National Gallery and MOMA for Wales – A call to arms

Iestyn ap Rhobert

The case for a National Art Gallery for Wales has been advocated by many over the last few decades but nothing of national significance has yet been made.

Desmond Clifford, in his article of 30 November 2025, ‘Why we need a National Gallery of Wales’, once again set out the core principles explaining why this project deserves serious attention.

I am calling on the new Plaid Cymru Welsh Government to commit not only to establishing a National Gallery of Wales, but also, and with equal urgency and ambition, to creating a Museum of Modern Art for Wales.

Defusing the location debate 

One noticeable, and very knee‑jerk reaction to Mr Clifford’s article in the comments section was the immediate debate over where a National Gallery should be located. Although this is a valid question, it misses the central point of his argument: that Wales lacks national cultural institutions.

To avoid becoming bogged down in the location issue, proposing that one institution be based in the north and the other in the south would help put people’s minds at ease. This approach would guarantee a national presence in both regions, provided that each site has strong and accessible transport links.

Art and national art galleries as an expression of national identity 

In a recent comment, Wales’s new culture minister, Heledd Fychan said it’s not good enough that Wales is at the bottom of league tables in terms of spending on the arts and sports.  Setting up two national institutions would therefore go a long way to redress this historic imbalance in the arts.

Wales needs both a MOMA and a National Gallery that can celebrate the nation’s artistic traditions by providing dedicated spaces to showcase the many masterpieces currently hidden away in the vast archives of the National Museum, the National Library, and the National Museum of Folk Life. Keeping artworks and cultural artefacts out of public view does little to broaden access to the visual arts for the people of Wales.

Wales should follow the path taken by many other nations and seriously engage with the proposal to establish two major art galleries. Alongside the cultural value, the economic benefits would be considerable.

We cannot allow the legacy of the Davies sisters to fade from public memory, nor should Peter Lord and Iwan Bala remain lone voices advocating for such an essential and long‑overdue ambition.

Strengthening current institutions and Addressing a Critical Cultural Gap 

Establishing new galleries would allow the National Museum of Wales to focus more clearly on its core remit. By distributing responsibilities across multiple institutions, Wales can develop a more coherent, modern, and effective cultural infrastructure, one that reflects the full breadth of its artistic legacy, which scholars such as Peter Lord have spent much of their lives documenting and interpreting.

This is an ambitious project, and it will inevitably encounter resistance and obstacles. Yet a National Gallery and a MOMA for Wales would complement one another, creating the artistic space needed to support Welsh artists, public art, and private galleries alike. The cultural value they would bring is immeasurable.

Wales needs a dedicated focal point for its visual arts a national platform capable of strengthening the artistic ecosystem, and projecting Wales’s creative inheritance onto the global stage. These institutions would not only celebrate the nation’s creativity but also serve as a lasting source of inspiration for generations to come.

Ring‑fence art spending 

There will always be voices objecting to ideas as ambitious as these, just as there are those who resist efforts to strengthen representation in the Senedd. To those who argue that public money should be spent solely on schools and hospitals, I would respond that art is central to the health of any nation, just as sport, literature, and the performing arts are.

Art is not the preserve of an elite; rather, it has been neglected in Wales for so long that it may appear elitist. In truth, it is the Welsh perspective that has been diminished by decades of underinvestment in the arts.

Call to arms 

Wales is entering a new and ambitious phase in her long history following a historic Senedd election. Now is the time for ordinary folk to be equally as ambitious as their government.

If you believe in a Wales where our art, our stories, and our creative spirit are given the space they deserve, then now is the moment to step forward.

Every movement begins with a handful of people willing to imagine something better and to act. If you want to help, take the first steps toward making this two‑pronged vision a reality, please email [email protected] and in the title MOMA – National Gallery.