MOMA Wales to feature Six Young Celtic Artists New Works

Written by Hugh Williamson Tuesday, 24 January 2012 02:44

Machynlleth, Wales.- The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA Wales) is proud to present "TÍR – Land; Terrain; Earth; Territory", on view at the museum from January 23rd through February 29th. This exhibition is the work of six young professional artists, all of whom were born and brought up in small communities in North Wales, the Scottish Hebrides and the Irish Gaeltacht. All live and work through the native languages of their home community, and all six undertook residencies, during the Spring and Summer of 2009, in neighbouring cultures. Two were hosted by Aras Eanna on Inis Oírr in the Aran Islands of Co. Galway, two at Taigh Chearsabhagh in North Uist, and two at Oriel Plas Glyn-y-Weddw, near Pwllheli in Gwynedd. As well as their creative work, all worked hard to develop contacts between their home community and the one hosting them. The project is the work of the Celtic Neighbours Partnership, which exists to support artistic collaborations of all kinds between native language communities across the Celtic world.

The artists featured in the exhibition are Sandra Kennedy, Johnathan MacLeod, Dan O’Flatharta, Ben Stammers, Tess Urbanska and Catrin Williams. Their artworks have been exhibited, over the past two years, across Scotland and Ireland and are now returning at last to Wales. The exhibition has been part of the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow and will be showing at the Pan-Celtic festival in Carlow next May. It gives a valuable and unique insight into the common ground between our communities, and how the condition of ‘Celticity’ is seen by creative young people at the beginning of the 21st century. Dafydd Iwan of Recordiau Sain and Siân Tomos of the Arts Council of Wales have kindly agreed to come down to Machynlleth to launch the exhibition. This is an exciting and innovative exhibition which looks at how the smaller ethnicities on these islands can work together, share and exchange cultural activities. Speaking before the launch, Meic Llewellyn, Co-ordinator of Celtic Neighbours, said “this project has been a great success everywhere it has been shown, and we hope to have several of its promoters and participating artists with us that Saturday afternoon at Y Tabernacl. I would like to thank Ruth, Raymond and all the staff there for their brilliant help and support with this event.” The Celtic Neighbours Partnership is unique in that it promotes the Celtic family of nations through joint cultural activities, and this touring exhibition TÍr is only one part of their work. They have great plans over the coming years, including drama, music, dance, storytelling and the spoken word, with a major performance piece planned for 2013.


In 1984 Andrew Lambert bought The Tabernacle, a former Wesleyan Chapel. He set up a Charitable Company, The Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust, and after extensive renovation The Tabernacle re-opened as a centre for the performing arts on 11th October 1986. The adjoining land, the site of an earlier chapel, belonged to the Tabernacle Trust and a free-standing block was built to house toilet facilities and a Green Room. In the same year the Trust, with the help of a generous loan, bought Harvey House. This former grocer’s shop provided much-needed street frontage on the main North-South Wales coastal road. It took 5 years to raise the money to convert Harvey House into Art Galleries. The building was renamed the Ellis Building and the first art exhibition was held in May 1992. A donation from the Trustees of the Foundation for Sport and The Arts along with some government support allowed the construction of the Linking Building (designed by David Thomas) and the provision of a new sound and lighting system, a recording studio, simultaneous translation facilities and a language laboratory. Lord and Lady Hooson opened the magnificent Owen Owen Building on 3rd July 1994. In 1998 the Trust received a wonderful bequest from the estate of Nora Gibbs and Mollie Winterburn. This enabled them to purchase Ty Llyfnant and convert it for use as an artist’s studio and music teaching and practise rooms. Recently the two small galleries on the first floor have been converted into one spacious Pulpit Room. Visit the MoMA Wales website at ... http://www.momawales.org.uk

MOMA Wales to feature Six Young Celtic Artists New Works

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