Name: St Fagans Sketching Group
Location: St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff, CF5 6XB
Activity: Exploring heritage through drawing and painting
Formed: September 2023
Participants: 25 adults per session on average
Cost: Free

How can museums and heritage sites enhance visitor experience and improve engagement with their exhibits? One simple way is to encourage people to explore the collections through drawing. Used to study artworks for centuries, drawing can help develop the critical faculty of looking, as well as yielding many other benefits. 

Based in Cardiff, St Fagans National Museum of History is an open-air museum that chronicles the historical lifestyle, culture, and architecture of Wales and its people. Creative Lives’ partnership with St Fagans began in September 2023, with a creative workshop held during Adult Learners’ Week. The session’s aim was to demonstrate how drawing can be an enjoyable way to engage with heritage. Immediately, we saw a demand from participants for regular sketching sessions at the museum, and the St Fagans Sketching Group was born. 

Held monthly, this informal drawing group is open to all skill levels, and drawing materials are available, although most people bring their own. The group meets in the Gweithdy in the grounds of St Fagans Museum: a workshop space next to a cafe and gallery. 

Sessions usually begin with a theme like ‘perspective’ or ‘how to represent foliage’, or the group explores a technique such as watercolour or monoprinting. The members then  head off into the museum to draw and paint. After 90 minutes everyone gathers back together to share their artworks (if they’re comfortable to do so). The group has also benefited from dedicated sessions run by guest artists Marion Cheung and Carly Lewis. 

Taking part in the group has brought about a deeper appreciation of, and connection to, the collections, the buildings and the landscape surrounding it. Participants report: 

• “It’s a wonderful way to appreciate the old buildings and all the hard work that goes on in St Fagans.”

• “I've always loved coming to St Fagans Museum, but because of the group I'm now looking at the buildings, nature and exhibits in a different way.” 

• “Finding things to draw has made me realise how beautiful the museum is and what a lot of interesting buildings there are.”

• “It’s made me look closely at exhibits, engage with specific buildings and find out more about them.” 

• “I see the exhibits in a different light. They’re rich and varied.”

But beyond the deeper engagement with heritage, the group has yielded numerous other benefits. The contribution that taking part in creative activities can make to wellbeing is well documented, and this group has become a friendly and supportive place for people to create artwork together. New friendships have formed, and sessions invariably end with a cup of coffee and a chat in the cafe. In our evaluation, in addition to participants stating their appreciation of the museum had increased, they all talked about the personal benefits they experienced and how much they enjoyed the sessions. 

• “I definitely feel more uplifted after the sessions. The combination of the art in such a wonderful outdoor space with amenities is great.” 

The group has given people confidence to draw, whereas doing it on their own would have been too daunting. One participant said: “I didn't have the confidence to go outside sketching before, but now I am finally developing it and it's great!” People also talked about the benefits of drawing alongside others: seeing different approaches to artwork, sharing ideas and getting encouragement and inspiration from the rest of the group. 

If you’d like to discuss the activities and approaches we’ve taken to embedding the Sketching Group in St Fagans Museum, please contact Gareth Coles on [email protected].   

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