L6th Artists Explore Innovation and Tradition in Cardiff

January 15th 2026

On Thursday, 15th January, our L6th artists set off for an immersive art trip to Cardiff. The day began at Cardiff Metropolitan University, where pupils took part in a specialized stop-motion workshop, followed by an afternoon exploring the collections at The National Museum Cardiff.

Taraya and Lily warmly welcomed us to the Cardiff School of Art & Design (CSAD) We were given a custom tour of the purpose-built facilities, which are specifically designed to foster a ‘maker’ culture. There was a buzz of excitement as pupils explored the open-plan studios, viewing an impressive array of work from the Fine Art, Fashion, Textiles, and Fab Lab departments.

This was a brilliant opportunity for pupils to discuss the innovative curriculum, which is built upon three core components: Subject, Field, and Constellation. As Taraya explained, this structure prepares students for 21st-century challenges through a collaborative format that emphasises interaction between different artistic disciplines and external partners.

The morning culminated in a Stop Motion workshop run by Lily, a current third-year student. Working in pairs, pupils mind-mapped scenarios and characters before bringing their experiments to life using Dragonframe animation software. It was wonderful to see them translate their previous projects ranging from Surrealism to Abstraction into the medium of moving imagery.

After a well-deserved lunch, we headed to the National Museum Cardiff. Pupils explored the extensive permanent collection, including the Old Masters and Modern works, as well as the Artes Mundi 11 biennial. Seeing this prestigious international contemporary art prize on the very day the winner was announced provided a ‘golden opportunity’ for pupils to record first-hand studies for their current ‘Form’ project and gather inspiration for their upcoming Personal Investigation in March.

A huge thank you to the Cardiff Met team, led by Taraya, for providing such an authentic art school experience. Despite the heavy rain, our L6th artists brought immense energy and creativity to the day, making the most of every moment outside the classroom.

George Cole, Art Teacher

It was a really good experience to get our heads around not only university life but going to university for creative arts. It was good to see the range of opportunities presented as the facilities were incredible at Cardiff Met School of Art.

It had a good range of different ears in art which made it easy to get a good range of sketches.

Buster Swift, L6th Artist

I really enjoyed the Cardiff trip; it was interesting going to the university to see what art student life is like. The gallery was so beautiful, and I felt inspired by the breathtaking pieces and the diversity within all the art that was there!

Bronte Preston, L6th Artist

On the trip to Cardiff Met we went on an inspiring tour around a university filled with creativity and got to see many of the 3^rd year students work. I found this experience extremely motivational as it inspired me to work harder and explore all the opportunities presented to me. We saw them working in several different media, such as clay, fashion, animation and painting. We then did a short stop motion amination session in which we experimented with using plastic to make short stop motion videos. Lastly, we went to the National Museum Cardiff and saw many interesting artworks. My favorite artist that I saw during the Artes Mundi exhibition was Sawangwongse Yawnghwe. He worked with a deep colour palette using a pattern which related to my earlier project using powerful imagery to create striking memorable works.

Annie Collins, L6th Artist