when I’ve had the great pleasure to listen to these stories, I can confidently say that I have felt every kind of emotion in response. I laughed. I have cried. I have been moved. I have been taken on a journey.

Enabling the participants of this project to confidently speak about their experiences has proved an undeniable joy, though I cannot understate how this project has affected those coordinating its launch. Fellow young producer Joss Copeman, like me had been drawn to this exciting opportunity, Copeman’s “personal work is largely centred around queer narratives and themes of identity and the self.” The journey which unfolded from Ours to Tell has been greatly beneficial, as it pertains to young LGBTQIA+ creatives and makers, taking inspiration from unheard voices, now affected and transformed by echoes of their experience. This is a feeling I know will resonate with the audience, and I can only hope it will stir others in future, to share what might be put away, gathering dust in the attic. 

I’d like to conclude with a quote that shook me like a cat in a tree, “Art is not just for oneself, not just a marker of one’s own understanding. It is also a map for those who follow after us.”

Written by Ivy Kelly, Amgueddfa Cymru Producer (Bloedd).

Bloedd is the platform for youth engagement at Amgueddfa Cymru.

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

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