General

An article by me, published on the website Waleshome today:

Connecting Cultures

TODAY is the Chinese New Year, and we enter the year of the Rabbit.

Although we have been celebrating the Chinese New Year for a number of years at Amgueddfa Cymru –National Museum Wales, this year is extra special for us as it coincides with the unique exhibition that we are currently hosting at National Museum Cardiff – From Steep Hillsides: Ancient Rock Carvings from Dazu, China. This exhibition has been a coup, not only for Amgueddfa Cymru but also for Wales as these sculptures have never before been seen outside of China. We feel very privileged to have been chosen as the first ever venue to host them outside of their homeland and I’m confident that this free exhibition will be popular with our visitors.

If you have not yet had the opportunity to visit the exhibition, then it is difficult to convey in words just how magical they are. The carvings originate from the steep hillsides of the Dazu World Heritage site near Chongqing, which contain an exceptional series of rock carvings dating from the middle of the 7th century and developed between the 9th and the 13th centuries. The carvings comprise some 50,000 figures in total, and are remarkable for their aesthetic quality, their rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period. By a happy coincidence, a few years ago I was lucky enough to visit Dazu and see them for myself. It was an unique experience, and I remember being blown away by them. Obviously, we couldn’t bring all 50,000 figures to Wales, but this exhibition contains superb examples that have become detached from their original setting, along with accurate replicas of some of the most important sculptures still in situ and dramatic large-scale images, to give some idea of what it is like to visit these spectacular places.

Dazu is a real treasure house of Chinese art history and an important expression of Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism, as well as a fascinating insight into Chinese daily life. I cannot overemphasise how remarkable these carvings are, and certainly, this exhibition would not be out of place at any world-class museum. A question that I have been asked since the exhibition opened has been why was Wales selected as a venue for this stunning exhibition rather than somewhere like the British Museum or the Victoria and Albert? The answer lies in the blossoming relationship between Wales and the Chongqing region in China, which has been led by the Welsh Assembly Government.

The origin of the relationship was a recommendation from Premier Wan Jiabao during his visit to Wales in 2000, which resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Chongqing Municipal Government and the Welsh Assembly Government, agreeing to collaboration and co-operation in a number of areas, which was signed during First Minister for Wales Rhodri Morgan’s visit to Chongqing in March 2006. Since then Wales has welcomed a number of visitors from Chongqing and delegations from Wales have visited Chongqing. The Welsh Assembly Government also funds a schools project, managed by British Council, which links more than 50 Welsh schools with schools in Chongqing. There have been several exchange visits by the schools to Chongqing and to Wales.

This relationship has also extended into culture, and National Museum Wales has established a relationship with several cultural organisations in Chongqing. It is hoped that this exhibition is the first of many such exchanges, which will in future include sending some of our own collections to China. Not only will we be able to continue to showcase Chinese culture in Wales but we will also be able to showcase Wales to the world. Both countries are steeped in history and culture, and it is a fantastic opportunity for us to share our national stories.

Establishing strong links between Wales and China is obviously of great importance to the Welsh Assembly Government, and it was widely commented upon that Wales had been excluded from the itinerary of a recent Chinese trade delegation that visited the UK. But those critics should not despair. I believe that the Welsh Assembly Government is laying the foundations for a successful long term friendship between the two countries, not just a relationship based on business and economics. This exhibition is a small but not insignificant part of that burgeoning friendship which will hopefully evolve over time.

Last weekend, my wife Josie along with my daughter Isobel and son Desmond came to visit me in Cardiff. We are still looking for a permanent base here for the family so I wanted to take the opportunity to showcase Cardiff to them. On Saturday afternoon, we went to St Fagans. We came across some very hardworking staff who had spent 4 or 5 hours clearing snow from the site so it would be safe for visitors on the Sunday. The site was deemed too dangerous for visitors that so we were restricted to the galleries, but everyone was still impressed. There’s plenty to see in Oriel 1 and it was also a great opportunity for me to see what happens to the site when it does snow!

On Monday, I then went up to Scotland for a number of meetings. Edinburgh looked romantically bleak in the snow, and wasn’t the easiest place to navigate around because of the weather. I had been due to meet Gordon Rintoul the Director of National Museums Scotland, but he was unfortunately ill with the flu. However, I did still manage to have a number of productive meetings with other staff members looking at issues around education, public engagement and the organisation of collections, as well as the threat to the operation of the portable antiquities with the Westminster Government’s proposed cuts to the scheme. I truly hope that discussions will ensure that we can save the operation of this scheme as it is of a huge importance.

I also met with John Leighton, Director General of National Galleries of Scotland. He explained how at the Dean Gallery they have been experimenting with new interpretations through temporary exhibitions. They have been able to rely far less on overseas loans whilst still attracting a broad audience.

From my visit, my overall impression was a positive one that would suggest greater collaboration in the future between ourselves and the National Museums in Scotland and Northern Ireland. I think I will have to check the weather forecasts before my next visit though. My plane back was stranded and I instead travelled back by train. But, despite the weather, it certainly was a worthwhile and interesting visit.

By some miracle we have half-decent internet connection at the office. Actually it’s not a miracle, as I happen to know that the server providers were working on the problem over the weekend. I guess I just didn’t believe it would make any difference, any more than I believed that the designers I was supposed to be seeing on Friday would turn up, or that my ‘office’ would really only take a day to ‘decorate’ (the day in question being last Monday) or that my mail will ever turn up.

Ooh, all sounds a bit harsh I know. But I’ve just had my third frustrating visit to immigration, thinking I finally had everything I need to renew my permit, only to be told I have to return on Thursday, after ‘the boss’ has had time to check my file (so what have they been doing?!). Was also sheepishly informed by my colleague that he won’t be here most of this week as he’s on and M&E training course; this is my last week of working with the organization, and I should be crossing every t and dotting every single I with him.

But what really set a bad tone for me this week – while also putting my whinging right into perspective – was finding out on Sunday evening that my host had been in a car crash. She, some colleagues – and her baby – were travelling to Livingstone. Seeing as she was being made to make the 8-hour journey, on a Sunday, she’d decided to treat the time there as a couple of much-needed stress-free days out of the office. Instead, they drove through a downpour for about half the journey until the car slipped off the side of the road and flipped over. I don’t know who I felt more sorry for, her in Livingstone with the baby, suffering from shock and fright, or her poor husband at home waiting and worrying until the next morning when he could travel down to join them. They’ve all been discharged from hospital with, apart from the shock, nothing more serious than cuts and bruises. The fatality rate for road accidents in Zambia is notorious, partly due to the driving in the cities and partly due to the terrible condition of the roads outside the cities, especially now that the rains are here. The fact that they escaped with nothing broken – or worse – really is a miracle.

Blog’s been a bit neglected recently, partly due to my travelling and partly because of incredibly bad internet connection in the office. Also no pics, due to more technical break down – my laptop has stopped talking to any external devices so I’ve no way of getting my photos off my camera. Disaster. All this, on top of the relentless struggle of getting from A to B whether through the gridlock that is Lusaka or over the bone-crunching out-of-town roads, is becoming wearing, if I’m honest.

Luckily the temperature has improved, as the rains finally arrived on Sunday night – and what rains! It was as if Lusaka had relocated to underneath the Victoria Falls, complete with thunder, lightning – and power cuts. Then, next day, back to intense sunshine and clear blue sky. It’s spectacular, but apparently we haven’t seen anything yet.

I began my role here at Amgueddfa Cymru just over two weeks ago and it's been a busy start as I've set about meeting staff across all of our sites, as well as attending the National Waterfront Museum's fifth birthday celebrations. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming, and I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to lead such a highly regarded institution.

I've joined Amgueddfa Cymru at an exciting period. Developments are underway to create a National History Museum at St Fagans and the conversion of the first floor of National Museum Cardiff to become the National Museum of Art for Wales is due to be completed in July 2011. Over the coming months, I will give my full support to these projects as well as affirming Amgueddfa Cymru as a contemporary resource for Wales. The National Museums are here to serve the people of Wales and developing cultural partnerships is a way of delivering this vision successfully. This approach is of even greater importance in light of the country's current financial situation.

Last week, we launched the document Inspiring Wales

at the Senedd. Learning is at the heart of Amgueddfa Cymru and this paper is a celebration of this work and our vision to become a world-class museum of learning. The booklet shows how, as well as having an important role to play as guardians of the nation's collections, equally important is our work in interpreting and communicating the collections to the people of Wales and its visitors.

Amgueddfa Cymru is unique among national museums in the British Isles in its spread of sites and their close connection with the communities and regions of which they are a part. No national museum in London can come near it in this.

Its collections are also exceptionally diverse in their range of disciplines – from social history to art, from natural sciences to industrial history. This enables the museum to appeal to an exceptionally broad audience, with a good gender balance – again, unlike some museums in London!

The opportunity to work in one of the great Celtic museums has a particular appeal for me. Having been born in Belfast and studied Archaeology and Irish History in Scotland, I am glad now to have the chance to learn more about Welsh culture and history.