Press Releases

Two new artworks are set to be unveiled at National Museum Cardiff as part of Perspective(s), a bold arts programme ​which reimagines Welsh history, challenges historical narratives and amplifies overlooked voices. 

Opening at National Museum Cardiff on Friday 12 September 2025, the new pieces are part of To Shift A Stone, an exhibition which has been on display in the museum since June. The display of these two new pieces aligns with the second part of the exhibition opening at Chapter Arts Centre.

The two-part exhibition explores what constitutes power, and who gets to hold it within the context of Amgueddfa Cymru and Chapter Arts Centre, who have worked in collaboration with the artists.

Across 2023-2025, staff from both organisations worked alongside invited collaborators (community organisers, artists, social workers, activists) in workshops and dialogue supported by Sophie Mak-Schram to identify and respond to how they each experience power in the context of cultural spaces. The two new artworks in National Museum Cardiff’s Main Hall reflect on how and who the museum welcomes.

The (Un)welcoming Foyer, written by Bianca Ali in response to a prompt by Sophie Mak-Schram, includes a descriptive narrative of the museum entrance in 2024 and how it could be reimagined[GS1]  for the year 3024. The narratives, which draw on lived experience of blackness and growing up visiting National Museum Cardiff, will be on display in the form of two large banners in the museum’s Main Hall. The second new work, Croes Awgar / Hwyl a Sbri, responds to linguistic inclusion and who is welcome, through illustration and Welsh language text, screen-printed and displayed in a hand-built room divider.

Sophie Mak-Schram said:

‘People experience welcome in so many different ways. These two new artworks, which came out of a long process of different conversations and collaborations, engage with what people hope the museum can be for them. I hope these artworks also create further dialogue across different experiences people have with culture, as well as with what many more people still hope to experience in shared public spaces such as National Museum Cardiff.

Through the process of Sophie’s workshops, a conversation has begun around the changes visitors want to see at the museum, and alongside the pieces there will be an interactive opportunity for visitors to share their own experiences and suggestions. Amgueddfa Cymru is committed to continuing this conversation and these will form part of a reflection session in Spring 2026 between Sophie, her collaborators and museum staff.

Steph Burge, Head of Engagement from Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales said:

‘This display is the final piece in the Perspective(s) jigsaw, and we are delighted that all the interventions have now been opened across our seven museums and the partner arts organisations.

‘As a project, Perspective(s) is designed to bring about change in how we can better reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of our society. While many of our visitors already feel the warmth of our welcome, we also know that to some the physical entrance can be challenging. We are on a journey of change to make our public spaces even more inclusive and welcoming to everyone and are already trying new things to create a feeling of fun and wonder, but we acknowledge there’s more we can do. We are interested to hear the voices and experiences of more of our visitors as they see and interact with this new display at National Museum Cardiff, and this will help inform our current ways of thinking.’

The new display at National Museum Cardiff coincides with the exhibition at Chapter Arts Centre which opens on Saturday 13 September, with visitors encouraged to view and experience both. At Chapter Arts Centre, the exhibition and artwork in the entrance and café will encourage visitors to think about how and where people can gather, who they can meet, and what helps them do it in different ways.

Supported by Welsh Government through the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan, Perspective(s) is a pioneering collaboration between  Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales, Arts Council of Wales and seven visual arts organisations that brings together seven culturally diverse artists to explore hidden histories within Wales’

Perspective(s) interventions have been hosted across all seven Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales sites, with each artist shedding light on hidden histories embedded within the national collection. Sophie’s installation at National Museum Cardiff invites audiences to challenge and reimagine power structures, fostering dialogue about representation, power, and identity. 

Perspective(s) is now open at National Museum Cardiff, with the new artworks in the main hall on display until 11 January 2026 and the gallery show running until 15 February 2026. 

ENDS

For further information or media enquiries, please contact: 

Laura Osborne 

Marketing Content Officer, National Museum Cardiff

laura.osborne@museumwales.ac.uk

About Perspective(s) 

Perspective(s), is a collaboration between Arts Council of Wales and Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales which seeks to bring about a 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.