Art Space Archive
Here are some of the past exhibitions at Galeri:
AR Y FFRÂM | Oh Buoy, Barnacles
Sarah G. Key
09/07/25 – 13/10/25
Sarah G. Key is an artist, weaver and educator with an eye for detail and a passion for the natural world. Different experiences have shaped Sarah into a versatile artist, able to use a range of approaches and media. Whether capturing detailed drawings of flora or weaving cloth, she takes pride in delivering work that engages and comforts. As part of her practice, she endeavours to produce works inspired by meaningful connections to nature and our surroundings, making a visual impact on the world piece by piece. Born in Canada, Sarah lives near Caernarfon and is heavily inspired by her local surroundings.
New species and different perspectives are brought to our shores with the tides and weather. Walking the beaches around Gwynedd after a storm you see an influx of objects and animals. One such sea faring animal is barnacles. Barnacles come in many forms but are often attached to manmade surfaces like boats and buoys. The forms, textures and colours for the ‘Oh Buoy, Barnacles’ piece are inspired by personal images of gooseneck barnacles that have arrived at Dinas Dinlle, on washed up buoys. The piece is a textile sculpture made from handwoven wool cloth, small tapestries and hand-cranked knitted pieces.
www.blethu.com
@blethu.wales
SAFLE CREU: Synwyriwm
19/07/25 – 31/08/25
Synwyriwm is a collaborative arts and health project developed by Amser i Siarad (AiS) and Galeri Caernarfon in collaboration with Plas Newydd, National Trust. The project brings together creativity and wellbeing, using the arts to support mental health and encourage meaningful connection.
Five Welsh-speaking artists were commissioned to create sensory artworks inspired by the heritage and atmosphere of Plas Newydd. These pieces then shaped a series of workshops with AiS clients, where creativity became a way to explore new art forms, spark conversations, and support wellbeing.
This exhibition brings together the commissioned artworks and work created during the workshops. It’s a space to reflect, share, and celebrate the role creativity can play in supporting mental health. At its heart, Synwyriwm is about connection – to ourselves, to each other, and to the world around us.
Funded by the Arts Council of Wales, Arts Health and Wellbeing lottery grant, and supported by Plas Newydd National Trust.
SAFLE CELF: Darnau o Ddaear - Galeri, Caernarfon 2025
Moss Carroll & Giovanna Vinciguerra
19/07/25 – 13/09/25
Darnau o Ddaear is a series of exhibitions displayed in Wales and Sicily. Drawing inspiration from their home regions, Eryri and Etna, the Welsh artist Moss Carroll and Sicilian artist Giovanna Vinciguerra bring their work into dialogue, discussing their cultural identities, connections with their homelands, and their experiences of exploring the other to form a meeting of these two different places.
Eryri and Etna are two contrasting territories, both formed by volcanic activity. Their cultures and landscapes have evolved through a strong connection between rural communities and the land. Eryri’s changeable conditions and Etna’s terraforming eruptions characterise the territories. These spectacular natural phenomena exemplify the power found in the elements and the cyclical, transient nature of the landscapes, which their peoples’ cultures have arisen from and are closely tied to.
The artists interpret growth, transformations, and ways of living in these areas, to create a discourse between the strength and fragility of nature and aspects of everyday life which testify to an undervalued reality. Viewing natural forces and the relationship between the land and cultural traditions as spiritual aspects of our world that verge on the sacred, they recount a mythology of the earth, the elements and the people who inhabit these places.
Y WAL | 40 mlynedd o straeon
10/07/25 - 17/09/25
This exhibition was curated by gisda young people, to celebrate gisda’s 40th birthday, marking four decades of supporting young people across Gwynedd. Through real stories, images and creative work, ‘40 years of stories’ shines a light on the resilience, creativity and strength of the young people we’ve had the privilege to work with. Gisda is a charity that provides accommodation, support and opportunities for young people aged 16-25 who are homeless and/or vulnerable in Gwynedd to enable them to move from support to independence. our vision is that every young person in Gwynedd can live safe and happy lives free from disadvantage and unfairness.
SAFLE CELF | Heipôlymnion
Sean Harris
06/06/25 – 05/07/25
Heipôlymnion is part of Prosiect Torgoch, a North Wales Rivers Trust initiative supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project is dedicated to protecting and restoring the habitat of one of Wales’ rarest and most iconic fish the Eryri Torgoch, or Arctic charr.
Arctic charr are a cold-water species that arrived in Wales after the last Ice Age. Once widespread, they are now among the most endangered native fish in Wales. Just three genetically distinct native populations remain—in Llyn Padarn, Llyn Cwellyn, and Llyn Bodlyn. The North Wales Rivers Trust are working to improve the survival of these ancient lake-dwelling fish, which are facing severe pressures due to habitat degradation, pollution, climate change, and competition from invasive species.
Heipôlymnion, a digital animation by visual artist Sean Harris, draws inspiration from this remarkable species and the deep, stratified waters in which it resides. The title refers to the hypolimnion—the cold, oxygen-rich lower layer of a lake. The work evokes the sense of mystery and fragility within these underwater worlds and explores the interdependence between people and nature.
The animation was brought to life with the creative support of pupils from Ysgol Waunfawr and Ysgol Dolbadarn, whose ideas and artwork helped shape the story and raise awareness of the Torgoch. Their involvement has been central to the spirit of the project, encouraging local communities to reconnect with their unique natural heritage.
As Sean Harris reflects:
“This commission from North Wales Rivers Trust is tapping into an archetypal technology. It is however a cultural mechanism that has become more scarce as our compartmentalised ‘Western’ society has increasingly sought to separate itself from Nature. This is a futile endeavour because we are Nature; if it withers, so do we... For this Ice Age refugee, co-evolved over millennia with the mountain lakes it inhabits, is ambassador for an entire ecosystem... The distinctively coloured amber-to-red belly of the male fish is a warning light; an alarm signal to us from the rapidly suffocating life support system on which our own existence is entirely dependent.”
Soundtrack created by Toby Hay
DERBYNFA | CURTAINS
Ross Andrews, Ebrill / April – Gorffennaf / July
Ross Andrews is a ceramic artist based in South Wales, blending traditional techniques with contemporary methods such as 3D printing and digital software. His work explores themes of camp, sexual humour, and playfulness, often with a tongue-in-cheek approach.
CURTAINS explores themes of queer aesthetics and camp through the use of simple geometric forms and repetition. As a queer artist, the work engages with the academic discourse surrounding queer theory and the evolving definition of camp.
CURTAINS is composed of 100 press-molded ceramic units, threaded together and suspended by steel cord. Ceramic, a solid and fragile material, is used in a way that subverts its traditional appearance.
SAFLE CREU | Ar Y Dibyn
15/04/25 – 14/05/25
This collection was developed by Ar y Dibyn participants – a project offering creative workshops through the medium of Welsh for individuals who live with addiction – between February and March 2025 in Caernarfon.
AR Y FFRÂM : Pixelated Weaves
Bonnie Grace, 02/04/25 – 07/07/25
Bonnie Grace is a multidisciplinary artist who works across a variety of mediums: drawing, painting, textiles, paper, and ceramics. Her artistic practice revolves around antiques, using continuous line drawing as a method to distance herself from objects in order to dissect, explore, and interpret them. This new body of work represents the continued development of her visual work. After exploring though various mediums, Bonnie Grace was drawn back to the tactile, intricate, and intimate nature of weaving.
SAFLE CELF | CYNEFIN
Coleg Menai FDA a Celf Gain Bl.2 / FDA FINE ART Yr.2, 06/04/25 – 24/05/25
The Coleg Menai students have developed work using the locality of Arfon as a source of inspiration and have explored its rich history and culture as a base to build their artwork upon.
Y WAL | Calan Cymru Gwerin
Karina Geddes, 05/04/25 – 14/05/25
Karina is an artist working in textiles and illustration, drawing inspiration from traditional European folklore, classical narratives, and her Welsh and Scottish heritage. Her work seamlessly blends a deep reverence for history, traditional craft techniques, and the timeless art of storytelling. For Karina, the creative process is as much about exploring her chosen themes as it is about the tactile act of making. She immerses herself in the narratives she brings to life, conducting thorough research to create pieces that speak to both the rich traditions of the past and the sensibilities of the present.
Picture coming soon
ORIEL CAFFI | Merched y Môr
Karen Birkin
Karen Birkin studied art history at the Courtauld institute before going on to working in the film industry and then restoration of early Netherlandish painting. For the past 20 years she has been living and working on Pen Llyn making work inspired by her natural surroundings, poems, stories and her home. She exhibits regularly at The Table Gallery, Hay on Wye and Oriel Plas Glen y Weddw and this year her work was in the Eisteddfod and the Royal Academy Summer exhibition.
SAFLE CELF | Making Merrie
Lewis Prosser, 08/02/25 – 29/03/25
Making Merrie by Lewis Prosser is a bilingual performance project exploring the folk theatre of the Wales/England border, inspired by mummers' plays and masked traditions. Featuring large wicker costumes crafted with traditional willow techniques, the project highlights sustainable craftsmanship and language as pathways to connect more deeply with the land.
Lewis Prosser, an absurdist basketmaker based in Wales, uses craft and performance to explore themes of regional identity, cultural exchange, and collective joy. His practice reimagines basketry not just as a functional craft but as a means to critique the commodification of heritage and to create new stories with old materials.
AR Y FFRAM | Mother Earth
Alice Burnhope, 28/01/25 – 07/04/25
This mobile of soft, tactile boulders draws inspiration from Anna Fleming’s words, folklore, and Welsh folk culture. Intertwining the physicality of rock, the mythical presence of giants, and the abstracted female form, the artwork invites us to reconnect with nature and rediscover our roles both within it and with each other. Crafted from reclaimed textiles, naturally dyed and lovingly patchworked, quilted, and fabricated, the soft, organic forms evoke the symbolism of Mother Earth—an enduring, nurturing force of birth and renewal. The textures and colours of the materials speak to the act of reinvention of both resources and our perceptions.
Alice Burnhope is an award-winning textile artist and artist educator based at Cockpit Studios, London. Her artistic practice explores sustainability, community engagement, and the sensory human experience through tactile, immersive artworks. Often drawing inspiration from rocks and geological formations, Alice’s creations reflect themes of connection to nature and mental wellbeing. She specialises in repurposing waste materials and employing traditional craft techniques such as natural dyeing, embroidery, patchwork, quilting, and pattern cutting, creating thoughtful and resourceful pieces that spark conversations around the environmental impact of textiles.
Y WAL | Hidden in Plain Sight
Janet Ruth Davies, 05/02/25 – 03/04/25
Hidden in Plain Sight is a series of photographs created through the practice of walking, locating and mapping erratic boulders once displaced by glaciers. An erratic is defined as glacially deposited rock that differs from the type of native rock on which it rests; here lies the perceptual relationship between the seen and the unseen. The work reimagines the historical 1831 walk Charles Darwin undertook when researching the geology of north Wales. Darwin set out to prove that a former ice age carved the peaks, valleys and coastline we experience today. As he traversed the once glaciated cirque of Cwm Idwal he discovered a group of erratic’s later to become known as Darwin’s’ boulders.
Janet Ruth Davies is an artist, photographer and educator living and working in north Wales. Her practice engages with the materiality and analog processes of photography, and is invested in the intersection of creative geologies, movement, and collaborative exchange. Janet holds an MA in Documentary Photography from the University of South Wales and advocates for creative learning and leadership in the new curriculum reform in Wales and Scotland. In addition, she is actively engaged as a community mapper as part of the Public Map Platform, whose aim is to empower communities to shape decisions rooted in local need, now and in the future for Ynys Mon.
Safle Celf / Safle Creu / Y Wal / Derbynfa: AGORED 2024
30/11/24 – 25/01/25
The open exhibition includes over 60 artworks from artists based across Wales and the UK. The exhibition celebrates a broad range of painting, drawing, print, photography, textiles, sculpture and film.
This years judges included the artists Lisa Taylor and Alan Whitfield, Creative Director in Galeri Naomi Saunders and Art Coordinator in Galeri Ffion Evans.
Judges prize £1000 - Hannah Mefin
Highly Commended £400 – Peter Lewis
People’s Choice Prize £250 – Visit Galeri Caernarfon to vote for your favourite artwork
Ar Y Ffrâm: Notions and Nuances
Thomas James
23/10/24 – 24/01/25
The installation features the artist's signature use of ladders, this time made from translucent fabric, blurring the line between physical form and abstraction. Physically, ladders symbolise movement, while conceptually, they represent transcendence. By using fabric, James emphasises the idea that something can exist yet remain elusive to our senses, inviting viewers to explore human presence within space—both tangible and metaphysical.
Oriel Caffi: Merched y Môr
Karen Birkin
24/10/24 – 17/02/25
This body of work, monotypes of seagulls, crows, cats scenes from Caernarfon are inspired by Merched y Môr (daughters of the sea), “Mae bran I bob bran” “There is a crow for every crow”, “Adar Rhiannon; "birds of Rhiannon" and Cath Palug.
A secret third thing
Jasper Dawson Clough
28/09/2024 - 16/11/2024
I aim to decipher the signs in the world. Ideas present themselves to us, and we must sensitively and roughly obey them.
Imagine you had the stopwatch that stopped time, but when you used it, you were able to see and inspect all the unseen things that pull everything; the transparent tunnel leading out of Donnie Darko’s chest to the scene of his fate, gravitational fields, or Billy Pilgrim’s experience of his whole life (if he also had the second sight). This show is trying to generate that ambience.
The show will be better enjoyed as a zone in which to rest your attention, rather than as a puzzle to be solved.
Some of this stuff is trying to be funny, mixed with grim self-seriousness.
Some of it is very fine handiwork, mixed with brash clumsiness.
Between the word ‘ghost’ and the word ‘spirit’ there’s a secret third thing.
Enjoy.
Artistiaid Bach Galeri
14/09/24 - 16/11/24
Step into a world of imagination and creativity on display in the Safle Creu, showcasing the talents of local children and young people. Artistiaid Bach Galeri presents the unique perspectives and creativity of our youngest artists, ranging from ages 0-18. Discover a variety of artwork, including vibrant paintings, detailed drawings, and innovative sculptures.
Whether you're an art enthusiast, a parent, or simply curious, this exhibition promises to delight and inspire visitors of all ages. Come and support our aspiring artists and enjoy their fantastic masterpieces!
Lloches
Elin Vaughan Crowley
03/08/24 – 22/10/24
Growing up on a farm in Mid Wales, I have always felt that I belong here. Whilst creating this series of prints, my quest to understand why the landscape around me is integral to my identity developed into bigger questions about my privilege having always felt safe in this environment, and what it must be like not to have this in a world that is seemingly full of danger. Agricultural sheds have become a symbol of solace, a place of warmth and shelter.
Elin is an artst from Machynlleth who is inspired by the landscape of Mid Wales, and her upbringing ona farm in a close nit Welsh community. Elin graduated at UWIC, Cardiff with a degree in Fine Art in 2003, and more recently completed an MA at Aberystwyth University, specializing in Printmaking. She works mainly with Linocut, Monoprint, Etching and Collograph.
http://www.elincrowley.com/
Instagram / Facebook - @elincrowleyprint
ORIEL CAFFI: Nature’s Impressions
Beth Knight
03/08/24 – 22/10/24
Printmaking artist Beth Knight is inspired by the spirit of nature and the stories within landscapes. Her pieces are based on real places and experiences that evoke those moments of connection between our ancestral souls and the elemental spirits of nature - a certain sensation she feels when experiencing the wonder of the natural world!
Ar y Ffram: Material legacies; Caernarfon
Rhiannon Rees
15/06/24 - 12/09/24
Material legacies; Caernarfon is Rhiannon Rees’s project researching into industrial and social materials which have formed Caernarfon. Rhiannon is an environmental responsive artist who is interested in the material legacies of Wales. She has spent time in locations across Wales collecting waste materials or materials of importance to Wales. Rhiannon repurposes these materials into sustainable and gentle paints. Over the past year she has been developing this idea of gentle painting. It is about being gentle with earth and the materials we use but also being gentle with ourselves and taking time to reflect with nature. At the heart of Rhiannon’s artwork and facilitation work is to create a sense of place that communities can connect to.
Material legacies; Caernarfon splits between two locations in Caernarfon, in the walls of Cei Llechi and as a large scale installation in Galeri. The first beginning in June and the latter in July. Within the project there are five key legacy materials: Slate, Iron, Copper, Woad and Seaweed.
SAFLE CELF: Hir yw'r Nos, ac Oer yw'r Hin i Aros
Lizzie Hughes
03/08/24 – 21/09/24
The starting point for the work in the exhibition was a residency the artist undertook in Hill End, New South Wales, Australia. Hill End is a former gold mining town with aspects of the landscape arguably similar to the copper mines of Parys Mountain on Anglesey near where the artist grew up. Long defunct mining equipment is still in situ and visitors to the now skeletal town that thrived during the gold rush of 1850, are warned of dangerous terrain, peppered with mineshafts. It is the absence of matter that defines Hill End. It’s impossible to take an evening stroll without peering down holes and longingly looking at the earth in hope for a glint of gold long since gone. The work in this exhibition similarly examines absence. Delicate frameworks made in wood, silver and brass try to define the space they hold, whilst in other works subtle manipulation of materials including precious metals hints at functionality.
RECEPTION: GISDA Pride Exhibition
26/06/24 - 27/07/24
What does Pride mean to you?
A protest, a party and a celebration, Pride Festival is a huge event for the LGBTQ+ community. For the first time this year, Caernarfon will celebrate its own Pride festival, organised by GISDA. This art installation is a response from the young people of the LGBTQ+ GISDA project to the question 'What does Pride mean to you?' Personal, political, or expedient; the statement shows the range of what Pride means to the community.
GISDA:
GISDA is a charity that provides accommodation, support and opportunities for young people aged 16-25 who are homeless and/or vulnerable in Gwynedd to enable them to move from support to independence. Our vision is that every young person in Gwynedd can live safe and happy lives free from disadvantage and unfairness.
GISDA was established in 1985 in order to offer shelter and support to Arfon's homeless young people. Since then, GISDA has developed and offers accommodation and service across Gwynedd with specific hubs in Caernarfon, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Pwllheli.
LGBTQ+ GISDA Club:
Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, our LGBTQ+ Youth Project offers support to young people who identify as LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans)
By offering them a safe space to express themselves and form connections, our LGBTQ+ project empowers young people to be proud of their identity. Through educational methods the project promotes understanding and inclusion within wider communities.
Pride:
GISDA is very proud to be organising the Pride celebration in Caernarfon this year. On 29 June, there will be a parade through Caernarfon as well as speakers, events, and entertainment. Everyone is welcome at our celebration of inclusion, diversity, and community. The festival also exists to raise awareness of the challenges LGBTQ+ young people face and promote support and acceptance.
Safle Celf: MEXICO
Anna Higson a Chris Higson
01/06/24 - 27/07/24
An exhibition exploring painting and photography
'Mexico' is an exhibition showcasing the latest works in our ongoing project. Following a recent research trip to Mexico in 2023 both artists have created work inspired by some of the many core aspects of a diverse and culturally important country. Focusing on community, food and religion using paint, photography and mixed media
Y Wal: New Drawings and Paintings by Bill Kneale
01/05/24 - 08/07/24
I am aware of how homes we love are transient. Houses and cottages become part of their background, especially when local materials have been used. The build and location are subject to terrain and prevailing weather. Each painting originates from on-site sketching and photos, then a journey develops into an acrylic statement.
www.conwyart.com
bill_kneale@hotmail.com
Oriel Caffi: Loz Anne
January - April
Showcase of abstract floral mixed media paintings and drawings by artist Loz Anne.
Ar Y Ffram: HOMEVIDEO | VIDEOHOME
30/04/23 – 15/07/24
Jenny Alderton is a Welsh-based interdisciplinary artist, working with movement, video, and installation.
VHS is a material created to capture, retain, and replay moments. Seemingly obsolete now, but upon which traces of stories and memories are nevertheless still held.
“HOMEVIDEO | VIDEOHOME” invites contemplation on the unreliability of memory. Recording mediums such as VHS are subject to degradation, loss, or technological obsolescence. Our own memories are similarly fragile, being malleable and subject to unconscious adjustments. Over time our memories change. Thus, every moment experienced is unique, and no memory or recording can completely relive it or reliably recount details indefinitely.
www.eloquentscream.com
www.instagram.com/eloquentscream
Safle Celf: CYSWLLT
27/04/24 - 25/05/24
Coleg Menai: FDA Art & Design
The ten Art & Design Students have developed work using the locality of Arfon as a source of inspiration and have explored its rich history and culture as a base to build their artwork upon.
Mia Roberts
02/03/24 - 20/04/24
I Made a Cement Fort in the Back Yard
Mia’s practice relates to how the experience of Trans identity in rural areas effects autobiographical practice.
Themes relate to sexuality, gender expression, abuse, addiction, depression, joy, family, local social identities (individual, personal and collective), suicide and loss.
It investigates the intersectional nature of how the identity of the self, and the identity of the collective can affect personal experience.
Ar Y Ffram / Y Wal / Derbynfa
Hooked: Ella Louise Jones
Ionawr/January – Ebrill/April
Ella Jones, a Welsh-born artist, specializes in creating interactive artworks exploring tactile perception's intricacies, distinguishing textures and shapes. Her artistic pursuits centre on fostering meaningful conversations, learning new skills, and crafting interactive, inclusive art for commissioned projects and exhibitions. The themes of play, curiosity, materiality, sustainability, and a profound connection to Welsh culture are the core of her artistic expression.
Safle Celf / Safle Creu / Y Wal / Derbynfa: AGORED 2023
02/12/23 - 27/01/24
The open exhibition includes over 60 artworks from artists based across Wales and the UK. The exhibition celebrates a broad range of painting, drawing, print, photography, textiles, sculpture and film.
This years judges included the artists Paul Eastwood and Llinos Owen, Creative Director in Galeri Naomi Saunders and Art Coordinator in Galeri Ffion Evans.
Judges prize £1000 - Sioned Mason Smith
Highly Commended £400 – Megan Glyn
People’s Choice Prize £250 – Visit Galeri Caernarfon to vote for your favourite artwork
Ar y Ffram: Ffiws
Hannah Walters & Lucy Smith
Hydref 2023 – Ionawr 2024
Ffiws is a collaboration between ceramicist Hannah Walters and writer Lucy Smith. Over the last 7 months, they’ve been exploring the links between fungi and queer identities, combining their practices, and playing with forms, words, textures, and meanings. They are interested in how queer ideas connect with the movement and forms of mycelium, spores, and bursting fruiting bodies – both shifting, transformative and boundary-defying.
Safle Celf: Hollti a rhwymo / Cleave
Lesley James
21/10/23 - 25/11/23
Lesley James lives and works in North Wales. She is interested in surface traces, form, and in the physical and invisible barriers we create.
‘I find the quarry landscape fascinating, a visible result of both destruction and creation. The work explores the hand of the artist following the hands of the slate quarry workers, creating double sided rubbings of rock faces, walls, roofs and tools used in the slate industry.’
Gwrando
Veronica Calarco
Dr Veronica Calarco, studied printmaking at Australia National University and has a PhD in printmaking from Aberystwyth University. She is a director of Aberystwyth Printmakers and founder of Stiwdio Maelor, an artist residency program in Corris, which has its own print studio. She has recently returned from a 3-month lithography residency at Umbrella Studios in North Queensland and has been the lead artist in the project Molla Wariga / Gwrando Dwfn, working with artists from Wales, Ireland and Australia as part of the Arts Council of Wales Gwrando project. These prints were developed during the residency at Umbrella Studios in response to the Gwrando project. 900 baskets has been developing over the last 12 years and made of rejected prints from printmakers all over the world and found string.
@900 baskets
@veronica.calarco
@welivewiththeland
@stiwdiomaelor
SAFLE CELF
The British Society of Enamellers
The objective of our Society is to promote excellence in British enamelling and professional enamellers working in this country and abroad. The British Society of Enamellers has a broad membership, encompassing levels of expertise from enamel students to professional level enamellers.UK based, the BSOE has international connections and offers exhibition opportunities, bursaries, an online gallery, industry discounts, workshops and events for its members. Our aim is to promote the highest standards of contemporary design and workmanship in all aspects of this unique and exciting medium. OUR MISSION IS TO CONNECT, INSPIRE, SUPPORT AND PROMOTE THE PROFESSIONAL ENAMELLING COMMUNITY.
SAFLE CREU
Breathing Space
Alec Shepley
Air is largely invisible and yet integral to our existence. It moves freely across borders and through bodies, resisting our attempts to define and contain it. The coronavirus pandemic highlighted air is a shared, intimate space that renders us vulnerable to infection.
The air we breathe is a common space and the locus for my curiosity and play in this residency, as it relates to all things now and in the future, societal inequality, and shared responsibility.
The aim of my pragmatic art projects is to connect with a community to bring together multiple layers of experience and this manifests itself in my work – words, picture, objects, films, sound etc.
Through this ‘spatial information’ I aim to provide conversation pieces.
I invite you to come in, take a seat and relax. Even have a lie down. And listen to the sound of your own breath.
Enjoy.
DERBYNFA & Y WAL:
Agora
Welsh heritage, ritual, and the land
Creative interpretations of Welsh heritage, folklore, language, and landscapes—from ancient forests, mountain tops, to underwater realms. Rooted in sustainability, playful exploration, and a desire to nourish our personal and cultural connection to Wales.
Agora showcases new work by a range of contemporary artists, along with documentation of recent collaborative work made on location at Cadw heritage sites.
Abi Hubbard, Beth Greenhalgh, Catrin Davies, Catrin Menai, Clare Parry Jones, Dan Johnson, Dominique Fester, Ffion Reynolds, Georgia Ruth, Gwenno, Jen Abell, Lewis Prosser, Manon Awst, Peter Evans, Sarah Boulton, Sean Vicary, Teddy Hunter, Tess Wood.
ORIEL CAFFI
Where the Light is
Alla Chakir and Roman Nedopaka
Alla Chakir and Roman Nedopaka, a family of Ukrainian artists. Since the war began in their home country, they have found shelter, support, friendship, and love here in North Wales, but their souls are forever with Ukraine and the voice of their heart calls home...where the light is.
Ar y Ffram
Bri / Essence / Brí
July - October 2023
Bri: Natur gynhenid neu ansawdd anhepgor rhywbeth
Essence: The intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something
Brí: Nádúr intreach nó cáilíocht fíor-riachtanach do rud éigin
Bridging the gap between Fine Art and Fashion, Ríon Hannora creates wearable art. With nods to both the baroque era and urban graffiti there is often a juxtaposition throughout her collections. The act of collaboration is also often found in her work and this exhibit is not an exception to that. Bringing neighbouring countries together through this amalgamation of fashion and fine art was a goal from the very beginning and so, Ríon reached out to three Welsh artists and two Irish artists to collaborate on this project; Ffion Evans, Aisling Phelan, Morgan Dowdell, Osian Efnisien and Amelia Greham. Evans, Phelan, Dowdell and Efnisien were given a garment each, made by Ríon in her Dublin studio to explore their own practice through the use of clothing. Each artist was given just over a month to make this blank canvas of a garment, into something else entirely. All the while, Amelia Greham created the mannequins in which these garments are displayed.
SAFLE CELF
The British Society of Enamellers
The objective of our Society is to promote excellence in British enamelling and professional enamellers working in this country and abroad. The British Society of Enamellers has a broad membership, encompassing levels of expertise from enamel students to professional level enamellers.UK based, the BSOE has international connections and offers exhibition opportunities, bursaries, an online gallery, industry discounts, workshops and events for its members. Our aim is to promote the highest standards of contemporary design and workmanship in all aspects of this unique and exciting medium. OUR MISSION IS TO CONNECT, INSPIRE, SUPPORT AND PROMOTE THE PROFESSIONAL ENAMELLING COMMUNITY.
Y WAL
Porth Annwn
Stephen Green
I regard drawing as a means of working out, understanding, and realising ideas visually. My work is mostly abstract; it is intended to represent my thoughts and ideas. To that end, I work with formal conventions of drawing, realising the idea through variations. Currently my ideas are interpretations of Welsh myths: the Mabinogion. Specifically, stories in which the protagonists travel to a parallel world (Annwn). The images in this exhibition are intended to suggest gaps in the reality of our world where it is possible to travel to another, parallel, world.
DERBYNFA / ORIEL CAFFI
The Llwybrau Celf Projects focused on high quality art experiences for young people in Gwynedd and Ynys Mon, to develop their artistic skills and to provide deeper insight into culture and creative opportunities in Wales. Thank you to Arts Council Wales of Wales for Funding the project.
SAFLE CREU
Gofod Anadlu
Alec Shepley
Mae aer yn anweledig i raddau helaeth ac eto'n rhan annatod o'n bodolaeth. Mae'n symud yn rhydd ar draws ffiniau a thrwy gyrff, gan wrthsefyll ein hymdrechion i'w ddiffinio a'i gynnwys. Mae aer a amlygwyd gan y pandemig coronafirws yn ofod agos a rennir sy'n ein gwneud yn agored i haint.
Mae'r aer a anadlwn yn ofod cyffredin ac yn locws ar gyfer fy chwilfrydedd a'm chwarae yn y preswyliad hwn, gan ei fod yn ymwneud â phopeth yn awr ac yn y dyfodol, anghydraddoldeb cymdeithasol, a chyfrifoldeb a rennir.
Nod fy mhrosiectau celf pragmatig yw cysylltu â chymuned i ddod â haenau lluosog o brofiad at ei gilydd ac mae hyn yn amlygu ei hun yn fy ngwaith - geiriau, llun, gwrthrychau, ffilmiau, sain ac ati.
Trwy’r ‘wybodaeth ofodol’ hon rwy’n anelu at ddarparu darnau sgwrsio.
Rwy'n eich gwahodd i ddod i mewn, cymryd sedd ac ymlacio. Hyd yn oed cael gorwedd i lawr. A gwrando ar swn dy anadl dy hun
Mwynhewch.
SAFLE CELF
ARBROFOL
Ashley Cooke
22/07/23 - 02/09/23
‘ARBROFOL’ brings together new painting and music by visual artist and improvising guitarist Ash Cooke to present a sensory experience in a brightly coloured galley space that deals imaginatively with the way people discover and engage with abstract visual art and improvised music. The paintings in the exhibition are named after the peaks of the Ogwen valley although the images themselves are not direct depictions of landscapes, more internalised echoes of the places where Ash lives.
Y Wal
Sunset to Sunrise
Llinos Owen
07/07/23 – 28/08/23
Llinos Owen (b.1998) is a Welsh Fine Art textile artist, originally from North Wales and currently based in London. The artist moved to London in 2017 to study Fine Art: Painting at Wimbledon College of Arts (UAL) and since graduating in 2020, Owen has developed her artistic practice to be mostly textiles based and has exhibited her textured tapestries in many group exhibitions in the UK such as Delphian Gallery’s “Synthesis” at the Saatchi Gallery and the “Let’s Talk About Textiles” Exhibition at The Other Art Fair in early 2022, as well as her first Solo Exhibition titled “Thank Your Lucky Stars” at Orleans House Gallery in 2021. Llinos Owen was recently named as one of Saatchi Art’s “Rising Stars of 2022” as she continues to explore her personal narratives and subject matters in her London studio, creating painting inspired imagery with her textiles materials.
SAFLE CELF
Anfarwolion
Ruth Jên Evans
03/06/23 - 15/07/23
Ruth Jên Evans is a full-time artist based in Ceredigion, Mid-Wales, who has an unquenchable enthusiasm for all forms of printmaking and mark making.
Safle Creu / Y wal / Derbynfa
Utopias Bach Invitations
03/06/23 - 05/07/23
Utopias Bach is a creative collective based on North Wales, with connections around the world.
Since lockdown 2020, we have been trying to find out ‘What are the Utopias Bach, the little things that might in some way help create a better place for people of all kinds (human and more-than-human), especially those who are most badly affected by the state of the world?’. By rethinking ‘Utopia’ as rooted in place, we have been working creatively together to explore revolutions in miniature, creating positive change in our society and focused at a scale we feel we can influence.
Y Ffram
Rachael Smith
Growing Pains
25/04/23 – July 2023
Growing Pains portrays my ongoing journey from a former-trapeze artist, to a disabled artist. My experiences of disabilities left me feeling like I’m hanging in suspension, uncomfortable and separate, though pushing through limits has ultimately instigated an embracing of a different perspective. This experience is depicted by the upside down, hanging figurative sculptures, showing struggle & disorientation experienced by so many of us. I have experienced such challenges, they can deepen our understanding of life, self, and fuel passions within us. I hope to relate with others and inspire, that life doesn’t end with diagnosis or isolation, but rather shifts & transforms. The raw textures of the ceramic body, combined with the subtlety of the figures missing arms, represent “Invisible disability” often not seen at first glance but with more scrutiny become evident, showing that perfection is only a perspective. At the head of the figure is a blooming new flower, giving a sense emerging, full of passion, acknowledging new wonders and beauty in the world.
SAFLE CELF
Cyfoes Menai Contemporary
22.04.23 – 27.05.23
Second year students work from the BA Fine Art and Foundation Degree (FdA) Art and Design Courses.
SAFLE CREU
T R O I I I < A Residency and Exhibition
17/04/23 - 28/05/23
A collaborative art group formed in 2021 by artists Rita Ann, Brian Baker and Anthony Ynohtna.
TROIII<A was formed through mutual interests and shared experiences, realised during their studies at Glyndŵr University, Wrexham.
TROIII<A work both individually and collaboratively in a wide range of media and forms. Through a multi-disciplinary approach to contemporary art, TROIII<A create works heavily inspired and influenced by the relationship between mental health, wellbeing and art practices. Each artist bring their individual experiences, approaches and perspectives to such themes, creating deeply personal yet accessible works.
Breach is a project through which the artists intend to bridge across binaries like depression and wellbeing, movement and stillness, materiality and spirituality, mind and body. They use a collaborative working practice to explore materials and forms, representing their experiences but also proposing new narratives and spaces for collective reflection.
Y WAL
Kerry Baldry
Personal Codes and Unknown Worlds
21/04/23 - 29/05/23
Kerry Baldry is a multi-disciplinary artist. The paintings showing on Y Wal have been inspired by the landscape around her studio in Nantlle, North Wales.
She is interested in the process of painting, the way different colours and marks have the ability to convey emotions. She paints, removes, scrapes away multiple layers, adding paint and continually reworking. This process allows her to combine both control and spontaneity to convey intense inner landscapes through the act of improvisation and intuition, juxtaposing colour and texture into a wide variety of forms and emotional energy.
Oriel Caffi
Gwen Owen
07/03/23 – 15/05/23
Finding hidden gems
For me, the landscape is engaging and inspirational; it changes at every moment, temperature, wind, light colour, texture, nature and sound. It is here I find energy both physically and mentally. During the pandemic, I valued my landscape even more and counted myself lucky I was able to escape frequently for walks along an old disused railway track that runs through trees and farmlands. My body of works comes from this soulful creative place. They are not about perfection, comparison, or fear but one of self-discovery. They are about experimenting, play, gestural mark making, going with the flow, recalling memories, observations and capturing moments and slice of time.
‘Aldanio’ 2022-23 Arts Prize Exhibition at Galeri Caernarfon
03/03/23 - 08/04/23
Aildanio, the Disability Arts Cymru (DAC) Arts Prize exhibition begins its eigth gallery tour of Wales at Galeri Caernarfon in March 2023.
The exhibition is funded by Arts Council Wales and features 26 pieces of work by disabled Wales-based artists, selected from over 100 submissions of creative responses to an ‘Aildanio’ (reignite) moment.
DAC, the national disability arts organisation of Wales are currently celebrating 40 years of promoting equality for disabled and Deaf people in the arts, and BSLI and audio descriptions are embedded into the exhibition programme.
Siop Cywrain
Adel Kay, Ann Catrin Evans, Crefftarian, EllyMental, Julie Mellor & Osian Efnisien
Jewellery and the Process
22/09/22 - 28/01/23
Galeri brings together a rich collection of 6 jewellery makers, showcasing their beautiful creations and the unique process that guides them. This exhibition explores the relationship the artists have with their process and will provide a unique insight into their practice from sketches and inspiration photos to their tools and experiements. Explore the inner minds of these jewellery artists and celebrate the skill, creativity and craftsmanship of the jewellery on display.
2022 Open Exhibition
The open exhibition includes over 60 artworks from artists based across Wales and the UK. The exhibition celebrates a broad range of painting, drawing, print, photography, textiles, sculpture and film.
This years judges included the artist Catrin Williams, Photographer Tim Williams, Creative Director in Galeri Naomi Saunders and Art Coordinator in Galeri Ffion Evans.
Judges prize £1000 – Shauna Taylor
Highly Commended £400 – Anthony Ynohtna
People’s Choice Prize £250 – Visit Galeri Caernarfon to vote for your favourite artwork
Oriel Caffi
Rhodri Ellis-Jones, Glenn Edwards, Roger Tiley & Kristina Banholzer
DocCymru: Prosiect Brexit
Doc Cymru is an exciting collaborative project involving four experienced photographers who have come together to document the effects that Brexit will have on Wales. A look into the stories of people from Wales’ communities and further afield, agriculture and interesting industries. What will happen in the years to come? Images to show the people of Wales the true effects. Here is the projects progress thus far, the photographers will be working towards completing the body of work by 2024 where they will be exhibiting at the Aberystwyth Art Centre as well as other venues.
Safle Celf
Buddug Humphreys
Hyfrydle
28/10/22 – 26/11/22
Buddug's work in this exhibition is the fruit of her wandering through many areas in Wales and is a reflection of what she feels about many of her favorite places and scenes.
Y Wal
Katherine Fiona Jones
Gwagle
12.10.22 – 21.11.22
In the places between language, when you feel the grief of loss, the only thing we have are our bodies and time. Gwagle tries to speak the language of grief, uses abstraction and automatic gestures to create a feeling of confinement and peace.
Safle Creu
Dottie-may Aston & Jonathan Retallick
Antagonym
15.10.22 – 19.11.22
Antagonym - Where two opposites coexist. This exhibition explores merging the line between figurative and abstract and unifying the dream-like state that both Jonathan Retallick and Dottie-may Aston’s work muse upon. The centrepiece of the show Antagonym is a sculptural collaboration between both artists. Made on-site for three weeks Antagonym was treated as an opportunity to push creativity and familiarity with media.
Safle Celf
Paul Eastwood
Veiled Speech
10/09/22 - 15/10/22
In Veiled Speech, Paul Eastwood exhibits a new series of tapestries that evoke the ruins of an imagined architecture. Monumental disassembled stone blocks are restacked to form new patterns. Some display fragments of Welsh inscriptions. Their weathered surfaces vie for attention with encroaching ivy.
Safle Creu
Residency
Jonathan & Dottie-may
Antagonym
21/09/22 - 08/10/22
Antagonym is a three-week collaborative residency between Dottie-may Aston and Jonathan Retallick. Antagonyms are words with two opposite meanings. The couple feel this accurately describes this project as they approach it from opposing creative perspectives. Their opposing figurative and abstract practices have been brought together to challenge both artists to create work powered by their own inspirations. It’s a synergy of ideas as well as an invitation to showcase their creativity and actively engage with visitors. The duo wishes to start that creative conversation while working intuitively together for the first time on a sculpture.
Y Wal
Denise Laura Baker
Gweithredoedd, Nid Geiriau
31/08/22 - 10/10/22
Denise Laura Baker is an award-winning photojournalist and documentary photographer focusing on environmental and social issues, climate change, activism, and community. Her photographic and creative work draws on influences from her career as a visual artist, and her previous qualitative psychology career where she interviewed and collected the stories of the people with whom she worked. She continues to collect and tell stories though her photography, matching them with recorded or written dialogue and so empowering those with whom she collaborates.