Press Releases

Are you an Urddaholic? Did you meet your first ‘gog’ friend (friend from north Wales) in Glanllyn? Are you familiar with the Super Furry Animals’ song about Mr Urdd’s underpants?

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales will launch an appeal at the Urdd Eisteddfod in Conwy today (28 May 2008) asking for stories and objects relating to the Urdd – Wales’s main youth organization. The findings will form the basis of a new exhibition at St Fagans: National History Museum’s Oriel 1 gallery next year.

Running from April to July 2009, the exhibition will not only look at different periods of the Urdd’s history but it will also explore the different aspects of the organization – from competing to socialising.

“The main purpose of Oriel 1 is to encourage visitors to consider what it means to be Welsh and to belong to Wales,” said Nia Williams, St Fagans’ Learning Co-ordinator.  “The exhibition will explore how the Urdd has influenced the Welsh, bringing back memories to every generation. 

 “Huw Edwards, Bryn Terfel and Glyn Wise were proud members of the Urdd. And this is an opportunity for everyone in Wales and beyond to express their feelings about the relevance of the Urdd to them too.” Visitors to the Eisteddfod field this year will get the first opportunity to offer information through filling in postcards on the Museum’s stand and at the main entrance. Curators will then contact the volunteers to discuss their offerings and create an exhibition at Oriel 1 in 2009, when the Urdd Eisteddfod will be held in Cardiff.

Efa Gruffudd Jones, Chief Executive of Urdd Gobaith Cymru said:

“The history of Urdd Gobaith Cymru is central to the history of Wales’s culture and language. Holding the exhibition at St Fagans’ Oriel 1 will be important to help us remember the past and prepare for the future. We are grateful for the opportunity to share our history with the people of Wales.”

Admission to Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales is free thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales operates seven national museums across Wales.  These are National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans: National History Museum, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, Blaenafon, National Wool Museum, Dre-fach Felindre, National Slate Museum, Llanberis and the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.  Ends

For further information, please contact Catrin Mears, Communications Officer, Amgueddfa Cymru on (029) 2057 3185 or email catrin.mears@museumwales.ac.uk.

Notes to Editors

Oriel 1 opened in March 2007. The gallery uses objects, images, film, art, stories and personal experiences to demonstrate what it means to be Welsh and to live in Wales today. Exploring the theme of Belonging, the Gallery demonstrates that there are many different ways of feeling a part of our country.

Principality Building Society - Wales’s biggest building society - is the main sponsor of Oriel 1, St Fagans: National History Museum’s latest attraction. By investing in this new gallery, which was created in partnership with local groups, schools, authors, artists and poets, Principality Building Society is honouring its longstanding commitment to supporting the communities of Wales. Formed in 1860, Principality Building Society now has 50 branches across the country and over 420,00