‘Cynefin’: celebrating Wales, identity and belonging for St David’s Day

A major exhibition celebrating contemporary Welsh art has opened in Cardiff Bay to mark St David’s Day.

“Cynefin”, on show at the Wales Millennium Centre until 8 March, brings together a wide-ranging group of artists whose work explores place, identity and belonging in modern Wales.

Featuring names such as Athena Jones, Catrin Williams, David Garner, Iwan Bala, John Pountney, Meinir Mathias and Tessa Gray, the exhibition spans both established practitioners and emerging voices.

Some artists are well known within traditional gallery spaces, while others have built significant followings online, particularly through Instagram, reflecting the evolving ways Welsh art reaches its audiences.

Organisers say seeing so many contemporary Welsh artists exhibited together in one place is rare — and fitting for the national day.

The exhibition takes its name from the Welsh word “cynefin”, a term often described as having no direct English equivalent. While it loosely translates as habitat or home, it carries a deeper meaning: a shared sense of belonging rooted in place, memory and community. It speaks both to personal identity and collective heritage — to the ties that bind people to one another and to the landscape they inhabit.

“Cynefin” forms part of the Centre’s wider St David’s Day celebrations and aims to reflect a Wales that is diverse, creative, multilingual and constantly evolving.

Wales Millennium Centre Community Producer Zaria Neale, who worked with freelance curator Matthew Evans on the exhibition, said the intention was to create an event that captures the Wales people see every day.

“The word ‘cynefin’ speaks to a deep sense of belonging — to place, community and memory,” she said. “Wales is home to a broad spectrum of stories and backgrounds, and this exhibition is about making space for that richness to be shared.”

“Cynefin” runs at Wales Millennium Centre until 8 March.