Exhibitions

We run a changing program of exhibitions throughout the year. We try to showcase a wide variety of work from conceptual to craft and design work, and we work with artists from all over the world. We exhibit works on all kinds of themes, but we are particularly interested in work that responds specifically to the location and its history and to the ideas of Clough and Amabel Williams-Ellis and their children about art, design, architecture, society, politics, planning, science, literature or any other matter they explored in their long and varied careers.

The 'Agored' and 'Agored Ifanc' exhibitions welcome applications from anyone, whether an experienced artist or a first-timer. We will set a theme for these shows which will vary from one year to the next, but based on pieces from the archive, which will be displayed opposite the contemporary works. Within the Open programme, we offer an emerging artist award and a people's award.

For more information about the awards, and how to submit work for the open exhibitions, follow the link to the 'applications' page, below.

Opportunities / Applications

Themesread more

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:

2025: Space
2026: Animal / Vegetable / Mineral
2027: Disturbance
2028: The Sea

Upcoming Exhibitions

Ali PIckard

When Goats had Feathers
with Ali Pickard

4 October – 16 November 2025
Ali Pickard intricately blends history with countless hours of craftsmanship to create fine art sculptures that reflect a world that both is and isn’t ours. Her work uncovers lost stories and hidden histories, exploring themes of women's experiences, language evolution, and the complex interplay of loss and gain. Within her unsettling yet contemplative pieces, Collectors, Word-Gatherers, and Half- Creatures caught between realities come to life.

Having originated from a women’s art welding collective, and after many years of not making, she returned to her creative practice in 2022 and is now an award-winning self-taught textile artist. Through her art, she engages in the slow processes of layered construction and hand embroidery, offering a counterpoint to our fast-paced lives and her own busy mind—especially in an era where rapid AI increasingly encroaches on artistic integrity. Her work not only honours traditional crafting skills but intertwines them with meaningful concepts, often using historical perspectives to reflect on contemporary society.

She creates under the name The Yaffingale, which is an old word for the Green Woodpecker.

Ali Pickard won Plas Brondanw Emerging Artist award in 2024

Vanessa Burroughes

Vanessa Burroughes
Work inspired by Susan Williams-Ellis and the garden at Plas Brondanw

4 October – 16 November 2025
Vanessa Burroughes has always been drawn to collections, both her own and other people’s. Her work in response to Plas Brondanw and the designs of Susan Williams-Ellis has taken her on a journey through watercolours, papers created from colour studies, and small lino blocks and lino printing on a grand scale.

Porcelain and Wood

John Hedley and Sian Hughes
Evolving through Nature

4 October – 16 November 2025
John Hedley and Sian Hughes are collaborating on a new and evolving project, responding individually to wood from the Brondanw estate.

They will be creating outdoor installations through creative interventions with the wood, using a range of materials including metal, wire and porcelain. By so doing they will be responding to and celebrating the grounds and landscape of Plas Brondanw.

The work will be on display in the forecourt, where a tree becomes part of the installation.

This is part of an Arts Council of Wales supported project.

Anghenfil

Plas Brondanw Young Open Exhibition 2025/6
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral

29 November 2025 - 15 February 2026

The Young Open exhibition is a unique opportunity for people under 18 to display their work in a professional art gallery. It is held during the winter each year.

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral

Open 2026
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral

7 March - 10 May 2026

The theme for this year’s Open Exhibition is ‘Animal, Vegetable, Mineral’ which will coincide with the display of Susan Williams Ellis’s work in the drawing room. You are free to interpret the theme in whatever way you like