Students experience capital city’s cultural highlights
Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor learners saw Vincent Van Gogh’s Portrait of the Artist, which is in Wales for the first time, on a visit to Cardiff
Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor students visited Cardiff to experience some of the highlights of Welsh artistic and cultural life.
The trip, for Art & Design and Media students, included a visit to Amgueddfa Cymru to see the world-famous Portrait of the Artist by Vincent Van Gogh.
The 1887 self-portrait by the influential Dutch painter is currently on loan from the Musee D’Orsay, Paris. It is the first time it has ever visited Wales.
In exchange, Amgueddfa Cymru’s much-loved La Parisienne, also known as ‘The Blue Lady’, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, has been loaned to the Musee D’Orsay.
The loan agreement closes the Welsh Government’s dedicated year of Wales in France, which has created ties between the two countries in trade, culture and sport.
Iolo Tudur Lewis, Art and Design lecturer at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, said: “Giving this kind of opportunity to our students to go and see world famous art in our own country, is an integral part of the education that we offer at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor.
“Amgueddfa Cymru has one of the best Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections in the world outside of France, including works from Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro and Claude Monet.
“Learning about the history of European art through visiting museums and galleries is really important. We are glad that we as a college are able to offer these kinds of opportunities to our students.”
The students also had the opportunity to visit the Welsh Folk Museum at San Ffagan, BBC Wales’ studios in Llandaf, and the Art and Design departments at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Learners who attended the trip were from Level 2 and Level 3 Art and Design at the Dolgellau campus, AS Art and Design (Photography) at Dolgellau, and A-level Media at the Pwllheli campus.