Welcome to the Meirionnydd Artists Society Annual General Meeting 2025.
I would like to start by thanking the members of the committee and others in the society who have contributed to the continued smooth running and success of the society and all our activities.
There are many members who give their time to the running of the Society. Firstly, thanks to Meena Davies, our secretary, without whom we would be lost, especially me, as chair, as she keeps me on my toes and doing the right thing! (Exactly what I said last year but still oh so true!) Also thanks to Hilary Harrison, our treasurer for her efficient work in keeping our accounts up to date and manning the financial ship through another exhibition. Thanks to Huw Lewis Jones for his leadership of the 2025 Exhibition (report to be read later), to Ken Bridges for his masterful organisation of the events programme, to Valerie Land and Ian Roberts, who both keep us all on track with their vast historical knowledge of the society and to all the committee members for their help and support. Thanks go, in particular, to Marsha van den Bogaard and Jean Napier who are both stepping down from the committee; their support over the years has been indispensable and very much appreciated.
A big thank you, also, to all our members for their support.
Our Activities programme has continued to be very successful this year and our thanks go to Ken Bridges for all the time he puts into the organisation of the programme and, again, for the generous giving of his time in attending many of the events and providing expert support to attendees. Thanks also to Valerie Land for her enthusiasm and dedication to these events and her expert support, and also to Meena and Hilary in making sure the events go without a hitch.
The regular paint days are enjoyed by many providing artistic support and social engagement and even a bit of silliness and laughter! We have had two successful workshops: in March Jane Fellows led a workshop creating landscapes with texture and Pastels and in May Jacob Gourley led members in painting buildings with oils. Thanks to both for the generous sharing of the skills and knowledge. Another very enjoyable event was a talk in October by our illustrious member, Huw Lewis Jones, on his ‘Top Ten’ where he shared his favourite ‘Art’. The talk was very informative and the agreement was that this type of event is something that needs to be repeated. Attendees brought food and as a social occasion it was also a great success.
Our current membership is 57 which is down on our membership this time last year but around the average over recent years. We are sorry to have lost members who are no longer with us and particularly we remember Anne Laurie who passed away in May this year. Anne was a member for over 20 years and she was responsible for encouraging our great asset, Ian Roberts, to join the Society. We do have quite an aging membership with a number feeling that they can no longer continue. Meena and Hilary have done an excellent job this year in contacting ‘non renewals’ and updating the membership list. We have acquired new members, some at the exhibition and some through word of mouth and social media in relation to our activities programme. We have a growing following on our website with 1600 individual visitors this year, an increase from 1400 in the previous year. However, we are struggling to keep our website up to date and urgently need a member who will oversee this. We do have a contact who is giving advice on the website and look forward to a more dynamic web presence in the future. Our Facebook page continues to grow in number of followers slowly but surely and the number of views has doubled in the last month from the previous Many thanks go to Valerie Land, in particular, but also to other members, in adding content from the Paint days, Workshops and other events. We are attracting some members who are not so long in the tooth and hope to continue to do so. Your chair, once again, sets the agenda for increased community engagement in the next year (should she be to continue) in line with our Objects as a charity.
The objects of the Society shall be the encouragement and education of the public in the visual arts in all their aspects for the public benefit and the furtherance of public knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the visual arts including arranging and holding exhibitions of artists’ work
Sue Barnes
Meirionnydd Artists Society 