04-05-2025
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Hundreds sign petition to save Oriel y Parc, St Davids
Oriel y Parc, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park's gallery in St Davids opened in 2008.
Built with £3.3 million in public and EU funds the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA) and National Museum Wales partnership, includes a café, artist studio, education centre and discovery room.
(Image: PCNPA) The plan was for the gallery to masterpieces from the national museum's collections as well as permanent display of work by Graham Sutherland, famous for his Pembrokeshire landscapes.
Since its opening exhibitions of Sutherland's work as well as Constable's masterpiece Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows of 1831 have brought huge numbers of visitors to the gallery.
However, plans for the building are taking a different direction, with the national park authority favouring a two-year £1 million transformation of the space to 'create a flagship Discovery Centre'.
The centre would host new permanent interpretation and temporary community exhibitions to create a' Civic Hub developed with and for the people of St Davids and Pembrokeshire'.
The proposal also sees the gallery's tower transformed from gallery space into an 'immersive storytelling experience'.
Park chief executive, Tegryn Jones said that there are no plans to downgrade the gallery and that exhibitions in conjunction with the national museum will still run.
He added that the authority was committed to developing 'a clear and lasting vision' for Oriel y Parc.
However, the Pembrokeshire Landscape Gallery Working Group, which has set up a petition on says it is 'deeply concerned' by the plan to 'replace a world-class art space with a National Park Discovery Centre'.
(Image: PCNPA) 'This would mean turning away from a purpose-built, publicly funded gallery designed to showcase the artistic treasures of Wales, including the extraordinary bequest of Graham Sutherland's works,' said group members.
They are asking PCNPA to reinstate the whole of the Class A gallery space to host exhibitions of treasures from the National Collection continuously alongside the permanent rotating display of works by Graham Sutherland as part of the rolling exhibitions as well as retaining the architectural integrity of the building.
They say that the decline in visitor numbers at Oriel y Parc is not due to a lack of interest in art but 'rather a lack of significant fine art exhibitions since 2018'.
'How can a gallery thrive when it is no longer given the opportunity to showcase the art it was built for?' they ask.
'Let's bring back world-class exhibitions that can once again make this gallery a cultural jewel of Wales, and St Davids, and an asset for both local residents and visitors.'
To sign the petition search for save Oriel y Parc on or click on the link above.
Tegryn Jones, chief executive of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority said:
'The authority has no plans to downgrade the gallery at Oriel y Parc.
"We will continue to deliver an exciting and interesting programme of exhibitions in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru to provide access for multiple audiences to the full range of the National Collections, including the Graham Sutherland collection.
'As an authority we are committed to developing a clear and lasting vision for Oriel y Parc to ensure that it meets the needs of future audiences and builds on the success of the centre over the past 17 years.
"Through the development of a master plan for the site, we are keen to strengthen our goal to promote people's enjoyment and understanding of the national park through art, culture and heritage, increase access to the national park for more diverse audiences and address issues of seasonality.'
