Episode 1 The Exhibitionists

The National Museum and Galleries of Wales,

home to the nation's largest and most important collection of art.

A collection that includes Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso and Turner,

but this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Underground, the museum's secure vaults store

the rest of the priceless collection,

Down here lie thousands of works of art that the public very rarely get to see.

Until now.

For the first time ever, five people from all over Wales

with no formal art background

will have the run of the entire national collection.

I don't usually do this sort of thing. I work in a factory.

I'm a little bit scared, but I think I'll be OK.

You've got to be in it to win it, and I am.

They'll be given unprecedented access to priceless paintings,

sculptures and ceramics.

That would look so nice in my lounge.

That's a bit erotic!

-So this is Welsh as well?

-Oh, yes.

Their goal, to compete for the chance to put on a show

in The National Museum of Wales.

Can five members of the public show the art world they've got what it takes

to become The Exhibitionists?

Art shows can take several years to plan by professional curators,

but the museum's next show is in the hands of our untrained amateurs.

So, who's in the frame?

Julia, football fanatic from Swansea.

Darren, florist from Colwyn Bay.

Efa, singer-songwriter from Criccieth

Richard, quiz lover from Monmouth.

and Colin, antiques enthusiast from Dowlais.

This is the prestigious Gallery 24, where by the end of the series,

two of our exhibitionists will go head to head and stage their own exhibition.

Current occupant, Her Majesty the Queen,

in a blockbuster retrospective.

And already Julia's looking at the space with new eyes.

I don't think I'd put everything on the walls. It's quite flat.

Do you think it's quite flat?

Can I say that?

Who stays and who goes will be decided by our mentors,

two renowned experts from the art world.

Respected Welsh painter and art critic, Osi Rhys Osmond...

..and Karen MacKinnon, one of Wales's leading curators.

We're looking for instinct.

We're looking for someone who really understands the work that

they've selected and can make them really shine in an exhibition.

You might feel that putting an exhibition together

is a fairly straightforward task.

But, as our exhibitionists are about to find out, there is much,

much more to curating an exhibition than meets the eye.

Each exhibitionist will be judged on how well

they perform in tasks set by the mentors.

For now, our five novices are enjoying a tour around the museum's

Impressionist Gallery, led by experienced guide Susan Greensmith.

This is called The Kiss. You will have seen pictures of it.

This is one copy of The Kiss.

What they don't know yet is that this gallery,

home to one of the world's finest art collections,

is soon to be the location of their first task.

I hope you're all listening very carefully to Susan's talk.

Because, very soon, you will be doing something similar.

Your first task is to give a guided tour to members of the public.

You will have to give a presentation about Rodin's Kiss

and one other work from the collection.

Good luck.

It's going to be a challenge.

It's not something I've seen up close before, but I think I can...

I'll have to bluff my way through, I think. It'll be fine.

But will bluffing be enough?

Rodin's Kiss is one of the museum's most popular exhibits.

Depicting two lovers entwined in a passionate embrace,

the sculpture was originally commissioned in marble

by the French state in 1887,

and this bronze edition is one of 12 officially approved by Rodin himself.

Our exhibitionists must also choose a second work of art

to show to a group as part of a guided tour.

Newly-wed Julia is instantly drawn to Monet's Water Lilies.

One of the most famous and valuable works in the museum,

a similar painting by Claude Monet once sold at auction

for £40 million.

I haven't been married quite a year yet,

and so our honeymoon was spent on a cruise around Britain.

The last port of call was in France, and we went for a day trip

here to Giverny, and so I was able to see these ponds

and I've kind of got a personal story, and I felt that I could

speak a bit easier about something that I was familiar with.

Where Julia draws on personal experience,

quizmaster Richard follows a more strategic route.

I'm approaching it in the way I'd approach if I was writing a quiz, so

I want everything that I tell people to be accurate, factual, but fun.

I put a lot of fun into my quizzes.

Richard's choice is Alfred Sisley's Storre's Rock

a rare masterpiece, as the Impressionists painted mainly in France,

but here the painter depicts a Welsh seascape - Langland Bay, in Gower.

Efa and Colin have both selected similar paintings

of busy industrial ports.

Efa has chosen Sunset at Port Rouen in France

painted by Camille Pissarro in 1898,

while Colin has chosen The Thames at London,

painted by Monet in 1871.

Darren's choice is also a Monet, but with a slightly more

romantic setting in this view of Venice.

But Darren doesn't seem too impressed

by the impressionist's technique.

That's not even a particularly brilliant picture of a gondola.

It's almost like a moustache halfway across the canvas.

I think the worst thing that could happen is that I just dry up,

have a panic attack and run out.

But I don't thing that can happen. I think I can just, you know...

I can go for it. I can do this, I'm a grown up.

With their choices made, the exhibitionists have precious little time

to swot up on their artworks.

With only a few minutes to go before the start of their first task,

the exhibitionists marshal their thoughts.

But what do the mentors expect from them?

I'd like a tour guide to be well-informed, enthusiastic,

articulate.

I want the guide to show me things that I would not have noticed,

things that I might have taken for granted.

They have to stand in the middle of a gallery in the National Museum,

a place that they don't go to, that to them is alienating, in many ways,

and I think that's really going to put a lot of stress on them.

With preparation time over, it's now time to face the public,

as the exhibitionists go about their first challenge.

First up is student and singer, Efa.

Will her performing skills hold her in good stead?

Good afternoon.

My name's Efa. I'm your tour guide for now.

I want you, first, to look at this piece, The Kiss.

If you want to walk around it with me,

so you can get the full idea of this...

Efa's walk and talk round The Kiss seems to impress the mentors.

She brought the group into motion. She didn't stop.

She came in in a movement, and the movement continued,

so she insisted on that total view which is essential for sculpture.

But as Richard begins his tour, nerves are more apparent.

Er, it's based on a theme from Dante's Inferno, which,

himself, based on the works of the Arthurian legend.

The first 40, 50 seconds the heart's pounding, and then you think,

"Just go. Just get it over with."

There's an old trick with public speaking.

Imagine the audience in their underwear.

And I thought, "No, they're old people. I don't want to imagine that!"

Paolo is a beefcake. He's slightly bigger.

And, even though I'm a strapping lass...

Julia oozes confidence,

as she offers gives a slightly different perspective.

Can I direct you to follow me around whilst we have a crafty look at their bottoms?

She was really confident. She really engaged the audience.

She was completely in command.

And just as we get to the money shot,

we can sort of see that there is something missing.

Julia's preparation seems to be paying off.

But Colin is struggling to remember the name of the second artist

he's supposed to be talking about.

I've got it here.

Monet, sorry.

I've got now. I know most about Monet, so I should be all right.

After the initial nerves, there's no stopping quizmaster Richard

sharing endless facts on Alfred Sisley's Gower seascape.

They got married in 1897, in Cardiff City Hall,

took their honeymoon on the Gower at a hotel that was the Osborne.

At the time, it was one of the most luxurious hotels in Wales.

He didn't like it, he thought the beds were lumpy,

but he did a couple of sketches.

I was impressed by the way he played to his strengths.

He uses phenomenal powers of memory.

In some ways, he engaged less with the work than with the biographical details.

Whilst Richard uses facts and figures, Colin has a different approach.

What do you think of it?

I like it.

Anybody else?

I did think he did a very good job,

but I think we didn't see enough of Colin.

It's very difficult for you to paint something

when you've got all them things in it.

Gradually, he got involved with the painting,

and it was a painting that seemed to speak to him, and he made me

look at the painting again in a way that I hadn't looked at it before.

Efa continues with her poetic interpretation of Pissaro's Port de Rouen.

Obviously, there's always sunsets wherever you go.

It's a bit like a line dance. Bear with me.

And Julia keeps up the pace with her Water Lilies,

but her tour technique is not to everyone's taste.

I thought she was slightly over the top.

A little bit, maybe, overconfident.

Finally, it's Darren's turn.

Hello, lovely people!

My name's Darren and I'm going to be showing you a couple of

exhibits here in the Impressionist collection.

This is the Rodin. It's one of his early works.

Perhaps you'd all like to gather around and have a bit

of a closer look, get a bit closer so you can see a little bit better.

Having said that he might have to bluff his way through

the first task, Darren starts confidently.

He made several copies of it.

Erm...

He...

Sorry, I've clammed up.

Keep going, OK, OK. Just...

Don't clam up.

Initially, he stumbled quite badly. He dried up.

He was saved by kind member of the public.

Yes, sorry. Thank you very much. Yes, thank you very much.

I'll get into the swing of it.

And he responded to that by treating that woman as the most

important person in the world while he talked about the Rodin.

He didn't look away from her.

I think I could do with being a little less stressed.

But I'm really wanting to stay in this.

I'd like to stay at least a little bit longer.

With the first task over,

the exhibitionists face an anxious wait

to find out how they performed as tour guides,

but before that, there's a second task awaiting them.

Led by Oliver Fairclough,

the head of the museum's art collection,

the exhibitionists now embark on a journey down to the vaults,

where the mentors present them with their second challenge.

This task is much harder on the exhibitionists.

I think what I'm looking for is

a kind of fearless approach to this.

Two of the men, in particular,

found it difficult presenting

in front of an audience,

and I think, for that reason,

they have extra work to do in order

to increase their chances of going

through to the final stages.

Your next task presents you with a unique opportunity.

Our novice curators can choose any two artworks from the secure underground stores.

They will then present the two works, discussing their merits and how they relate to each other.

This is a difficult challenge. Good luck.

Guided by the expert curating staff, the exhibitionists are taken further into the depths of the museum.

These specialised stores contain thousands of artworks which are rarely exhibited.

Our five can choose any two works they wish for the show-and-tell

presentation, be it sculpture, ceramics or paintings.

It sort of dawned on me, there, the power that the curator has.

The power that is not just about what is on show, but what could be shown.

-So, shall we get some gloves on, Darren?

-Yeah.

Purple or green?

Purple.

Darren has chosen to see the ceramics stores with curator Rachel Conroy.

It blew me away to just walk into the room,

and it was just like, "Oh, my God!

Everything I've ever wanted to see, and it's all in one room."

It's just fantastic. It was wonderful.

And with your interest in flowers...

Flowers, yes.

..I really wanted to show you some pieces

from this wonderful dessert service.

Keeper of Art Oliver Fairclough shows Efa some romantic landscapes,

but she has her eye on other things.

What's that?

We have many, many views. We're getting better, aren't we?

These are pictures commissioned by the National Coal Board in the 70s.

He's from South America.

Colin is taken by curator Melissa Munro to see some mix media works in the contemporary store.

And, just in here, you can see there's dead flies.

Most of the old art I like.

Landscape, anything to do with the country.

Modern art, abstract,

doesn't turn me on at all.

What do you think of the painting? Do you like it?

Erm.

I'm not a contemporary follower, don't get me wrong,

but a lot of people like it...

and...it's completely different, you know.

It's different.

Very different, in fact.

Whilst Colin is yet to decide on his selection,

Darren has found something he really loves.

Plates.

We've got over 40 pieces of this service which was originally

made for the Marques of Exeter.

These rare surviving pieces of early-19th century Nantgarw china

are considered to be some of the most valuable artefacts ever produced in Wales,

and are among the most exquisite examples of British Porcelain ever made.

These are actually irreplaceable, aren't they?

Yes.

I'm a little nervous about this, because normally you

go into a shop and it says, "Nice to have, nice to hold.

"Once broken, considered sold," which is fine.

Don't worry, Darren. It'll be fine.

You can tell me what you think about it.

I think it's interesting that we know that this was

made for a particular person. It's always nice to have that.

That provenance.

That provenance, yes.

What do you think about the flower painting?

That's beautiful.

The way that they've captured the rose.

And all the little hairs. The quality is just.

It's extremely fine.

It's exquisite, isn't it?

Fabulous.

I'm glad that you like it.

Wow. That's a bit erotic!

We'll have that out.

It's by a lady, as well.

Of Salome.

Oh, of biblical fame?

Yes, absolutely.

Yes.

She doesn't look very biblical, does she?

Well, I think that was maybe her problem.

While curator Ann Prichard has Julia's interests in the palm of her hand,

curator Beth MacIntyre has found a couple of rare prints

on a subject close to Richard's heart.

This is by an artist called Eric Malthouse.

And it's 1956.

Richard's father was a pigeon fancier, and he's instantly

taken with the prints, evoking fond memories of his childhood.

Flat cap, obviously.

He holds his hand out, and I can remember my dad put

a handful of seed, the birds would come in from the race.

You've got to get them in as fast as you can, because it's all timed.

My father has passed away now,

but he was very much into racing pigeons all through his life,

from a boy during the Second World War up until his late 50s, early 60s.

I can remember my dad standing there, Saturday morning,

waiting for his one pigeon to come home.

In the largest painting store, Efa wastes no time in letting

Oliver know just what she's looking for.

So this is Welsh as well?

-Oh, yes.

-Cool.

Like, the kind of art I really like is art that talks

about ordinary people and their lives, so I think this one certainly does.

It's not a beautiful seascape, or anything.

That's how things were at that time.

With the selection done,

the works are carefully taken from the secure stores up to the conservation room,

ready to be presented to the mentors.

We are able to stand aside.

We are able to put personal opinion to one side

and see a value which doesn't depend necessarily on our personal taste.

So, with personal taste kept in check,

what will the mentors think of Darren's chosen works?

What are the connections between them?

The two choices I've made, I made them

because they were personal to me.

The dish from the Nantgarw Chinaworks is joined

by Iris & Roses by Matthew Smith.

Erm.

I'll start by...

When I first saw the two pieces that Darren had selected,

I was disappointed.

Because a while ago, I thought about what Darren might select,

and I was a bit worried that he'd select flowers.

The obvious connection, I think, is, obviously, they're flowers,

but I think that's a bit too obvious.

I want to take this home.

I really want to take this home, and in actual fact, I have something

very similar in the china cabinet at home, but not a piece like this.

So, with Darren's choices failing to impress,

it's on to Efa, who's chosen a self-portrait

by one of Wales's leading living painters, Shani Rhys James,

and the 1953 Street Scene Cardiff by Colin Allen.

The choice itself was a startling, interesting and original one.

We had this saturated colour, and it was bright and bold,

and it made me think of Efa, as well.

It looked a bit like her.

I chose both these pictures

because I thought there's a distinctive style with both of them.

The works I have chosen are modern and Welsh and quite weird,

which is the kind of thing I like.

I don't want a nice painting of a landscape the way it looks,

because now you can just take a picture.

Josef Herman's Mother and Daughter is Colin's first choice

and his second, Vincent Evans' Repairing Main Road.

It's quite obvious which one he prefers.

He's the type of painter, you either love him or hate him.

You've got to look at his pictures.

The colours are almost always the same,

and most of them are like a scribble.

The other one, Evans has painted with more definition, and you

could understand that far better than you would with the Herman.

I thought it was interesting hearing him describing

the work of Herman, who is what we might call an expressionist,

and at the same time, describing his admiration for Vincent Evans,

who is an extremely traditional painter,

painting in the way that most people feel comfortable with.

I would like, at this stage, the exhibitionists to be telling me

how the works and the way they're made make them feel.

Maybe it is too much to ask, but that's what I'd like.

Having spent a long time in the sculpture store,

Julia eventually plumped for two paintings,

and, like Efa, she chose one by Shani Rhys James

and another by Brenda Chamberlain.

When I saw the second of my choices,

I had an emotional reaction, and I had some tears.

She did very well. She presented well, I thought.

She was not overconfident, but confident.

She knew what she was talking about.

She felt both of the paintings quite deeply.

When I said about the strength in the piece,

I wonder if that is what's coming across, there.

I think that Julia just needs to explore more fully,

but she's incredibly open and ready to do that,

and really taking on board the task.

I just don't know which way she's going to go, sometimes, Julia.

Quiz aficionado Richard impressed the mentors with his memory

in the first task, but it's memories of his father

which has made him connect with two pigeon paintings in this task.

When I talk about my father, I do become emotional.

It's coming up now, the anniversary of his death,

so I hope I can make it come across sensibly.

I wouldn't want to embarrass his memory by presenting something stupid.

It will be hard, but I'm sure I can get through it.

I hope I can.

I've chosen these completely contrasting works of art.

Richard has chosen Boy Flying Pigeons by Eric Malthouse

and Pigeon House by George Chapman.

And they both depict something that's close to my heart - the sport of racing pigeons.

My late father was an avid racing pigeon fan.

I think the choice of works was surprising with Richard,

because when we saw him in the last task,

he was amazing in terms of facts, but now he's really

moved on to something which is really important to him.

Now, as a young lad, I actually used to do this with my own father,

so it does evoke fond memories.

You could feel the emotional power of that work,

in terms of his own life and his own experience.

That was a very moving moment, I think.

Thank you, Richard. That's really great, thanks.

With the second task completed, it's been a tough start

for the exhibitionists, but the tensest moment is yet to come.

The elimination.

I think we got a picture now of who is possibly going through

and who might be possibly not going through.

I think, overall, I think I'm probably third, maybe.

I feel that maybe that one, overall,

made a stronger and more interesting case.

And maybe has moved further from task one to two.

I've enjoyed myself so much, learned so much, it would be sad

if I went out of it now.

We've all got our own different strengths and weaknesses.

I think my weakness, I get emotional,

but it's about something I'm passionate about.

Our exhibitionists return to Gallery 24,

where two of the five will eventually hang their own show.

But tonight, for one of our five, it's the end of the road.

Firstly, we'd like to congratulate you. You did wonderfully well.

Julia.

You're strong and confident,

but sometimes we worry that that confidence is too much.

Colin, you linked your choices with your personal history,

but sometimes you fail to see the abstract values that the objects and paintings contained.

Richard, you're amazing with facts, but we need some more of you

and your ideas in this process.

Efa, your presentations were enthralling,

but there were times when you lost focus.

Darren, you're wonderful with the audiences,

you're a really warm personality,

but we want you to look outside of that,

become more of a curator and less of a collector.

Unfortunately, tonight, one of you will have to leave.

Colin, I'm afraid that person is you.

Five have now become four...

..but only two will eventually go head to head

to become the National Museum's first exhibitionist.

It did come as a bit of a shock, because I didn't think

I was as bad as what they said, you know, but it's one of them things.

That was a really difficult choice, but unfortunately,

we had to vote one person off.

It was that idea that Colin had perhaps shown a little less

potential than the others

that made him, in the end, the inevitable choice.

I think it's going to be a real challenge next.

That means two of us won't be exhibiting in this space,

and two of us will.

Next time...

the remaining four play house...

Guys, guys, guys. Organised chaos.

..while personality clashes cause havoc in the hanging task.

Well, you say its pre-war, and I'll have to go with what you say,

because I have no knowledge...

Hang on, hang on. What about the faction?

To see the artworks featured in this programme in more detail,

go to the website and click on The Exhibitionists.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd