Exhibition:Sophie Mak-Schram and collaborators: To Shift a Stone

What constitutes power—and who gets to hold it? 

Across 2023 – 2025, artist Sophie Mak-Schram explored how power is experienced, shared, and challenged within Amgueddfa Cymru and Chapter Arts Centre.

Working with activists, community workers, artists, and museum staff, Sophie developed collaborative ‘tools’ that challenge and reimagine power structures.

These tools range from access templates and new working processes to modified megaphones and ceramic pieces, creating opportunities for shared learning and more equitable collaboration.

The resulting two-part exhibition, To Shift a Stone, focuses on categorisations (National Museum Cardiff) and forms of assembling (Chapter).

At National Museum Cardiff, the exhibition considers how objects are collected and identified, whose voice can be heard when speaking about these objects, and how to interrupt some of the hidden rules of the museum.

The exhibition features some of these tools alongside key items from across the museum’s collections, including the Schools Outreach Collection and the Asian Art corridor. It highlights how power shapes what is seen, preserved, and interpreted.

Join us at National Museum Cardiff from 14 June and Chapter Arts Centre from 13 September to engage with – and touch, and try out! – elements of this project and explore its resulting exhibitions.

Perspective(s)

Perspective(s) is a collaboration between the Arts Council of Wales and Amgueddfa Cymru, which seeks to bring about a step change in how the visual arts and heritage sector reflects the cultural and ethnic diversity of our society. The project is supported by the Welsh Government as part of a collective effort to meet the culture and heritage goals of the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan. 

Thanks

This project involved the following collaborators and contributors:

George H. Wale, Rubie, Kelly Lloyd, Katherine Agyemaa Agard, Chris Adam, Osian Grifford, Brynn Alred, Bianca Ali, Aliyy Azad Malik, Mathew Salley, Amira Hayat, John Thomas, Polly Thomas-Colquhoun, Joseff Llewellyn, Frances Abigail Bolley, Parham Ghalamdar, San Ramos, Sonia Odedra, Salah Baba Rasool, Fahadi Mukulu, Umulkhayr Mohamed, Chantelle Lue, Sophie Lindsey, Rosey Brown, Oska VonRuhland, Meg Shergold, Silvia Dimitrova, Lia Parry and Isimbi Sebageni.

With thanks for the input and structural support of:

Steph Burge, Carys Tudor, Nick Thornton, Andrew Renton, Dave Enright, Elizabeth Walker, Elen Philips, Mark Etheridge, Amiina Mohamoud, Nia Williams, Mared Maggs, Kate Breeze, Liam O’Connor and Owain Rhys at Amgueddfa Cymru.

Sim Panaser at Chapter Arts Centre.

Esyllt Lewis for translation.

Rose Nordin for design.

Rashayla Marie Brown and Genji Amino for key moments of guidance.

With thanks to:

Keith Daisy at Reading College and Beatrice Galletley and Baz James at Reading School of Art.

Chloe Hunt of Makerspaces at Vale of Glamorgan Libraries.

Eugene Capper and Fitzhamon Lane Studios.

FabLab Cardiff.

The Amgueddfa Cymru team who installed this exhibition.