Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales Annual Review 2018/2019 We welcomed 1,887,376 National Slate Museum, visitors to our national museums Llanberis A 147% increase in visits since the introduction of free entry in 2001 1.8 million In the last 10 years, people viewed our scientists have 5.9 million pages on our website discovered over 400 new species of living and extinct species from over 65 countries National Wool Museum, Dre-fach Felindre Big Pit National We work in Coal Museum, National Blaenafon partnership Collections Centre, National Roman with over Nantgarw Legion Museum, 1,135 National Waterfront Caerleon Museum, Swansea 120 charities volunteers contributed and community organizations over 28,500 hours St Fagans National Museum of History National Museum Cardi Our annual contribution We currently have to the Welsh economy is 70 pioneering £83 million research projects of gross value added ranging from natural sciences and art to history We hosted 57exhibitions across and social sciences Amgueddfa Cymru We reached over We are the largest provider of 146,000 followers 5 million learning outside the classroom on Facebook, Twitter objects and memories in Wales, reaching from Wales’s national collections and YouTube of art, history and science are used to inspire 208,388 future generations schoolchildren and students Published in 2019 by Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. This document is also available on our website alongside our Financial Report. For more information about our work, please email [email protected] www.museum.wales @AmgueddfaCymru 1 Introduction ‘Everyone has the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific achievement and its benefits.’ UN Declaration of Human Rights Since launching our vision – Inspiring People, Changing Lives – in 2015, we have made it a priority to enable as many people as possible to enjoy and participate in our museums. In the words of the UN Declaration of Human Rights: ‘Everyone has the charities collaborated with us to reimagine the Museum and transform right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the how we work. arts and to share in scientific achievement and its benefits.’ Over recent years, we have been developing a new model for national museums, We thank everyone who made this possible, and we are delighted that in based on Welsh communitarian traditions and the principles of cultural July 2019 St Fagans National Museum of History was selected as Art Fund democracy. Museum of the Year – the most prestigious museum award in the world. Our national museums belong to the people of Wales and, thanks to the Over the coming year we will be developing a new, ten-year strategy. This Welsh Government, are all free to visit. Over the past year, nearly 1.9 will set out how, working with our partners across Wales, we will support million people visited the seven museums in the Amgueddfa Cymru family the nation in achieving the goals of the Well-being of Future Generations – more than any other year in our 112-year history. We are the home of (Wales) Act. the Welsh national collections of art, history and environmental science. Our goal is to remove barriers so that more people are inspired by, share Through projects like the transformation of St Fagans National Museum and use our galleries and programmes. of History and the exhibition Kizuna: Japan, Wales, Design, developed in partnership with the Japanese Government and the national museums of In October 2018 we completed the £30 million redevelopment of St Japan, we have demonstrated that Wales’s museums are of international Fagans National Museum of History. Through this project we fulfilled our significance, and make a vital contribution to achieving the Welsh ambition to create a museum where history is made with rather than Government’s global ambitions. for people, and which celebrates the culture of everyone who lives in Wales. Thousands of people, including artists, stakeholders, craftspeople, David Anderson young people, volunteers, academics, community groups and street-level Director General, Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales 2 Inspiring People, Changing Lives Seven Well-being Goals To make sure we are all working towards the same purpose, the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 puts in place seven well-being goals. The Act makes it clear the listed public bodies must work to achieve all of the goals, not just one or two. A Prosperous Wales A Resilient Wales A More Equal Wales A Healthier Wales A Wales of Cohesive A Wales of Vibrant A Globally Communities Culture & Welsh Responsible Language Wales Our vision – Inspiring People, Changing Lives Our vision was developed within the framework of the Well-being of in four key areas – Prosper, Experience, Learn and Participate – which link Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Our vision sets out ten commitments to how we are contributing to the Act’s seven well-being goals. 3 Vision Objectives mapped against the Well-being of Future Generations Goals A Prosperous A Resilient A More Equal A Healthier A Wales of A Wales of Vibrant A Globally Wales Wales Wales Wales Cohesive Culture & Welsh Responsible Communities Language Wales 01. Acting as stewards of our cultural and natural heritage for the future generations of Wales Prosper 02. Thriving, sustaining and diversifying our resources 03. Building our cultural tourism offer in support of the Welsh Economy Experience 04. Building and maintaining welcoming, physical and digital spaces 05. Telling inspiring stories through exhibitions and events 06. Developing the skills of our staff to the people who use our services Learn 07. Promoting public understanding of health and well-being 08. Promoting and delivering learning for life Participate 09. Building sustainable, effective partnership networks and collaborations 10. Involving people and communities in shaping and taking part in our work Potential Opportunity These are underpinned by our values as a national institution: Integrity Our Values We act with integrity at all times, maintaining professional standards by Creativity being honest and trustworthy. We inspire creativity through our museums, collections and the skills of Inclusion our staff and volunteers. Our museums are inclusive, and we respect the diversity of both our staff Responsibility and visitors. We are responsible towards each other, our visitors, the environment and Collaboration the Welsh language, caring for each other’s well-being as well as the We work collaboratively, with each other, with communities and with national collections. local, national and international partners. 4 St Fagans National Museum of History In October 2018 we completed a £30 million redevelopment of St Fagans National Museum of History. The transformation was shaped through an imaginative public programme Since the completion of the project St Fagans has won an array of awards, that involved 720,000 people and reflected our aim to create history with including the Art Fund Museum of the Year, which includes a £100,000 rather than for the people of Wales. Throughout the six-year development prize. the Museum remained open, welcoming three million visitors. When announcing the winner, Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund Director Volunteers helped to recreate Llys Llywelyn, a 13th-century Welsh Prince's and Chair of the judges said: ‘St Fagans lives, breathes and embodies Court, based on archaeological evidence from Llys Rhosyr on Anglesey. the culture and identity of Wales. A monument to modern museum They also helped to build Bryn Eryr, St Fagans' newest and oldest buildings democracy, it has been transformed through a major development project – recreated Iron Age roundhouses based on an archaeological site from involving the direct participation of hundreds of thousands of visitors and the time of the Roman conquest. The redevelopment has created an volunteers, putting the arts of making and building into fresh contexts eight-fold increase in dedicated learning spaces, including Gweithdy – social and political, historic and contemporary. This magical place was (‘workshop’), an environmentally friendly building in the heart of the made by the people of Wales for people everywhere, and stands as one of woodlands where visitors can celebrate and learn current and centuries- the most welcoming and engaging museums anywhere in the UK.’ old skills. 5 The project was made possible thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Welsh Government, as well as gifts from trusts, foundations and individuals. 6 Inspiring Learning for Life ‘We bring our pupils to the Museum every Monday morning – this is their alternative classroom. Pupils enjoy the opportunity to learn outside the traditional classroom and look forward to their visits. We developed the programme in collaboration with the Museum and the pupils are motivated by the range of hands-on activities available to them. These sessions will help them to achieve their ASDAN qualification and teach them new skills.’ Cardiff West Community School Amgueddfa Cymru remains Wales’s leading provider of learning outside of new, digital trails around St Fagans National Museum of History. We the classroom, and in 2018/19 we welcomed 208,388 pupils and students also supported the Welsh Government and Arts Council Wales scheme and 489,185 informal learners to our museums. We also have a vibrant Creative Learning through the Arts, and the Learning Manager at the digital learning programme, with a total annual reach of 192,000 users. National Slate Museum is one of the scheme’s Creative Agents. Despite the National Roman Legion Museum being closed for a year As Wales’s new schools curriculum is being developed we have been from September 2018 for extensive roof work, the Museum’s learning working with schools to pilot new ways of supporting programme programme continued and remains as popular as ever.