Plas BrondanwSusan Williams-Ellis
Foundation (SWEF)
Foundation (SWEF)
post@susanwilliamsellis.org
01766 770590
post@susanwilliamsellis.org
01766 770590
We hold cultural and artistic activities at Plas Brondanw in order to promote the arts in the area, and to offer opportunities for people of all ages to socialize and express themselves creatively. We hold a program of talks, workshops, courses and events throughout the year. Keep an eye on these pages or on our accounts on social media to find out what is coming up.
For more details, or to reserve a place at an event contact us on 01766770590 or post@susanwilliamsellis.org. There is no need to reserve a place at exhibition openings, but places are limited for talks and workshops, so please reserve a place for these events, even when they are free to attend.
We have decided to set a theme each year, going forwards. Items from the Susan Williams-Ellis archive will be curated according to the theme for the year, and this will also be the theme for the open and young open exhibitions. We invite artists who wish to have solo or group shows to consider responding to the theme, if they feel inspired to do so, although this is not a requirement. Events will also be curated to respond to the theme, where appropriate. The themes are deliberately broad and may be interpreted in any way that the artist feels is appropriate. The themes for the next five years are outlined below:
2023: Airbourne
2024: Transformation
2025: Space
2026: Animal / Vegetable / Mineral
2027: Disturbance
2028: The Sea
Brondanw Young Artists Club
First Saturday of the month
Time: 10 - 11:30am
The club aims to give children the opportunity to try diferent materials, work with experienced artists and develop their own art practice.
The club is aimed at children aged 6 and above, older children and teenagers are very welcome, we will do our best to tailor the activities to suit the audience.
Open Mic Night
2 May 2025: 7pm
Anyone is welcome to come with any piece of work to perform on this evening, which has been organized as part of our 'Painting with Words' project with the support of Literature Wales. People who have been part of the ekphrastic poetry workshops are very welcome to come and share the products of the workshops, which specifically respond to the open exhibition on the theme of 'space', but if you have a song or poem or sketch or monologue or performance of any kind that you would like to share in front of a kind and supportive audience, come and have a go. You don't have to be responding to the 'space' theme but if you would like to create something specifically, that would be wonderful. You are welcome to present your composition in any language. You are, of course also welcome to come and watch and support without performing.
Soft drinks and wine will be available on the night, ticket price is £7
James Ferguson-Rose - Single Track, Passing Place
14 May 2025: 7pm
James Ferguson-Rose (b. 1989, Yorkshire, UK) is an artist living and working in London, having completed an MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art in 2023.
His work is held in private collections internationally, and has been exhibited across the UK - including the Laing Gallery (Newcastle), Cedric Bardawil (London), OHSH Projects (London), The Newbridge Project (Newcastle) and The Manchester Contemporary. James' paintings work with the landscape through walking, drawing, writing and memory, reflecting on relationships between journeys and places.
This talk is part of the Hafod residency series, in collaboration with Noelle Griffiths. These talks are free to attend, and there is no need to book.
Website: jamesfergusonrose.co.uk
Instagram: @jamesfergusonrose
Life Drawing Sessions
Block 1: 30/05/2025 - 27/06/2025: 6-8pm
A model, easels and drawing boards will be provided, but you will need to bring your own paper and drawing materials. The £30 ticket price covers three sessions - buy a ticket for the first session in the block, the other two will be included automatically.
There will be no tutor for these sessions, they are an opportunity for you to practice independently and support each other as artists.
Laura Phillips - 16mm Hand-Made Filmmaking
11 June 2025: 7pm
Laura Phillips (b. 1986, Bristol) is an artist working with 16mm photochemical film processes and field recordings. Often exploring the intersections of visual music, expanded film, and performance, her work engages with themes of obsolescence, the commons, and information infrastructures.
As a failing but persistent dysgwr (Welsh learner); Laura is frequently found along the A44 and A470 road, drawing inspiration from landscapes and movement. Her most accomplished feats include climbing Aran Fawddwy and earning a Master’s degree in Documentary Film, Landscape, and Ecology from Aberystwyth University in 2024.
Last autumn, she undertook the Fine Art Creative Wales Fellowship at the British School at Rome, where she continued her practice through loitering & listening —mapping the pastoral, the sonic, and the shifting hinterlands of the city.
During her talk, Laura Phillips will share insights into her creative practice and process, exploring the slow, DIY approach to working with 16mm film.
This talk is part of the Hafod residency series, in collaboration with Noelle Griffiths. These talks are free to attend, and there is no need to book.
Website: lauraphillips86.co.uk
Instagram: @lauraphillips86
Sacred Herbs of Britain
15 June 2025: 4pm
A bilingual storytelling show retelling the story of Olwen, interweaving myth and magic, herbal lore and folk tales.
Join Claire Mace in the gardens at Plas Brondanw for a bilingual retelling of the story of Olwen, the giant's daughter with hair yellower than the broom and cheeks pinker than the foxglove.
She leaves a trail of white clover wherever she walks, and is the heroine of "Culhwch and Olwen", a tale from the mediaeval manuscripts of the Mabinogion.
Inspired by folklore from across Wales, this is Olwen's territory; myth and magic, herb lore, folk tales and stories of trees and plants illuminate her landscape.
Please note this is an outdoor event, and we will be moving between spots in the garden. Wear sutiable clothes and footwear, and bring a chair, a stool or a cushion to sit on if you like. Tickets are £10, with a cheaper concession ticket for unwaged and retired people and children at £7. The show is aimed at adults, but is not unsuitable for older children.
This traditional storytelling performance has been developed thanks to the Gwobr Esyllt Prize from Chwedl, the network of women storytellers in Wales, Contact Chwedl at hello@chwedl.org
Tour dates at www.anadlu.com
Andrea McLean - The Mythical Landscape: A Timeless Encounter?
9 July 2025: 7pm
Andrea McLean is a visual artist based in Herefordshire. As Faculty of the Royal Drawing School, she teaches the courses Mapping: Drawing Internal Landscapes, and William Blake: Drawing and Imagination. Her circular Mappa Mundi painting hungs near the entrance to the Map Room in the British Library. Andrea studied at Falmouth and the Slade, held a Rome Scholarship, Gloucester Cathedral residency, and has recently exhibited at the Towner Art Gallery, been an invited speaker at Middlesex University, and at The Pari Centre, Tuscany.
Andrea's talk presents different ways artists and poets have mapped the landscapes they encounter, whether those landscapes are real or imagined. Drawing on William Blake's poetry and imagery, and medieval circular maps created for memory and pilgrimage, we can ask about the nature of timelessness as an experience. Although timeless topography is impossible in our temporal world, it could be that journeying towards this ideal can give artists paths and encounters connecting them to the natural world poetically, and to other artists of their past and future.
This talk is part of the Hafod residency series, in collaboration with Noelle Griffiths. These talks are free to attend, and there is no need to book.
Website: andrea-mclean.co.uk
Instagram: @andreamclean6278
Life Drawing Sessions
Block 2: 25/07/2025 - 22/08/2025 - 19/09/2025: 6-8pm
A model, easels and drawing boards will be provided, but you will need to bring your own paper and drawing materials. The £30 ticket price covers three sessions - buy a ticket for the first session in the block, the other two will be included automatically.
There will be no tutor for these sessions, they are an opportunity for you to practice independently and support each other as artists.
Pint and Chat
Third Wednesday every month
7-8pm
Come and practice your Welsh! While our local pub is closed (hopefully not for much longer), Plas Brondanw is pleased to welcome a group of Welsh learners to practice once a month, under the guidance of Osian Rhys from Menter Iaith Gwynedd. Email osian@menteriaithgwynedd.cymru for more information. Bring your own drink.