‘The Wallich takes us when we’re a wreck and makes us something new’

ALL of these people have experienced homelessness.

Some lived on the streets while some were put into emergency hostel care. But now they are all united – as the first external group to curate an exhibition at the National Museum of Wales.

Who Decides? is a year-long contemporary art exhibition which been curated by service users from The Wallich.

The artwork has been selected from the large collection of paintings, sculptures, films, prints and drawings that the museum and the Derek Williams Trust have acquired in the past 10 years.

Featured artists include Anthony Caro, Olga Chernysheva, Richard Deacon, Laura Ford, Richard Long, Paula Rego, Clare Woods and Bedwyr Williams.

The exhibition also features an installation of more than 70 ceramic works from the private collection of gallery owner Anita Besson. They are being displayed together in the exhibition for the first time.

Mareth Williams, 62, was a primary school teacher in Bridgend. She found herself homeless.

In 1987, she went on a teacherexchange to Canada.

“I went to Canada and it was at the time of the Calgary Winter Olympics,” she said. “All of our group decided that we would go away together for Christmas and we decided to go to Hawaii.

“The first thing I could smell was pineapple and coconut. I remember it was teeming with rain when we got there but it was warm rain – not like Welsh rain. This painting reminded me so much of my experiences in Hawaii. It just appealed to all my senses, even smell and sounds. It is just fantastic.

“It was just so wonderful to be involved and to be able to choose something to go into an exhibition like this.”

She said that the six-month project had given her focus.

“It gets you out of bed and gives you some structure. It makes you