In this section you can find information about submitting artwork to one of our two annual open shows – the main Brondanw open and the young open, which is for people under 18 years of age. All other opportunities to submit artwork or work with us will also be displayed here as they arise.
Plas Brondanw Open Exhibition
We hold an open exhibition in the spring each year. We welcome applications from anyone, whether an experienced artist or a first-timer. We invite you to respond to the theme for the year when you present work for the Open. See below the list of themes for the coming years. We also run an Emerging Artist competition, and the winner will have a solo exhibition during September of the year after the award. We also offer the People's Prize to the artist who gets the most votes from the public.
The two winning artists win £500 each, which is funded through the cost of submitting work to the exhibition. You can find more information about how to present your work, important dates and an aplication form in the document below.
The closing date for applications for the 2025 exhibition is the 12th January 2025.
Plas Brondanw Young Open Exhibition
The Young Open exhibition is a unique opportunity for people under 18 to display their work in a professional art gallery, and it is held during the winter each year.
The next Young Open exhibition will open on the 18th of January 2025, see the dates and the order of delivery and collection of work below. The theme is 'Gofod/Space'. We ask you to mount work that is on paper on black mounting card, with 2" around it if you can, and to write the child's name, age, the title of the work and area or school on the back. There is no need to make a formal application to submit work, but we do not promise to display everything we receive. Please see important dates, below.
Important dates for Young Open Exhibtion 2025
27 November – 8 December 2024: Presentation of work at Plas Brondanw
18 January 2025: Launch of the exhibition
16 February 2025: Exhibition closes
19-23 February 2025: Collecting the Work
If you are a teacher and you are interested in presenting work on behalf of a class or individuals at your school, we would be very pleased to hear from you. Contact us on post@susanwilliamsellis.org or call 01766770590 for a chat.
Solo Exhibitions
If you are an artist hoping to hold a solo exhibition at Plas Brondanw, you are welcome to contact the contemporary art curator, Sian Elen for a chat. Her email address is sian@susanwilliamsellis.org, or call her on the main phone line.
We have decided to set a theme each year, going forwards. Items from the Susan Williams-Ellis archive will be curated according to the theme for the year, and this will also be the theme for the open and young open exhibitions. We invite artists who wish to have solo or group shows to consider responding to the theme, if they feel inspired to do so, although this is not a requirement. Events will also be curated to respond to the theme, where appropriate. The themes are deliberately broad and may be interpreted in any way that the artist feels is appropriate. The themes for the next five years are outlined below:
2024: Transformation
2025: Space
2026: Animal / Vegetable / Mineral
2027: Disturbance
2028: The Sea
Concerning the display of works of art in the Drawing Room and on the East Landing at Plas Brondanw.
The first charitable aim of the Susan Williams-Ellis Foundation (YSWEF) is:
The establishment and maintenance of an archive, museum and gallery for the benefit of the public dedicated to display, interpret and understand the art, history and works of Susan Williams-Ellis, Clough Williams-Ellis & family as considered appropriate by the Trustees and to make available for public study and inspiration.1
The Trustees and curatorial team have agreed that the Drawing Room (the largest first floor room, facing the forecourt and drive), and the East Landing, indicated below, will be dedicated exclusively to material relating to Susan Williams-Ellis. This may include:
1. Art and design work and other items owned or created by Susan Williams-Ellis.
2. Artwork by contemporary artists which relates to Susan Williams-Ellis’s life or work.
3. Other work selected by Plas Brondanw’s curators for its relevance to Susan Williams-Ellis.