Based in West Wales, Cardigan Arts is an arts group dedicated to the fostering and development of visual arts.  We mount regular public exhibitions of members work and are pro-active in the encouragement and promotion of education in the creative disciplines, providing support for locally based artists through group workshops, lectures and discussions.  Guest speakers are regularly invited to give talks and demonstrations on subjects of interest to members. Our membership includes both the amateur hobbyist and the experienced professional. 

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In 1964 Beryl Mason organised an Art Exhibition as a creative human counter to what she perceived as the soulless march of technology.  The first exhibition attracted 114 submissions by local artists of which 87 were selected, and was opened by Dr. Fredrick Konekamp, a then internationally known artist. The exhibition was held in a small retail premise, Squibbs studio which also sold Airfix kits, located at the NatWest building Cardigan.

Opening the exhibition Dr. Konekamp commented that it had more variety and integrity than many others he had attended. The organising group replied that they had not realised there were so many artists in the surrounding district or, how much interest the exhibition would attract, with over 400 people coming to view the works.  The exhibition was such a success that they decided to form the Cardigan and District Exhibiting society and to look for larger premises in order that three dimensional forms of art could be included.

The second exhibition was hosted in Cardigan Guildhall and opened by playwright Alun Owen fresh from his screenplay success with the Beatles film, “A Hard Day’s night”.  Alun Owen had been an evacuee to Cardigan during the Second World War and retained a close connection with the town. The exhibition showed 107 works of a higher standard than the previous year.

The Society has continued to exhibit yearly and continues to adapt as far as is possible to the changing dynamics of the creative world by retaining a flexible and thoughtful engagement with the arts in general.  The society name was changed to Cardigan Arts to reflect its inclusive nature.

2024 was the society’s diamond anniversary, when it celebrated sixty years of continuous local commitment to the arts.