If you’re familiar with Cardiff, you’ll know about the creative and cultural spaces it has to offer. From the Millennium Centre to the National Museum, Cardiff is brimming with creativity. As defined by Yencken, and explored by Landry, a Creative City is a place that encourages its people and their creativity. Cardiff is an example of a Creative City and, as suggested by Florida, people in the ‘creative-class’ usually move to creative spaces.
I love Cardiff, but sometimes it overshadows the smaller creative areas around it, like Pontypridd.
“It’s about 30 minutes north of Cardiff” – that’s how I usually describe Pontypridd, my hometown. The birthplace of Tom Jones and the composers of the Welsh national anthem, Pontypridd, its community, and creative history shouldn’t be defined by its distance away from Cardiff. One place that represents all of these aspects is Pontypridd Museum.
At the north end of town, a short walk away from local schools, Pontypridd Museum is greatly important. Contacting Pontypridd Museum, I asked them questions about the museum, the impact of flood damage and Covid-19, and their hopes for the future.
The Assistant Curator, David, says that by using photographs, artefacts, recorded voices, and archive film, Pontypridd Museum tells the ‘obvious’ and less-known stories of Pontypridd and its people. I have happy memories of visiting the museum on school trips, volunteering there, and learning about my town with interactive exhibitions. In fact, Museums Association found that museums are places of active learning for everyone. From schoolchildren to artists, they can inspire, teach, and support communities. Local museums are sites where stories are told and I’ve discovered that in order for museums to flourish, they need local people and organisations.
In his 1994 five stance model, Wilcox explains that effective community participation comes from:
- Information
- Consultation
- Deciding together
- Acting together
- Supporting independent community initiatives
Communities, Lynch notes, see themselves as separated from the activities within museums. With a lack of engagement, they are consumers, not participants.
This, however, doesn’t seem to be the case in Pontypridd. David stated that without the contribution of locals “in the way of materials to exhibit, [the Museum] couldn’t exist”. For example, the local art and camera societies help fill their annual exhibition programme. The Museum tries to “act as a gathering point around which ideas, activities and groups can coalesce to benefit the town”. Ultimately, Pontypridd Museum achieves Wilcox’s five stance model.
Sadly, the Museum has faced not only the Covid-19 pandemic, but have been trying to recover after they were flooded during Storm Dennis in February last year. Some of their collection was damaged, and lockdowns have hindered their recovery process. They are missing the day-to-day contact with the public and their contributors.
The Recovery Process – All Images from Pontypridd Museum via Twitter
On a more positive note, it has given Pontypridd Museum time to consider their future. Opening once again in September, they’re working hard to rebuild their key contacts. They may also seek feedback about developing the Museum’s services, and would like to work with schools to see how the Museum could work with the Welsh curriculum. It’s an exciting time for Pontypridd Museum!
The involvement of local people and communities shows how valuable local museums are. They are more than museums – they’re creative and active spaces for many people in their towns. You don’t have to go to a city to experience it.
“I believe that as long as we can keep our close links with large parts of the local community and continue to widen those, the museum has a secure future.”
David, Assistant Curator at Pontypridd Museum.
If you’re near Pontypridd in September, I’d definitely recommend a visit.
Header Image: “Pontypridd Museum from The Old Bridge” – My Photography – licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
All images and media in this blog are used under fair usage for educational purposes.
CREATIVE CONVERSATION 