Open Air Museums and Society
3rd-5th July 2009
at St Fagans National History Museum (near Cardiff)
Part of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
St Teilo’s Church, St Fagans © St Fagans: National History Museum
ICOMOS-UK is pleased to invite you to our Summer Meeting Seminar and AGM at St Fagans National History Museum, south Wales, in collaboration with Eurwyn Wiliam, our Vice President for Wales, former Director of St Fagans, Deputy Director General of National Museum Wales and latterly Keeper Emeritus, National Museum Wales.
The ‘first generation’ open air museums were set up in Scandinavia at the end of the 19th century. Over the next 80 years many others followed in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Eastern Europe and North America.
Set up to highlight the value of regional buildings which contribute so much to our national identity at a time when many vernacular buildings were becoming vulnerable to destruction or radical change, they became the repositories of ‘unspoilt’ structures which could be read as social documents, particularly of rural life before the industrial era.
The meeting will include visits to the museum’s buildings, a concert in its painted, mediaeval church and a seminar discussing the vision, extraordinary diversity and benefits of open-air museums in Europe.
Programme:
Friday 3rd July:
5.30 – 6.30 Drinks Reception at St Fagans
6.30 – 8.00 Informal Concert at recreated mediaeval church of
St. Teilo’s from Pontardulais, West Glamorgan
8.30 – 9.30 Supper at Iolo Morganwg restaurant, St Fagans
Saturday 4th July:
Seminar: Open-Air Museums and Society,
(Committee Room, St Fagans)
10.00 – 10.30 Coffee
10.30 – 10.40 Introduction and welcome
10.40 – 11.00 Dr Eurwyn Wiliam, Keeper Emeritus, National
Museum Wales: Open-air museums in Europe: a visionary idea
11.00 – 11.20 Gerallt Nash, Senior Curator, St Fagans National History Museum: Presenting recent history at St Fagans
11.20 – 12.00 Richard Suggett, Manager of the Emergency Building Recording Team, Royal Commission for Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: Searching for the earliest houses in Wales
12.00 – 12.20 Dr Thomas Bloch Ravn, Director of Den Gamle By, Denmark’s National open air museum, Chair of the Association of Open-Air Museums: Open-air museums and society
12.20 – 12.45 Discussion
12.45 – 1.45 Sandwich Lunch Iolo Morganwg restaurant
1.45 – 4.15 Guided visit to St Fagans National History Museum
5.00 – 6.00 ICOMOS-UK AGM in the Committee Room (The Annual General Meeting is open to all members and their guests)
6.00 – 7.00 Optional Supper
Sunday 5th July:
Optional tour to the landscape of the Blaenavon World Heritage site
The main price for ICOMOS-UK members at £50 includes the Friday evening reception, supper and concert, and the Seminar and lunch on Saturday. Guests and non-members are welcome. The pub supper on Saturday evening will be paid for individually by those attending. There is a supplementary £20 cost for the Blaenavon visit on Sunday.
Download the flyer and booking form
For more information please contact:
Camilla Massara
Events Co-ordinator
ICOMOS-UK
Tel: 020 7566 0031
e-mail: camillamassara@icomos-uk.org
This event is organised in collaboration with Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
From contemporary lighting schemes and public realm design in Cork to the colourful shop fronts in Youghal, embedded in the towns history, and Waterford’s vision “ to create a framework of public and civic spaces of character and visual quality” in a medieval city known for its ancient City Walls and craftsmanship, and finally an international conference in Kilkenny Castle – “Serving people while preserving heritage” – which will bring together practitioners and representatives from policy making bodies.