PRESS RELEASE
19 April 2005
NATIONAL WATERFRONT MUSEUM SWANSEA TO OPEN IN OCTOBER
The official opening of the exciting new National Waterfront Museum in Swansea will take place during Trafalgar Week
this October. The opening will be a major event within the UK-wide Sea Britain Festival, inspired by the 200th
anniversary of Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar. The Battle of Trafalgar has a particular resonance for Swansea and South
Wales – the copper plates that sheathed the hulls of the British fleet, making Nelson’s ships faster than their opponents,
were cast in Swansea, while the fleet’s guns and cannonballs were cast at Cyfarthfa, then the largest ironworks in the
world.
“We are delighted to be able to announce an opening date”, said Rosemary Butler, Chair of the Board of Directors. “The
fitting out of the museum is a complicated and intricate process and we are allowing several weeks of testing into the
pre-opening period to ensure that the computerised technology will work during continued use.”
Fitting out of the new museum is now under way. As some very large and now technologically obsolete objects are
moved into the brand new National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, work is nearing completion on more than 100 audio
visual exhibits including 36 state of the art interactive displays using the latest in computer technology. This combination
of the past and a touch of the future will bring Wales and its industrial heritage to life for visitors of all ages, when the
Museum opens to visitors this autumn.
The striking £30.8m building was completed before Christmas. Already installed is a 28-tonne rolling steel mill, restored
by Corus at their Llanwern works, a brick press and a monoplane to be followed by one of very few surviving coal
wagons and the replica of the first ever steam locomotive, the Penydarren Locomotive. These and hundreds of artefacts
will tell the story of the industrialisation of Wales through the eyes and words of the people who were there.
Interactive displays created for the exhibition introduce the latest sensory technology to interpret and bring objects to life,
offering visitors different ways to enjoy and learn from the exhibits. Among the innovative technologies are projections,
which respond to gestures, and tabletops with touch sensors where visitors can interact with the displays. In addition,
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older technology will also be used in new ways; three huge paternoster lifts will rotate slowly bringing changing exhibits
illustrating the uses of Welsh-smelted metals to the visitor. As each display case descends it triggers the appropriate
caption on the adjoining screen; instead of the visitor going to the showcase, the exhibit comes to them.
The Museum is in itself a combination of new and old, incorporating the original Grade II listed warehouse, former home
of Swansea’s Industrial and Maritime Museum; a glazed, central walkway links to a new breathtaking building clad in
glass and slate. Set amidst landscaped gardens and grounds, innovative public art will create an attractive setting for the
Museum. There will be shops and places to eat and drink – as well as the Museum and its exhibitions, educational
facilities and library. Strategically positioned on the Swansea waterfront the new Museum will act as a catalyst for the
continuing regeneration of the area, attracting thousands of visitors from Swansea, Wales, the UK as a whole, and from
overseas.
The National Waterfront Museum contains three well equipped and purpose built classroom facilities. The Education
team is currently developing an education programme based on its collections, which will address the requirements of
all stages of the national curriculum for schools. There will also be an extensive informal learning programme targeting a
wide range of visitors from across the region.
Jennifer Stewart, Manager, Heritage Lottery Fund Wales, says:
"Wales's unique industrial history is a crucial part of its heritage which is why HLF has allocated £11million, its biggest
ever grant in Wales, to help tell the full story to the public through the museum. Many of the collections will be brought
into the public domain for the first time to allow adults and children alike to learn about Wales as the World's first
industrial nation. To have this facility so close to the geological sources in Swansea which powered the changes will
bring heritage alive for many people in Wales as well as forming part of the docks regeneration project in the city."
Delivery of the project is being managed by the National Waterfront Museum Swansea, a company formed in partnership
by the National Museums & Galleries of Wales (NMGW) and the City & County of Swansea (CCS) with an independent
Chair, Rosemary Butler AM. The Museum will showcase exhibits from both Partners' collections. NMGW’s Head of the
National Waterfront Museum is Stephanos Mastoris, previously Director at Snibston Discovery Centre in Leicestershire.
He and his team have now moved into their offices at the new Museum.
The National Waterfront Museum is designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and the designs for the new galleries have
been developed by Land Design Studio in close cooperation with the team from the National Museums & Galleries of
Wales. The interactive displays are designed by Land Design Studio in conjunction with Newangle.
More information (public): www.waterfrontmuseum.co.uk
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NOTES FOR EDITORS:
(1) Opening: The Museum will be fully open to visitors from Tuesday 18 October 2005; Opening hours are from 0930 to
1700 every day; Admission free. More information on www.waterfrontmuseum.co.uk.
(2) FUNDING
Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded its largest ever grant in Wales to the Project; further funding has come from the
Welsh Assembly, Wales Tourist Board, the Welsh Development Agency and EU Objective 1 funds and other donors and
sponsors.
(3) Top Ten Objects and Pictures
Ten iconic exhibits from the new Museum are available as digital images by email or as print with details. Contact Sarah
Vining or Ylva French below.
(4) A tour of the exhibition
This Background feature describes the exhibition as a tour. Available by email.
(5) MEDIA CONTACTS
National Waterfront Museum:
Sarah Vining
Marketing and Communications Manager
Tel: 01792 459640
Fax: 01792 459641
Email: sarah.vining@swansea.gov.uk
Ylva French
Ylva French Consultancy
Tel. 020 7 233 6789
Email: ylva@ylvafrench.co.uk
Gwenllïan Carr
Head of Press and Public Relations NMGW
Tel 029 2057 3175 / 07974 205 849
Email: gwenllian.carr@nmgw.ac.uk
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