Episode 3 The Exhibitionists

Over the last past few weeks, five members of the public

have been competing for chance to stage an exhibition

at the National Museum, Cardiff.

Two have already gone, having failed to reach the high standards

set by the two mentors, art critic Osi Rhys Osmond

and renowned curator Karen MacKinnon.

This week, however, impressing Osi and Karen isn't enough.

Richard, Efa and Julia

need to impress the museum's Director General, David Anderson.

Have they got what it takes to become The Exhibitionists?

Only two of the three Exhibitionists

will get to hang their show in the prestigious Gallery 24,

where the two finalists will go head to head

with one half of the gallery each, to showcase their curating skills.

Current occupant, the Queen, marking her Diamond Jubilee.

This is the gallery in which you will hang your exhibition.

We want you to look very carefully at the space.

Generally speaking, when people look,

they turn their heads but they don't really examine

In today's task, each Exhibitionist has to prepare a theme

for a proposed exhibition,

using artworks from the museum's vast collection.

You need to think about the content, the subject matter,

the colours, the period,

and really consider how you're going to pull that together.

Good luck.

Now they really are stepping into the curator's shoes.

and what that feels like.

But the mentors aren't the only people they have to impress.

The Exhibitionists also have to present their ideas

to Director General David Anderson,

an international authority on museums and learning.

It's is reputation on the line, too.

It's a risk but it's a great opportunity as well.

I hope the three of them will have the confidence

to believe in their own ideas.

Not to try and produce an exhibition

that they think we would have produced if we'd done it.

If they put their heart into it, we'll have some exciting ideas.

That room is inside somewhere so established

like the National Museum,

something I'd never usually consider myself a part of.

That makes me want to do something more radical and different

in that room.

At the moment, it's quite ordinary.

There's nothing special there.

I think I've learned enough

to curate a show.

I've got knowledge outside of this I can use.

I want this now.

It's underlined, what is ahead of us.

It's obviously the big one.

Led by curator Nick Thornton,

the three are taken down into the secure vaults

to look for inspiration amongst the artworks stored there.

Efa tells curator Melissa exactly what she's looking for.

Most of the stuff I've looked at is not, like, conservative...

It's more like trying to get a reaction from people.

-Challenging.

-Yeah.

She's drawn to the abstract landscapes

of former Welsh Artist of the Year Brendan Burns.

Do you think one of these would look OK by themselves?

It's quite a small room.

They work better as a set.

-What's his name again?

-Brendan Burns.

She's got lots of interesting ideas, which sometimes

are a bit wacky and disconnected.

She's got an interest in the politics of art,

she's got something to say.

She could do well but it's this question making it a coherent whole.

She's been quiet. She's retreated into herself.

I really hope she comes in, guns blazing

and shows us a bit of that rock'n'roll Efa.

She's young, she's funky.

Let's bring that into the mix and have that arrogance of youth,

a bit of swagger.

I consider myself an anarchist.

I don't know what the museum will think about having an anarchist

putting an exhibition on in the museum.

Richard, on the other hand, having worked in a factory all of his life,

is interested in artworks depicting the worker

and is introduced to prints of miners

by curator Charlotte Topsfield.

Wow! I like that!

That is... That is nice.

This is called Portrait Of Elias Jones.

It's a collier in a tin bath.

It's by Evan Walters, who came from a mining background.

You can see he knows what he's doing.

One of the big questions is whether Richard can move on from

his fact-based, analytical approach,

which would be fine in certain respects.

Say if you were making a book.

But in an exhibition, you'll need an awareness of the object, the thing,

as a thing in space, with a relationship with a thing that is next to it

and the other things in the group.

I think this is what he lakes at the moment.

That's fantastic.

What I've decided to do for my gallery

is a social history timeline for the 20th century.

Tourists come to Wales and they expect to see the social history side of Wales -

the mining, the rugby, the politics.

That's what Wales is famous for, apart from sheep!

If you'd like to just come around this side.

Julia has asked to see the work of Welsh artist Shani Rhys James.

My theme is about women, representation of women

or about art by women, of women.

Where is the space in that museum

that belongs to the women of Wales?

Is it relevant to everybody in Wales? Yes, it is.

She's thinking about the final exhibition all the time.

She's also reading and just falling in love with art.

I think that's wonderful to see.

Meanwhile, Efa discovers the work of Maurice Cockrill,

with a painting described as representing the winding rivers of Wales.

I can imagine it on that wall when you're walking in to the gallery.

It's a very powerful work.

Being so bright, you've also got to consider

what you would put next to it.

Colours can really affect others works that you display.

-It could clash.

-Yes, it's punchy.

He was famous as a war photographer in Vietnam...

Back in the prints and drawings room,

Richard is introduced to the photographs of world-famous Philip Jones Griffiths.

-This is a really lovely photograph.

-1967. I was one when that was done.

We've got photographs from ten years later, my brother and friends, that could be us.

It's four young lads. One is looking serious and three are right little sods.

It does reflect my lifestyle as a kid.

I grew up on a rough council estate.

Both my parents worked. Worked hard.

Dad had two jobs.

We used to play for hours. We'd be out in the morning, till Mum came looking for us.

Efa finds inspiration where she least expected.

I went into the Welsh Ceramics Gallery

and that is not the kind of stuff I like.

I eat my chips off that kind of stuff.

But I saw a really interesting piece on two monitors

where on one side there was a tea cup, smashing.

On the other one it was reforming - he'd reversed the tape.

I really like the, erm... It was just different.

Especially in that context, it was cool.

This is a video piece by the artist David Cushway.

Tea Cup One Bounce and Tea Cup Two Break.

I'm not going to compromise what I want in the exhibition.

I'm going to present tomorrow to the National Museum of Wales and to the mentors.

If they don't like it, they don't like it. I don't want to do something I don't like for them.

She reminds me of a young me. She does.

I used to wear skirts that short as well.

No, she's got fire in her belly

and loads of politics in her soul.

That's what we need more of. Brilliant.

Loves Ef.

Julia seems to be struggling.

She seems concerned about this.

As though it's too much in one go.

She might be trying to fool us. I don't know.

The next day and The Exhibitionists

return to the museum, where they have the morning in the stores before they give

their presentations.

Efa is in the ceramics stores with curator Rachel Conroy,

who is showing her one of the collection's newest acquisitions.

It's by a Welsh artist called Catrin Howell.

She is heavily influenced by mythology

and she creates these beautiful animal sculptures.

She is particularly influenced by the Mabinogi.

I really like it. It's quite strange.

Erm...

I'm not sure how it would tie into my theme but I do like it.

Having previously enjoyed his time in the prints and drawings room,

Richard has the opportunity of looking at contemporary paintings

with curator Melissa Munro.

I'm not even sure what that's supposed to be.

This is Beach Girl by Peter Lanyon.

It was painted in 1961.

OK.

It's a figure on a beach. He was one of the leading abstract painters

of the 20th century in Britain.

That just doesn't appeal to me.

I like art. I like a nice landscape, a portrait,

even etching but this...

A lot of people would like it. I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm not saying it's right.

But to me... It doesn't appeal to me.

When I first looked at it, I thought it was a snail.

A snail's shell. An abstract of a snail.

That's how much I've learned in the past few weeks, unfortunately!

Let's hope Julia is slightly more inspired with what she sees in the ceramics store.

Before you handle anything, I'll just say a few things.

Always two hands. Just be confident.

Keep them over this white bit of table.

This is by... It's a set called Puccini.

It's by probably one of the most important international female potters,

Betty Woodman.

It was made in 1989. I'll just set it up for you.

My twins were born in 1989.

And I've got a boy and a girl.

A blue and a pink.

Julia's mission, the female role of nurturing and so on,

I think that could be a very good exhibition.

I know that there is work in the collection that could make a fabulous exhibition

along those lines.

Will she see that?

I feel at this point that Julia needs to branch out with that thematic.

She started by looking at self portraits

of women artists.

Now, she's going in some really interesting directions.

She's talked about strong women. There's a lot of questions she needs to ask to shape that.

I've expectations of Efa to surprise me.

I'm hoping she does.

I like the way she thinks politically. I like the way she thinks in the aesthetic

and beyond the aesthetic.

Going, "Wow" and then follow it around.

Richard, also, he's looking for a didactic approach.

He's a teacher. He wants to tell people things about their history they may not have noticed.

I'm excited about them all and I'm sure it's going to be very interesting.

The presentations are looming, with precious little time before they pitch their ideas

to the mentors and the museum's Director General,

David Anderson.

How they present is up to them but they're all being very creative.

Ah! Feeling a bit nervous today.

It's the final day now before the big vote-off.

I just hope that they think my knowledge is better than my art skills!

It's up to them now

to put on an exhibition that will excite us.

They're all pretty even for me, at the moment.

I don't see anyone in front by a long way.

Preparation time is over. This is their last chance to stay in the competition.

With the museum's Director General and the mentors waiting eagerly,

Richard is first up.

A bit apprehensive now. This is the one that decides who does and who doesn't go through.

It's, er... It's D-Day or E-Day.

It's all or nothing now.

It's crunch time.

Welcome. I'm looking forward to hearing your presentation.

OK. I've called my exhibition A Social Timeline of 20th Century Wales.

I've decided to start with the 1905 picture

entitled The Try That Beat The All Blacks.

That will start there with a brief description of why I've put it there

and the artist.

That's from 1905.

We go on to a picture from the First World War

of the war poet Robert Graves.

We put that alongside there.

Then we go on to the '20s.

This is called A Portrait Of Elias John.

It shows an old collier, who's just come home from the mines,

done 12, 14 hours, in the tin bath, being washed by his wife.

Then, into the '60s...

Richard impresses the three with his concise presentation,

having chosen works representing each decade, including Evelyn Dunbar and George Chapman.

But when it comes to the '60s, he chooses the Philip Jones Griffiths photograph,

which reminds him of his own childhood.

Bunch of four boys, this is a black and white photograph.

Four young lads stood on wasteground.

Same sort of thing I'd do in the early '70s.

When we were kids, bottle of pop, jam sandwich,

over the fields, down the river, all day, until Mum came looking for us.

That's the '60s.

The next three decades are represented with more historic photographs,

and a painting of Penarth Pier by Merlin James.

The very last picture, then.

Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, retires this year.

He was from Wales, he was based in Monmouth - where I'm from.

There's a lovely picture of him, staring through the windows

of Lambeth Palace.

I thought that would finish off the exhibition quite well.

And that's my exhibition.

Who do you think the exhibition will appeal to?

The museum needs to bring in audiences.

Who do you think we will get?

From the diversity of the pictures, and the way I have done the timeline,

I hope it will appeal to everybody - all ages.

You have a lot of extended families nowadays -

grandparents looking after their grandchildren.

Grandfather brings the young boy to the museum. "What's that?"

"When I was a boy, we worked in the pits, had our backs scrubbed.

They start talking about it. They discuss

like when they were kids.

Thank you, Richard.

Great, thank you.

Whoo!

Think that went well. I hope it went well.

I was clear, precise.

Yeah. I think I have done enough.

I thought it was interesting what he was saying about grandparents

bringing grandchildren,

and parents bringing their relatives, as well.

What he is implying in this

is the exhibition is there to encourage people

to interpret for themselves.

To talk amongst themselves, exactly.

It really will come to life for him

at the point people are in there, sharing memories and experiences.

I think it was a very strong pitch.

Next up is Julia.

Will her feminist theme impress Karen, Osi and David Anderson?

Hello!

-We're looking forward to your presentation.

-Thanks for seeing me.

I'm an unusual woman. I'm an extraordinary woman,

like some of the pieces I will be showing you, I think.

I had twins, aged 16.

I was married at 16,

and I unfortunately had a divorce - or fortunately,

whichever way you look at it.

I then became a volunteer in the women's movement,

in a women's refuge.

But I also then

got remarried, wanting to be

quite a traditional woman,

and tried to rebuild the family to bring up my children in.

Had the third child, Joe,

and I went through another divorce.

I then, I guess,

spent some time reinventing myself,

and being more comfortable in my skin.

As a working-class woman, I live in a council house.

I don't see a lot of people like myself in this place.

However, I have noticed

that about 50% of people do seem to be female,

and that's just a rough poll.

But I have noticed

that isn't what I have seen on the walls.

And I wonder, in 2012,

if there is something we can do about that, in this space.

So I'm going to start on this wall.

I have a mixture of different pieces of art here.

I'm a really bad drawer,

so I will just have to tell you what they are about.

This piece here

is an Edith Downing piece called Music.

I was really interested by this piece.

This woman, I think, links the political and the art world

really nicely.

And this piece here,

is Gwen John.

The reason I have picked that

is because I think

this is an internal space that women were more traditionally

associated with.

The next piece I have chosen,

(and there is so much to choose from - it's fantastic!)

I saw this photo, and I just thought, "I've got to have it".

I'm sorry again.

I think her name is Edith, the woman who did this photography,

but it's of Catrin Finch, the harpist.

Again, not a world I am familiar with.

But what I was familiar with was this pregnant lady,

the bellybutton sticking out.

Is there a look?

Are all the works very different?

What I would like to say something about

is the way I would like to have it shown.

I wanted to have a tour on the floor.

I wanted to have some footprints.

That sort of almost takes you

on the kind of route around the pieces

that the experts tell me would be best to show it.

Very interesting, and lots of enthusiasm.

-Yeah!

-Thank you.

-Thank you!

Thanks for the opportunity, really.

Fantastic! Loved it - brilliant!

Really good fun. Lovely people.

Really easy to talk to. Really easy to pitch to.

I think it wasn't entirely necessary to go that far

into her own personal history,

Perhaps it could have been made shorter,

then this would have taken a bit more focus.

I think,

in a way, she is throwing down

a big idea to the public,

and saying, "Agree with me, or argue with me.

"But respond to me."

-Yes.

-That's true.

Last up is Efa.

What will the panel make of her destructive theme?

Hello, welcome. I look forward to hearing your presentation.

OK. My working title is

Our Identities Cannot Be Contained.

I grew up in villages in North Wales,

Bethesda and Criccieth were the ones I spent the most time in.

I was really angry as a teenager.

and I don't think I knew why.

When I finished college, I went travelling,

and it chilled me out a lot. That's why I am how I am now.

When I came to Cardiff,

I started going to protests,

and learned more about the inequalities in this world.

I can safely say by now, I hate supermarkets and banks.

By the time I end my degree next year,

I'll be £30,000 in debt, and I think that's something to be angry about.

So a lot of the pieces I've chosen focus on destruction.

It's essentially a collection

of pieces exploring identity and expression,

by artists whose country, race or gender have been repressed.

Most of the pieces, I think, are quite obvious choices.

This is a multi-media piece.

It's a cup. On one side, it's breaking.

the other side, it's reforming.

It's like all the things that have been repressed.

We are now coming together.

We live in a multi-cultural society. It's a really exciting time.

These are three photographs.

This one is an expression.

It's a picture of graffiti saying, "Get rid of Maggie, please!"

This one is of a drug addict,

which is obviously a form of destruction.

Some people react to the world like this.

And, ooh.. SHE LAUGHS

This is a picture

of a young boy destroying a piano.

My picture's not very good, but it's a famous photograph.

I really like that,

because young children are more ready to express themselves

than adults are, most of the time.

Who is this? Iwan Bala.

I think he explores Welsh culture and identity,

so I think that fits well.

And that's my wonky presentation.

It's a very powerful idea at the centre of the exhibition there.

Who do you see as the audience?

I don't think people would usually put all these pieces together

in this museum,

so hopefully new people, younger people,

and alternative people.

-That's great, thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks.

I was really nervous before I went in,

because I was scared - cos he's like the boss of the museum,

and I don't usually come across people like that in my life.

But once I got in, they were all really friendly and smiling,

so I calmed down a bit.

I was really bowled over

by the way in which so many interesting images

were being brought together

around an idea that she held with such passion.

And was such a personally-driven collection, as well.

Absolutely. I just felt what's amazing about Efa

is this discovery of art.

The other thing I felt about is her is,

whereas the first presentation we saw was very much about

the past into the present...

Yeah.

..this is absolutely about contemporary, now.

It's almost a manifesto

for the future as well, really.

As Director of the museum,

I would be happy - I would even be proud, actually -

to show any of these three exhibitions,

but I know you have to choose two.

And I wish you well with your decision.

The final task is over,

but only Karen and Osi will decide

which two go through to the final.

So, who is going to clean up?

There's one Exhibitionist

-whose exhibition I really want to see.

-Me, too.

-I am looking forward to it.

-Absolutely.

I think it will be an extraordinary experience.

-And we know who that is, don't we?

-We know that this Exhibitionist

is certainly in the fray.

There's an old saying, "Second place is first loser".

I don't want to be second place. I want to be the winner.

This Exhibitionist,

we were a little disappointed in.

Strong delivery - very well put together,

but in some senses, there were limitations.

I told the boss of the museum my ideas,

and most people my age have never done that,

so I did the best I could.

I feel less supportive of this case.

Very supportive of this case,

and quite supportive of that case.

Best I could do. That will always be good enough for me.

Well, I think we have come to a conclusion.

Yep.

These two are our Exhibitionists.

The remaining three enter Gallery 24.

Unfortunately for one of them,

this will be their last visit as a potential Exhibitionist.

We were thrilled

by your growing and deepening

interest and understanding

of the visual arts.

Julia,

you thoroughly researched and embraced your theme,

but we feel you need to focus a little more.

Efa, you took us on a global journey,

and yet remained firmly rooted in Wales.

Yet you need a more strategic approach.

Richard,

you took us through a century of Welsh imagery,

and a personal journey.

But you still rely on facts.

We would have been happy to show

all three of you.

But unfortunately,

someone has to go.

Julia,

you...

are an Exhibitionist.

Efa,

you are an Exhibitionist.

Richard, unfortunately,

you are no longer an Exhibitionist.

Gutted. Absolutely gutted.

I thought I'd done... Well, obviously didn't do enough to get through.

I don't know, but I'm gutted. I really wanted this.

I think ultimately the thing

that spelt out the main difference between the candidates

was not just how they have performed so far,

but what potential for growth was there

in their proposal.

It felt a little bit as if Richard's idea was finished.

You couldn't quite see where else he was going to go with that.

It will be strange going back to the factory.

One minute, a whisker away

from being curator of a fantastic art exhibition,

to back on working nights,

making cardboard boxes.

Congratulations!

-Congratulations!

-Yay!

Congratulations!

Fantastic. We feel so good, don't we?

I'm sorry - I'm speaking for you.

It just became real right then,

when he went, "You're an Exhibitionist."

"You're an Exhibitionist!"

I looked at the room and went, "Oh, my God..."

-This is our space.

-Oh, my God!

Brilliant. I'm really looking forward to seeing your exhibition.

And yours. Yours sounds amazing!

In the final episode,

it's showtime.

Now I'm feeling like a curator. Now I'm feeling more powerful.

Oh, my God - it's massive!

I wasn't able to go to sleep last night.

I had nightmares about this whole thing going really wrong.

It's looking good, don't you think?

-Mine's looking better!

-Well...

Come on, white walls - what are you thinking?

Swansea City!

To find out more about the artworks featured in this programme,

and to see them in more detail,

go to bbc.co.uk/yourpaintings

and click on "The Exhibitionists".

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd