The Dylan Thomas Centre. Image courtesy of Swansea City Council

The city council has said it is close to finalising a deal to lease the building to the University of Wales, in which most of the centre would become business space for creative companies though an exhibition dedicated to Dylan Thomas would remain.

Earlier this year more than 200 artists, authors and supporters of the centre, including Michael Sheen, Russell T Davies, Cerys Matthews and poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, signed a letter expressing their concerns about its future use.

For more on the news read an article on the BBC Wales News website.

An artist's impression of the revamped Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. Image © Powell Dobson Architects

The £6 million project, which is being funded by the Welsh Government, the Arts Council of Wales and Swansea Council, is expected to take two years to complete.

The extensive redevelopment will include a complete refurbishment of the 1911 building, new entrance at street level and re-cladding of the 1974 gallery extension.

There will be a new storage and conservation area, a new lecture space and community room, a dedicated reading and resource centre devoted to visitor research plus new workshops and administration offices. A new passenger lift will also ensure that physical access to all exhibitions, collection galleries and all education and study facilities is available to all visitors.

Though the gallery will have to close fully to the public, the staff at the Glynn Vivian are planning a programme of activities and events - including educational workshops - that will take place off-site for the closure period in different venues across the city.

For more on the development plans and for upcoming events check the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery website.

The Dylan Thomas Centre. Image courtesy of Swansea City Council

The plans would also see the Dylan Thomas Prize Educational Programme based at the centre as well as the University of Wales Global Academy, which delivers the Prince of Wales Innovation Scholarship programme.

In addition, there would be an office for the University of Wales Press and for Awen, the university's business arm, with Swansea Council continuing to manage the exhibition and literature programmes on site.

Councillor Chris Holley, Swansea Council Leader, said: "These are difficult economic times when finances are tight but this deal will save the taxpayer over £300,000 a year while securing the future of the Dylan Thomas Centre.

"It will also ensure the Dylan Thomas Centre retains the Dylan Thomas Exhibition and literature programme and includes a number of exciting new elements that will promote Dylan Thomas and creative writing.

Related links

• Dylan Thomas on BBC Wales Arts
• Swansea Council website
• Dylan Thomas Centre
• University of Wales
• www.dylanthomas.com

A gallery in the West Wing, the contemporary arts space at the National Museum of Art. Photo: Amgueddfa Cymru -- National Museum Wales

It's been a while since I paid a visit so I was really looking forward to the opportunity to see the new gallery space. And though I'm certainly not an expert in the field of visual art, it really didn't disappoint.

Whereas previously it had only one gallery to showcase its contemporary art, the museum now has six enormous interconnecting galleries to show its modern wares. Before we were shown the contemporary wing we were given a tour of the entire gallery space at the museum.

We started on the balcony area, which now houses the museum's British and European ceramics and silver collection, before being guided into the Historic Galleries. This is where you can see art that explores Tudor and Stuart Wales and European Old Master paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries.

The historic galleries at the museum. Photo © Amgueddfa Cymru -- National Museum Wales

We then moved into the 'art in 18th century Britain gallery', which features the work of Wales-born painter Richard Wilson and the collection of Sir Watkins Williams-Wynn, before taking a look in the Welsh landscapes gallery.

In here, the 2002 contemporary work by Welsh artist Carwyn Evans, Unlliw, has been reconstructed amongst the paintings and ornate columns of the gallery.

Unlliw is an installation of 6,500 cardboard bird boxes that addresses the debate about how planning policies can impact on the cultural balance of rural areas - a direct reaction by the artist to the then proposed building of 6,500 new homes in his home county of Ceredigion.

Carwyn Evans, Unlliw, 2002-2005. Image © the artist

The installation even obscures one of the paintings - hitting home the idea of a housing development flooding into the Welsh landscape.

After this we had a brief walk through the centre galleries, which were refurbished and redisplayed last year. (During this a slightly late Ivor Davies stumbled through, interrupting the keeper of art Oliver Fairclough's talk with the enquiry of whether he was too late for the breakfast that had been laid on as part of the event!)

The centre galleries are where the Davies' sisters collection of art proudly sits.

The French Impressionism and Post Impressionism gallery. Photo © Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales

There's a lovely timeline that tells visitors when the sisters bought notable paintings and also a screen that displays some of their family photos. It's a nice touch, and visitors can get a real sense of who these remarkable women - who went on to amass one of the greatest collections of French Impressionist paintings - really were.

We then headed to the pièce de résistance: the West Wing, the new home for contemporary art. No Martin Sheen jokes please.

The light is the first thing that hits you: it's bright and impressive, and the lightboxes in the ceiling makes the space look even fresher.

The West Wing. Photo © Amgueddfa Cymru -- National Museum Wales

The clean white walls really accentuate the art works and there's a lovely flow to the place too, as the different gallery spaces are all interconnected through flights of stairs and open large double doors.

Nick Thornton is the head of modern and contemporary art at National Museum Wales. He explained a little about the lay-out of the West Wing, told me what he thinks is one of the must-see exhibits in the new contemporary gallery and explained how the National Museum of Art is working with emerging new artists:

All images in the slideshow are courtesy of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales and copyright of the respective artists

I also spoke to emerging contemporary artists Manon Awst and Benjamin Walther, collaborators who share their time between Caernarfon and Berlin. They have a sculpture and a painting on show in the West Wing, and Benjamin told me more about the latter, entitled Shine For Me:

"The painting is a piece in its own right, even though it strongly corresponds with the sculpture on display, and talks about the absence of the body. If you look on to it you see a shadow or a ghostly figure marked out with fragile, tender marker pen lines and there is a piece of clothing applied onto the canvas which suggests a three dimensional aspect of it, and the materialisation of something which was there."

Manon added: "I also think it talks about the breaking down of the body, and in a way it connects it to our work in general as it talks about the individual in our current society. So in relation to the exhibition, which talks of roots and identity, in a world where we're moving around so much it's questioning where our base is."

Manon Awst and Benjamin's Walther's work on display at the National Museum of Art. Image copyright of the artists and courtesy of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales

Benjamin also gave his opinion on the National Museum of Art: "The interconnection between contemporary art practice coming out of Wales and the connection with international artists not living in Wales, that's something quite unique and new for Wales and very important."

There is also a dedicated learning space in the gallery for the first time, where schoolchildren and families will be able to get creative and learn about the exhibits in the museum. Arts learning officer, Eleri Evans, told me more about it and encouraged families to turn up for the opening day activities on Saturday:

And before I left, Mike Tooby (the director of learning, programmes and development) told me a little of what National Museum Wales has planned for the future:

Visit the museum's website, www.museumwales.ac.uk, for more - and if you do visit the National Museum of Art in the near future, tell us what you think of it by leaving a comment below.

Photo taken at the BigLittleCity exhibition, courtesy of Dan Green

The exhibition will be divided loosely into four categories - people, places, stories and music - with work by established artists such as photographer David Hurn going on show together with pieces by emerging artists.

Photograph of a painting of the Old Library building in Cardiff. Photo courtesy of Dan Green

One lovely element to the whole idea is that the exhibition will evolve during the run: the display of solo work will change every five weeks, while the interactive projects will be displayed for the full duration.

The initiative also has projects for the wider public to get involved with, such as designing a new coat of arms for the capital city, or penning thoughts on favourite places in Cardiff.

Work on show at the BigLittleCity exhibition. Photograph: Dan Green

BigLittleCity is at The Cardiff Story, The Old Library from Thursday 14 April until Friday 22 July 2011. For further information on this exciting project, visit biglittlecity.com.

The four Art Fund Prize judges at Mostyn: Michael Portillo, Kathy Gee, Lars Tharp and Charlotte Higgins. Photo: Martin Lyons

Director of Mostyn, Martin Barlow, told me: "The Art Fund Prize judges' visit seemed to go very well.

"Like the great majority of our visitors they could see that the architecture of the new Mostyn is really quite special, and it was an opportunity to explain just how complicated the transformation was to bring about in the building's very confined footprint and to point out the '4S: Simple, Smart, Sophisticated - with a few Surprises' principle which the design team adopted.

"Equally importantly it was an opportunity to talk about leading Mostyn's role in presenting Welsh and international art and about all the learning activity organised with the exhibitions, and to present the judges with photocopies of the many hundreds of wonderfully appreciative comments left in our comments book by our 70,000 visitors to date!"

The short list of four museums and galleries will be announced on 19 May, while the winner of the £100,000 prize will be awarded on 15 June at a ceremony at Tate Britain in London.

Members of the public can vote for their favourite longlisted museum via an online poll - visit the Art Fund Prize website for further information.

Mostyn, Llandudno. Photo: Hélène Binet

Mostyn. Image: Martin Lyons

The Chair of the judges, Michael Portillo, announced the longlist for the prestigious prize on last night's BBC Radio 4 Front Row programme - listen again on BBC iPlayer.

A shortlist of four museums/galleries will be announced on 19 May, with the £100,000 cash prize awarded to the winner at a ceremony on 15 June.

The other nine long listed institutions are: British Museum, London; Hertford Museum, Hertfordshire; Leighton House, London; People's History Museum, Manchester; Polar Museum, University of Cambridge; Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway; Roman Baths Museum, Bath; V&A, London; and Yorkshire Museum, York.

The director of Mostyn, Martin Barlow, said: "It is both an honour and a delight to be long listed for the Art Fund Prize 2011.

"The new Mostyn gallery took no less than twelve years to realise, but now we have it we have been overwhelmed by the wonderful response to both the building and the exhibitions in it, and by the number of visitors we are receiving.

"Being longlisted for the Art Fund Prize feels like recognition for all the thought and effort that so many people put into making this building such a great success."

Visit the Mostyn website to see the latest exhibitions at the gallery, and visit www.artfundprize.org.uk to find out more about the prize.

Mostyn in Llandudno. Photo: Hélène Binet

Gallery space at Mostyn. Photo: Martin Lyons

Mostyn. Image: Martin Lyons

The award, which recognises the best in architecture, design, planning, landscape and public art, is awarded annually by the Civic Trust. Successful projects must also be culturally, socially or economically beneficial, and make an outstanding contribution to the quality and appearance of the built environment.

The Civic Trust Awards ceremony will take place on 4 March where winning projects will be recognised with a Civic Trust Award, Commendation or Community Recognition.

Director of the gallery Martin Barlow was delighted with the news: "We are thrilled to have won a Civic Trust Award, especially as Wales' only winners in 2011.

"Our building is both hugely enjoyed by our many thousands of visitors and is a pleasure to work in; it retains strong links with the past while making a confident and eye-catching statement for the future.

"We believe it is emblematic of Llandudno and its wonderful ensemble architecture and the Civic Trust Award is a recognition of this."

Fiona Allan inside the Wales Millennium Centre

Allan has been appointed chief executive of Leicester Theatre Trust, which manages the city's Curve Theatre.

She has worked at the Cardiff Bay arts venue since it opened six years ago in 2004. During her time there she has built relationships with local, national and international arts organizations and was responsible for establishing partnerships with the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg and Cape Town Opera.

Wales Millennium Centre. Photo: John Evans

Prof Philip Tasker, Chair of Leicester Theatre Trust said: "We are thrilled to welcome Fiona to Curve. This is an exciting time, as audiences begin to take us to their hearts and sales are increasing, Fiona brings a wealth of experience along with considerable energy and enthusiasm to lead Curve into a new and thrilling phase."

Allan added: "I have visited Curve a number of times and I am exhilarated by the building and quality of work there... One of my key priorities will be ensuring that audiences and the community are at the heart of the organisation."

Detail from Constanze Thielecke's exhibition Thoughts in Boxes, Repeating Minds. Photo: Patrick Higgins

Constanze Thielecke's Thoughts in Boxes, Repeating Minds. Photo: Patrick Higgins

Constanze Thielecke's exhibition at Oriel Dafydd Hardy. Photo: Patrick Higgins

An artist's impression of the Pontio project at Bangor University.

Read more on the story on the BBC north west Wales website.

William Dyce's Welsh Landscape with Two Women Knitting, 1860 © Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.

The painting will become part of Wales' national art collection, which is currently being re-displayed at National Museum Cardiff. Initially, it will be on show in the Museum's new Victorian Art display which includes works by Turner, Landseer and Etty.

The purchase of Welsh Landscape with Two Women Knitting has been possible due to funding grants from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), membership charity the Art Fund, one major private donor and a number of gifts and other donations.

The painting, which cost £557,218, is a celebration of Welsh rural life. It depicts two women in folk costume on a Snowdonia hillside.

Dyce (1806-1864) was originally from Scotland and came to Wales for his health and a change of air in 1860. The artist was immediately captivated by the area. This painting, based on sketched material from his excursion, was probably painted in the studio on his return to London.

The keeper of art at the museum, Oliver Fairclough, said: "We have hoped for many years that this very beautiful work by Dyce would one day come home to Wales. We are delighted that this has now been achieved and are deeply grateful to NHMF and the Art Fund for their support."

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An artist's impression of the Pontio project at Bangor University.

It is hoped that the Pontio project will establish a world-class centre for innovation in science, technology and the creative industries, and the public performance spaces will become a major focus for Welsh culture.

To celebrate the unveiling of the plans for the centre in Bangor, Welsh contemporary circus performers NoFit State Circus will be giving street theatre performances, including acrobatic routines and juggling acts, on Bangor High Street from 11am until 3pm.

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Nicola Heywood Thomas examines the displays inside the revamped Mostyn gallery.

Meanwhile, Along The Line is a display by photographer Darryl Lonsbrough of his large-scale colour photographs that depict familiar yet largely ignored, unnoticed and unloved north Walian places.

And over the space of a three month residency at Mostyn, the The Junkyard Museum of Awkward Things by Dil Humphrey-Umezulike - alias Dilomprizulike, or the self-styled 'Junkman From Afrika' will be recreated. It will be first time the piece is seen outside of Nigeria, and will remain on display after the residency until October.

Listen to the BBC Radio Wales Arts Show tonight at 6.30pm, and on BBC iPlayer for the subsequent seven days. And browse the Mostyn website for further information.

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

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