Ceredigion Museum’s new exhibition casts a hopeful eye to the future

Sea Mist / Niwl y Mor by Ann Williams.

The Spirit of Strata Florida / Ysbryd Ystrad Fflur by Philip Huckin.

 
A new exhibition entitled ‘Moving On, Looking Forward’ opens at Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth Saturday (January 29) focused on looking ahead to the new year positively.
 
The exhibition will display works by The Picturemakers / Y Llunwyr, a group of Mid Wales and Ceredigion-based artists. It offers a fresh take on recent times by encouraging the public to enter the 2022 with a sense of hope after another challenging winter.
 
‘Moving On, Looking Forward’ features new work and gives people who cherish Ceredigion the opportunity to see it represented in art through a variety of creative methods.
 
The exhibition will also appeal to people looking for something to do in Aberystwyth, as we move towards spring and provide an opportunity to think positively about the future.
 
The Picturemakers / Y Llunwyr is a group of artists who meet regularly to discuss their artwork and develop their creativity. Based in and around Aberystwyth, Felinfach, Llandrindod Wells, Pantydwr, Pennant and Rhayader, they have held more than 40 exhibitions since 2006.
 
The group comprises Jane Burnham, Lindsay Davies, Rosemary Fahimi, Philip Huckin, Kim James-Williams, Mike Laxton, Greteli Morton, Joanna Munro-Hunt, Patrick Owen, Catherine Smedley, Shelley Upton, Moira Vincentelli and Ann Williams.
 
Moving meetings online in 2020, The Picturemakers have discussed the importance of staying creative, setting artistic challenges for each other to inspire fresh approaches to their subjects and materials, whilst bringing more unity to their work as a group.
 
These challenges were often a fun distraction from the pandemic, with one involving members producing a self-portrait in the style of their favourite artist.
 
The Picturemakers said: “Our art practice has been an anchor in turbulent waters and we feel optimistic about the year ahead. The artwork that we produced during and after the lockdowns can be viewed as a creative thread which links different seasons and experiences.
 
“The philosophy of The Picturemakers is to support, challenge, question and celebrate. Some of the work people will see in the exhibition is work in progress, part of our ongoing journeys to find out, experiment, look at the world and keep moving. We hope that the public enjoys the exhibition as much as we enjoyed making it.”
 
‘Moving On, Looking Forward’ follows the hugely popular ‘Human Threads’ exhibition, which displayed historic quilts from the museum’s collection alongside a digital quilt consisting of reflections by the community in Ceredigion.
 
Ceredigion Museum is open from Thursday to Saturday, 11am until 4pm.