: Community Engagement

To celebrate Pride Month this year, some of our amazing ACPs will be hosting Pride themed workshops across some of our museums this June. As part of that celebration, we asked them to reflect on the themes and inspiration behind their workshop and what Pride means to them. 

Symbolism plays a large role in queer history; a big part of this symbolism has been through the use of flowers. Whether it be a derogatory or reclaimed term or a way of signaling to other members of the community, flowers are intertwined with our history.

Violets have historically been associated with lesbianism and femininity; green carnations have been used as a way for gay men to flag each other, ‘pansy’ has been used as an insult for effeminate men, and lavender, both the colour and flower, has been used for decades as an icon of queer resistance and liberation.

Throughout the museum’s archives there are examples of this floral symbolism in protest badges and artworks, which embody the link between our history and flowers.

Violets

In the 6th century, Sappho, a poet from the island Lesbos, described her female lover as wearing a ’violet tiara’. Sappho, well-renowned for her poems, sapphic eroticism and love (indeed, she is where the word sapphic originates), influenced the language and iconography associated with lesbianism and female sexuality extraordinarily. Her use of florals in her poetry no doubt shaped queer symbolism and kinship with flowers across the following centuries.

In early 20th-century Paris, violets were a common adornment for those a part of ‘Paris Lesbos’, homosexual women who built a community with one another represented by the violets they carried, gifted each other, and were buried with.

The symbol was reborn in America when a French play being performed on Broadway, The Captive, used violets to symbolise sapphic love. In the play, a woman gifts her romantic interest a bouquet of violets; this led to outrage and scandal across New York, the play being shut down, the sale of violets plummeting and a state law dealing with ‘obscenity’ being introduced. Despite the pushback, Parisian supporters of the play wore violets on their lapels and belts.

The colour violet has also had significant presence in LGBTQ+ history, with it being present on the first pride flag– created in 1978 by artist Gilbert Baker in California, USA- and it still being present on the traditional 6-stripe rainbow pride flag and progress pride flags and many other iterations. Violet typically symbolises the spirit of the LGBTQ+ community, a fitting meaning for a symbol that has lasted and spread for over a millennium.

Pansies

In the early 20th century, there were many floral terms used to describe an effeminate (and therefore ‘gay’) man. ‘Daisy’, ‘buttercup’ but, perhaps most notably, ‘pansy’. The term ‘pansy craze’ was used to describe the underground queer nightlife and drag scene in places like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, with similar scenes being seen across European cities like London, Berlin and Paris before the rise of authoritarian politics and Nazism. The onset of the depression, the beginnings of World War II and the end of American prohibition saw an end to the short period of visibility for the LBGT community, but the icon that is the pansy has prevailed. Still occasionally used as an insult by the some, ‘pansy’ has taken on a life of its own being used as a term of endearment.

Lavender

The colour lavender has been distinctly used to represent the LGBTQ+ community in many different eras and places, especially in the 20th century, but the flower was also used as a lesser-known symbol for homosexual love. Lesbians gifted lavender as a covert way of expressing their romantic interest in one another, and the flower became increasingly entwined with queer identity throughout the mid-1900s.

The ‘lavender scare’ was a time that parallelled the ‘red scare’ in 1940s and 50s America when those perceived to be a part of the community were fired from their jobs, often when working for the American government, due to their supposed ‘communist sympathies’ because of their sexuality.

The colour lavender was used to symbolise queer identity once again a month after the pivotal Stonewall Riots, in July 1969, as lavender sashes and armbands were handed out by the Gay Liberation Front in a ‘gay power’ march across New York City.

The Gay Liberation Front was the first recorded gay organisation to use ‘gay’ in its name, and its existence and work marked a turning point for the LGBTQ+ community across the globe. One of their first badges used a purple flower with the male/female symbols detailing its petals, whilst resting on a raised fist, a historic symbol of protest. The badge, which can currently be seen at St Fagans’ Wales is: Proud gallery.

A radical feminist group, ‘the Lavender Menace’, was an informal group that protested the exclusion of lesbians and sapphic women in feminist movements in the early 1970s. The term was first used by feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan, who described lesbians as a ‘lavender menace’ that would undermine the entire women’s liberation movement. The name was adopted by the group as a way of reclaiming the negative language used about them, and they are widely associated as being integral to the founding of lesbian feminism.

Carnations

Oscar Wilde, the Victorian author, famously popularised the green carnation in the late 19th century. The flower was dyed by watering it with water laced with arsenic. He pinned one to his left lapel, a style that keeps cropping up as we analyse the use of these flowers as a way to subtly signal to others that he was a rebellious individual, a man who loved other men, in a society that condemned and criminalised male homosexuality– Victorian London.

Eventually, after the publication of a book written anonymously, ‘The Green Carnation’, Wilde was arrested and jailed for gross indecency. Wilde outright denied writing the book, but his work popularising the carnation years prior was enough for authorities to pin the work on him.

Despite this, the carnation prevailed, and it is still a recognised symbol today, albeit a less popular one.

Roses

The rose is a well-known symbol of love, and of course this extends to queer love. In 1960s Japan the rose became an iconic symbol for gay men, even influencing the language they use to describe gay men today. Bara, meaning rose, is a commonly used term for the community.

Roses are also special to the transgender community, especially on Trans Day of Visibility (March 31st), when the phrase ‘give us our roses while we are still here’ is echoed. It means that we should celebrate the lives of trans people, of trans WOC, rather than simply mourning them when they are killed. It is about decentring grief in the trans community and celebrating life whilst amplifying transgender voices. The rose is an important symbol of this, showing appreciation and joy for transgender people.

In this painting, a self-portrait by gay artist Cedric Morris while he lived with his partner in Cornwall, Morris is depicted with a rose pinned to his lapel. Whether this is symbolic of his love or homosexuality is unclear, but it is an obvious example of the tie between the LGBTQ+ community and flowers throughout the ages. Morris was relatively open about his relationship with fellow artist Arthur Lett-Haines, despite homosexuality being illegal at the time.

Flowers are still an integral part of our community and a beautiful way to honour our history. A piece from the museum's archives I find particularly valuable is the flowers worn during the marriage of two gay men, Federico Podeschi and Darren Warren, on the day same-sex marriage was legalised in England and Wales. These flowers symbolise so much that the queer community has fought for: the right to be legally recognised. But they remind us that there is so much further to go, especially in these uncertain times and how recently it was that we gained some basic rights.

My workshop, run both this year and last for Pride, encourages you to connect with our history through the medium of printmaking. Last year we created a banner to be marched at Pride Cymru, and now I will invite participants to create a piece of art to take home or gift to another.

Elizabeth Bartlett @liz_did_stuff on Instagram

Amgueddfa Cymru Producers [ACPs] are a group of young people aged 16 – 25 living in or from Wales who collaborate with the Museum through participatory and paid opportunities.

This is a space to deepen knowledge and to ensure that cultural and heritage spaces are more representational of the young people and their many cultures that make up Wales today. We are here to make heritage relevant!

We explore art, heritage and identity, environmentalism, natural science, social history and archaeology through our collections and by co-producing events, workshops, exhibitions, digital media, publications, development groups and more! Our ACPs work closely with departments across the Museum to help us deepen representation within our collections and programming, that reflects all communities in Wales. This includes expanding our LGBTQ+ collection, decolonising our collections and gathering working-class history through oral histories. ACPs can also bring their own ideas or topics they wish to explore through our collections!

You can sign up to our mailing list here to keep up to date with news and new opportunities.

If you have any queries you can email us on bloedd.ac@museumwales.ac.uk. Follow us on Instagram to keep updated on all things Bloedd! 

Siôn Davies-Rollinson, Engagement and Volunteer Co-ordinator

Hi Siôn, tell us about yourself and your role at Amgueddfa Cymru.

I’m Siôn and I first joined Amgueddfa Cymru in 2012 as part of the Front of House team at St Fagans. For the past three years, I’ve been the Engagement & Volunteer Co-ordinator based at St Fagans. In this role, I support our volunteers and community groups to engage with Amgueddfa Cymru across a wide range of roles. One of the best aspects of my role which I really enjoy is getting to know our diverse mix of volunteers and to learn the reasons why they choose to volunteer at Amgueddfa Cymru.

Recently I have also become the Engagement & Volunteer Co-ordinator at Big Pit to help develop a volunteering programme, which is very exciting!

How many volunteers are there across the estate and what sort of things do they do?

There are over 850 volunteers involved with different programmes across Amgueddfa Cymru. At St Fagans we have over eight volunteering roles alone! Just to name a few, the garden volunteers help maintain the historical gardens on the Castle side, and our Book Project volunteers help collect and sell second-hand books in order to raise donations for Amgueddfa Cymru. Explore volunteers use our handling trolleys in the galleries, allowing our visitors to get up close to some of our collections. You may also see large groups of volunteers from community groups helping us with tasks such as fence painting, hedge cutting, and limewashing. We recently had Cardiff and Vale College students volunteering with us for the third year running. It’s really rewarding to see the students’ confidence develop through volunteering, whilst they give some of these tasks a go for the very first time.

Volunteer-led Book Project at St Fagans

We once saw old miners’ helmets from Big Pit become hanging baskets at St Fagans. They were brilliant. Are there any similar projects in the pipeline?

The miners’ helmets hanging baskets were a fun project, and the volunteers really enjoyed getting involved. The flowers also added a lot of colour to our Volunteering Hub. We’re always on the lookout for new ways to support sustainability and finding new way to reuse and recycle. One of our most recent projects was having volunteers plant over 2,000 native bluebell and snowdrop bulbs at St Fagans. Once they bloom next Spring, there’ll be a lovely trail of flowers stretching from Llys Llywelyn to Bryn Eryr. Not only will it look beautiful in early spring, but it’ll also support local pollinators like bees, which rely on early blooms for nectar and pollen when there’s little else in flower. It’s a small step that make a big difference for local biodiversity.

What’s been your favourite project to date?

Celtic-inspired garden outside Bryn Eryr, St Fagans

My favourite project that I’ve been involved in has been the Bryn Eryr Volunteers’ Garden at St Fagans. We brought a group of volunteers together to help make and maintain a Celtic-inspired garden as part of the Bryn Eryr roundhouses. The garden consists of four different beds growing a mixture of peas, beans and parsnips, various types of herbs, and one bed dedicated to different dye plants. We have also recently planted some flax seeds in the garden, so it’ll be exciting to see how they turn out. I also enjoy that the project is mainly volunteer-led and allows the volunteers to help make decisions on how to further develop the garden. We’re hoping to clear a small area in the garden in order to plant some crab apple trees for next year.

Bryn Eryr garden, St Fagans

How can people get involved with volunteering at Amgueddfa Cymru?

There are many different ways that people can get in involved with volunteering at Amgueddfa Cymru. The easiest way for people to find out about different opportunities is to visit our website. We advertise all our roles and opportunities online; here’s a link.

People can also sign up to our mailing list to get alerts about new roles as they appear. If people have any questions, they can get in contact with our Volunteering team via volunteering@museumwales.ac.uk.

And the one question we ask everyone – what’s your favourite piece in the collection?

Rhyd y Car, St Fagans

That’s a tough one! Working in Front of House, I got to spend a lot of time around the historic buildings at St Fagans, and each one has its own unique story and feel. If I had to pick, I’d say the Rhyd-y-Car Cottages. I really enjoy how each cottage goes up in a timeline and that you can see how the interiors and the adjoining gardens change. You can really tell that the visitors enjoy making their way through and experiencing each cottage. Plus, the feel of the cottages and gardens change with the season, meaning there’s always something new to notice and see.

In June 2023 Amgueddfa Lechi Cymru started a craft volunteering role to create 6 rag rugs for the education programme. We recruited 6 volunteers, and Isabel de Silva was part of the group. She started volunteering while she was finishing her master's degree at Bangor University, and her reason for volunteering was to gain experience for a job or career.

As well as creating rag rugs, Isabel and the volunteers had to engage with visitors at the Chief Engineer's House to explain how they were made and share the history of the tradition. When Isabel started volunteering, she was quite shy and lacked confidence. To work on this further, Isabel volunteered to help us at Christmas with rag wreath making workshops too – it was a busy and lively environment! Her confidence grew as she spoke to more and more visitors and dealt with the many questions about the rugs from enthusiastic visitors.

"Volunteering with the Slate Museum helped me to improve my confidence, improve my communication skills and learn a new practical skill." - Isabel de Silva

Isabel has since graduated and completed her master’s degree, and since gaining confidence and developing work skills, has now got a job with the Gwynedd Libraries Service and at Storiel, Gwynedd's museum and gallery. Isabel also completed a wonderful rug by herself by July 2024… it took a year of volunteering once a week!

"Through my volunteering I learned so much about the history of the local area, and the impact of the quarry on the lives of the people of North Wales today. That knowledge inspired me to do my part in preserving and sharing the history of Wales, and I have had the opportunity to do that through my job at Storiel." - Isabel de Silva

To celebrate Pride Month this year, some of our amazing ACPs will be hosting Pride themed workshops across some of our museums this June. As part of that celebration, we asked them to reflect on the themes and inspiration behind their workshop and what Pride means to them. 

The Workshop: Breaking, Repairing, Becoming 

Pride Month is more than celebration — it’s also about restoration. About finding stillness. About reclaiming space — not only in the world around us but within ourselves. My workshop Broken Yet Beautiful lives in that in-between space. It’s where creative expression meets personal healing, where fragments are not failures, but materials for something new. 

This project began during my final year, born out of a personal journey exploring identity, repair, and resilience. It wasn’t just a project — it became a way of understanding the world and our place within it. Over time, it has grown into something deeply collective: a workshop where people are invited to break a ceramic object and rebuild it using fast-drying clay. There’s a strange beauty in that process — a catharsis, a stillness, a soft power. 

At the end of my internship, I wrote a detailed blog for Cynfas reflecting on how Broken Yet Beautiful grew out of my final project and personal journey. 

So, when I brought Broken Yet Beautiful to the National Waterfront Museum this Pride Month, I wasn’t introducing something new. I was holding space for others to experience what I had: the quiet liberation of breaking and rebuilding, of letting go, and of forming something new with care.

During the workshop, participants chose objects, gently broke them, and spent time thoughtfully reassembling each piece — no longer what it was, but still full of meaning. The soundscape of breaking ceramics echoed in the background, not as destruction, but as release.

Fragments of History: Artworks That Spoke to Me 

While reflecting on this work, I spent time looking through the LGBTQ+ collection at Amgueddfa Cymru. A few pieces in particular resonated with me - Cup, Theatre Container and Extended Teapot by Suttie,Angus (1946-1993). When I came across Ladies of Llangollen – Dillwyn and Cow Creamers by Paul Scott, I stopped. Just for a moment — I froze. It felt like I’d stumbled into a story that didn’t need to shout to be heard. 

This work — a wooden tray filled with ceramic fragments — reads like a memory map. A cabinet of echoes. Each shard of blue-and-white domestic ware holds something: a glimpse into time, place, love, rupture. It’s not just ceramic — it’s a landscape of emotion. A kind of quiet archive. And as both an artist and a curator working with themes of identity and repair, I felt an immediate kinship with what Scott was doing. 

We do not mend to hide the scar, but 

trace its curve and let it sing. The 

past may splinter — still, we hold 

each shard like it remembers spring. 

The reference to the Ladies of Llangollen — Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby — adds a tender depth. Two women who defied 18th-century expectations and lived together in a self-declared romantic friendship, they turned their home into a sanctuary for intellectuals, artists, and thinkers. Their story is often romanticised — but here, in Scott’s work, it is made material. Grounded. The fragments of everyday domestic life — plates, cups, cow creamers — become vessels of queer memory, intimacy, and resistance. 

What moved me most was the way the piece doesn’t try to “fix” anything. The broken pieces aren’t disguised or forced back into their original form. They’re framed. Held. Given new meaning. There’s a quiet dignity in that. A soft resilience that speaks more truthfully than restoration ever could. 

To me, Ladies of Llangollen mirrors what we try to do in Broken Yet Beautiful: not to erase cracks, but to honour them. Not to return something to what it was, but to allow it to become something else — something that tells the truth of what it’s been through. 

It’s in this act of holding — not hiding — that the work finds its power. 

Belonging in the Making 

Through my work with Amgueddfa Cymru, I’ve connected with Bloedd — a youth-led programme uplifting LGBTQ+ voices across Wales. If you're a young person, Bloedd is a space for you. To create, to speak, to belong. 

This Pride Month, I’m celebrating more than identity — I’m honouring the quiet strength it takes to rebuild, and the power of coming together. 

Workshops like this offer more than creativity. They offer space — to reflect, to exist, and to heal. Even in fragments, we are still whole. 

Amgueddfa Cymru Producers [ACPs] are a group of young people aged 16 – 25 living in or from Wales who collaborate with the Museum through participatory and paid opportunities.

This is a space to deepen knowledge and to ensure that cultural and heritage spaces are more representational of the young people and their many cultures that make up Wales today. We are here to make heritage relevant!

We explore art, heritage and identity, environmentalism, natural science, social history and archaeology through our collections and by co-producing events, workshops, exhibitions, digital media, publications, development groups and more! Our ACPs work closely with departments across the Museum to help us deepen representation within our collections and programming, that reflects all communities in Wales. This includes expanding our LGBTQ+ collection, decolonising our collections and gathering working-class history through oral histories. ACPs can also bring their own ideas or topics they wish to explore through our collections!

You can sign up to our mailing list here to keep up to date with news and new opportunities.

If you have any queries you can email us on bloedd.ac@museumwales.ac.uk. Follow us on Instagram to keep updated on all things Bloedd! 

After a year (2024) of creating incredible St Fagan’s inspired textile and mixed media art Cutting Edge members gathered at the Gweithdy Gallery, St Fagans National Museum of History on 25th & 26th April to exhibit their work and to provide craft and sewing activities for visitors in celebration of Global Intergenerational Week. And what an awesome two days it was!

Visitors were delighted to be able to view the exhibits close up and to read the workbooks describing how the project developed over time. They were also delighted that they could join in the various activities and we received lots of feedback over the two days, both in conversation and the Visitors Book. Here's a taste of what people said:

“As a fellow quilter and textile artist it is lovely to go out and see everyone’s work. Congratulations." Lesley , Higham Quilters, Gloucester
“Very impressive to see such a stunning piece of local inspiration and imaginative work” Byron family
“Fabulous exhibition. Well done all. Thank you for making us feel so welcome“ Sue & Vicki
 
The children tried out most things from colouring to stamping and sewing, which seemed to be a crowd pleaser. After colouring a picture on fabric many were eager to have a go at sewing and soon became hooked!
One little girl drew a large letter E on a textile square and began sewing it. She was disappointed to be dragged away half way though, but took some threads to finish it at home. However, later in the day she reappeared to pick up some more thread as she had run out of one of the colours. She must have found a little corner on her travels around the grounds to continue her sewing!
The adults enjoyed the sewing too!
The group from Pontadawe stitch group thoroughly enjoyed making brooches and owls:
“What a wonderful exhibition, so inspiring. Thank you for my owl/penguin. I love him! You are all a lovely bunch. Diolch yn fawr I chi gyd“!" Glenda , Stitch Pontadawe. 
“What a lovely event. Thanks for the brooch kit. I really enjoyed making it. All lovely friendly people” Dawn

Plenty of owls appeared thanks to Carol. They were so popular that she had to go home on Friday evening to prepare more!
“Thank you Carol for helping me make my owl!.

There was some great colouring and sketching going on. Pat's little leather bound sketch books were as popular as Carol’s owls. Not surprising as they were a fabulous little gift to take home.
“Lovely day out with lots of great crafts, the children really enjoyed themselves. Thank you so much"

The Cutting Edge members weren’t shy of immersing themselves in the activities either. They thoroughly enjoyed chatting to visitors too as it was an opportunity to pass on tips, advise and direct them to resources. One visitor was planning to repair altar cloths and was delighted to be introduced to another visitor who could help her find the braids that she needed.
Some feedback from the Cutting Edge group members: 
“I enjoyed the afternoon. A lovely way to spend it. I loved looking at the exhibits again and had fun stamping!” Sally
“It was a fun day with so much interest and appreciation… met some lovely people, some commenting that they were inspired to try something creative themselves and very polite children who all said thank you for helping them. Loved it” Ella.
“What a lovely time spent today meeting visitors who were so interested in our groups work. So many were amazed at the range of different textile / art skills exhibited.  My favourite moment though is the young boy in the photo above who was determined to stitch around his daffodils before leaving . So good to have had the opportunity to encourage the youngsters."  Liz
“Such a great couple of days and so many people leaving inspired to carry on stitching." Eleri

The Monopoly quilt was popular and a number of suggestions were made for a permanent home for it, though many were of the view that it should stay at St Fagans.
“Fantastic range of work and skills. Really enjoyed the whole exhibition especially the Monopoly quilt." Lesley, Rhoose
Carol’s stitched family tree project was also popular. Carol was overwhelmed by the repose she received. As a result the seeds of a workshop are now forming!

Over the two days we welcomed over 650 visitors who came from near and far, some as far as the Netherlands!
Two Dutch ladies who visited wanted to buy pieces of our art work. When we asked what they were interested in they pointed to Dianne’s postcard and Monica’s Thomas the Taylor post card. The cards were gifted to the ladies and addresses were swapped with a promise from Monica and Dianne that they would post them a fabric postcard too!
A brilliant two days enjoyed by both visitors and Cutting Edge members alike. 

A huge thank you to:
St Fagan’s staff member Loveday who went above and beyond to make sure that we had everything we needed. She even joined in and helped when we were very busy, which was really appreciated!
Jan’s husband Alan for taking photos for us. They are a fabulous addition to our album!
And an enormous thank you to all our amazing Cutting Edge members for their inspired pieces of work and dedication to make the two day event at St Fagans such a memorable occasion. You are all stars!

We held the event during Global Intergenerational Week which fell at the end of the Easter holiday. It certainly ticked all the boxes for intergenerational engagement as both children and adults went away happy and more confident with the new skills they had acquired.

“Fabulous exhibition and lovely to see the skills on show. Lovely initiative and great for children of all ages to experience”!
"Fantastisch!" Lia, the Netherlands
“Superb inspiring exhibition. I enjoyed the diversity too – patterns, stitch, water colours. Also enjoyed the hands-on activities. Relaxing and fun.” Gwynedd
“Such an excellent event, with wonderful pieces of work to admire and inspire! So kind and generous to supply everything for the intergenerational projects we did” Caroline
“Excellent exhibition. Lovely talented ladies”

Following the event, we were delighted to receive the image of the event sent by Mike who is a member of the St Fagans Sketching Group. He visited on the Saturday and sat quietly in the corner sketching the scene before him. He thought our work, like his, was amazing:
“I had the opportunity to visit the exhibition of members work from the Cutting Edge Textile Group at St Fagans. It was a beautiful day, and the event was very popular with families enjoying the last of the Easter holidays. There were lots of fun activities for children and adults. I was encouraged to visit the Cutting Edge Textile group exhibition to see what they do by a member of the CE group who attends the St Fagans Sketching Group. The answer is a lot and to a very high standard too! Everyone was so kind in sharing their work. I have got loads of ideas and tried to capture the event in my sketchbook” Instagram @mikelinewalker

End note:
Monica posted a fabric postcard to one of the Dutch women who visited our exhibition and surprisingly it arrived before she returned home to the Netherlands! This is the email Monica received from Thea:
“Dear Monica,
It was a surprise to find that the card you sent me has arrived already when I came home from my holiday tour through Wales. 
It was very nice to meet you at the exhibition and that I was allowed to make a choice out of the cards you had made. All in all it was a very inspiring exhibition and I enjoyed it very much.
The cards I will show tomorrow to the members of the quilt club I join and I am sure they will love them as well. I still have to find a nice place to put them. It will be in my house or in my school where I will enjoy looking at them, but I am not sure yet.
Best wishes, also to the other members of the Cutting Edge Textile Group
Thea“

To find out more about the Cutting Edge Group please visit: Cutting Edge | Sharing textiles knowledge, ideas and skills