Watch this clip from the opening of the new exhibition, which has specially built sets and interactive features for fans to explore, based next to the BBC's Roath Lock studios in the bay.

Were you at the opening today? Let us know your thoughts if you were there!

Efa Thomas, winner of The Exhibitionists, with artist Shani Rhys James, whose work Efa chose for part of her exhibition.

The BBC Cymru Wales series, a collaboration with Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, followed five individuals with no formal art background as they were set a series of tasks, the first time ever a museum has allowed such extraordinary access to its important art collection for members of the public to handle, discuss, and put on show.

Helping them along the way have been two esteemed figures in the Welsh art world. Osi Rhys Osmond is a highly respected Welsh painter and a Senior Lecturer of Art at Swansea Metropolitan University. Karen MacKinnon is Exhibitions Curator at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea.

As finalists, Efa, a musician and Cardiff journalism student originally from Criccieth, and Julia a charity sector worker and keen Swansea City FC follower, were given their own exhibitions in the National Museum's new wing for modern and contemporary art, Gallery 24. Those visiting the gallery were asked to vote for their favorite exhibition. Efa received the most public votes.

"I took part in The Exhibitionists because I'm always trying new things," says Efa. "I think it's great the museum gave members of the public the chance to do this because as our national museum, it belongs to every single person in Wales.

"The Exhibitionists programme and the mentors brought out my creativity and encouraged me to work independently and do whatever I wanted. I doubt I would ever have done anything like this without it. It shows that we're all capable of creativity, and all capable of curating exhibitions worthy of being shown in the National Museum of Wales because we all have stories to tell."

The exhibitions can be seen at the National Museum Cardiff until August 19 and the pieces of art can be seen on the Your Paintings website. The series is produced by Gwynedd-based Cwmni Da TV company.

Watch the last episode on iPlayer.

The Exhibitionists is a brilliant idea for a TV programme - taking five individuals with no experience of art in a professional sense and asking them to curate an exhibition creates an extraordinary set of opportunities.

Osi Rhys Osmond

Our Exhibitionists were all very different, in age, experience and in their knowledge of art. They all had very clear ideas about what art was and how effective the appreciation of art could be as a means of personal development.

It was interesting to observe, as the tasks were introduced to the would-be curators, how the gender differences became quite marked as they played out their roles. There were two mentors, Karen MacInnon of the Glynn Vivian Gallery and me, Osi Rhys Osmond, an artist and writer, to assist them and decide on who should proceed to the final stages.

The men, including Colin, the oldest of the five, tended to play to their memory and to a knowledge-based interpretation. Colin wanted to tell the story of his own experiences and chose pieces that reflected his early days as a miner and his life thereafter. His response was to create a narrative, irrespective of the aesthetic considerations that a curator might be required to invoke. He was the first to leave, although the story he told was interesting, personal and absorbing. There are now four left.

Darren is different to the other men in that he relies on his sense of beauty and a personal and emotional response to objects and paintings; this he communicated very strongly. His strength is in his discrimination as a collector and his sheer pleasure in the delicacy of his chosen artworks.

Richard has great enthusiasm and relies greatly on his phenomenal memory and mastery of facts. He was able to introduce a group of strangers to the works of his choice with confidence and a complete command of the information.

Julia has a powerful personality and in the first task relied rather too much on that. She had obviously done her homework and as she spent time in the museum, with staff helping her she quickly built up a basis of knowledge and understanding.

Efa, the youngest of the competitors is determined to upset the status quo. Seeing works by Iwan Bala and Ifor Davies for the first time has been a revelation to her - Welsh art that is political and challenging.

The Exhibitionists is an extraordinary idea, and will involve more general audiences in the consideration of art. It is serious but not miserable, and entertaining and educating it will bring a new appreciation of the treasures of our national collection. I couldn't wait to enter Gallery 24 to see the exhibitions in place - a show curated by enthusiastic amateurs, but a show to remember and a show the gallery-visiting public will be able to express their opinions about.

The Exhibitionists is on BBC Two Wales, 4 July, 10pm.

David Anderson, director general at the museum, talks about the challenges the museum faced in taking part in the series, and what they hoped it would achieve by opening its doors to the cameras and contestants.

The five contestants from The Exhibitionists at the National Museum in Cardiff

This week marks the end of an exciting few months for National Museum Cardiff, of working on the new BBC Cymru Wales series The Exhibitionists. It's the end of the road in terms of filming but just the beginning of the journey for viewers of the programme, our museum visitors and other keen curators.

Cwmni Da approached the museum back in September last year about the possibility of working in partnership with them on a television series, which gave members of the public access to the national art collection. Five exhibitionists would compete against each other for the opportunity to curate their own show at the museum. Although members of the public are welcome to come and see the collections in our secure stores, we've never worked with visitors in this way before!

Of course, there was some nervousness initially from the museum about taking part in a series described as a cross between The Apprentice and MasterChef. Our policy is to encourage new talent and skills and not pass judgement, which is why I turned down the invitation to become the ‘Alan Sugar’ of the programme! That role was given to two independent mentors, Osi Rhys Osmond and Karen MacKinnon who I've got to know well through this process.

I was, however, asked to listen to the hopeful candidates' ideas about their potential exhibitions, and was blown away by their fresh approach and stories which they drew from the national collection. I think all five participants deserved to curate their own exhibition at the Museum but for this series, there had to be a winner!

Until 19 August, National Museum Cardiff is home to an inspiring exhibition, curated by the two finalists of The Exhibitionists. Both have interpreted the collections in a new way, and haven't been afraid to share their own views and personal stories through their displays.

I've always wanted to undertake a project like this, which sees members of the public engaging with our collections, learn new skills and being a part of museum life. People's perceptions of art and galleries are varied. What we hope to achieve through this project is to convince other members of the public that art is relevant to them too.

I've already been asked if the museum would undertake a project like this again – The Exhibitionists Two? We believe this concept is a first for museums across the UK and would very much like to see it develop. I'm hoping Cwmni Da and BBC Cymru Wales will return to Amgueddfa Cymru, to delve into another part of the nation's collections maybe.

Tune in to the first episode on Wednesday, 27 June, BBC Two Wales.

You can see the paintings featured in the series on the Your Paintings website.

A new BBC Cymru Wales programme reveals exactly what as it collaborates with Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales in a ground-breaking TV series launched today (Thursday 7 June) at the Hay Festival, Hay on Wye.

The five contestants from the new series The Exhibitionists

Soon to be broadcast on BBC Two Wales, The Exhibitionists is a four-part series which follows five individuals with no formal art background as they are set a series of tasks. It is the first time a museum has allowed such extraordinary access to its important art collection for members of the public to handle, discuss, and put on show.

The National Museum displays an outstanding collection of art that includes Van Gogh, Monet, Turner and Picasso as well as many hundreds of lesser known figures. But in the museum's secure stores is the rest of the collection, some works of art that the public very rarely get to see, until now. The five exhibitionists will be given unprecedented access to these paintings, sculptures and ceramics as they compete against each other for the final goal - their own show at National Museum Cardiff.

Helping them along the way are two esteemed figures in the Welsh art world. Osi Rhys Osmond is a highly respected Welsh painter and a lecturer at Swansea Metropolitan University. Karen MacKinnon is Exhibitions Curator at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, and has curated shows all over the world including the Wales pavilion at the most prestigious art show in the world, The Venice Biennale.

Art exhibitions can take several years to plan by professional curators, but the museum's next display is in the hands of the final two competitors of the series. The two finalists will have their own exhibition in the National Museum's new wing for modern and contemporary art, Gallery 24, from 23 June to 19 August, and it's those who visit the Gallery who choose the winner, as they are asked to vote for their favourite.

"I'm confident people will engage with The Exhibitionists and enjoy following their trials and tribulations as they compete to see their own exhibitions on show at the National Museum," says Phillip Moss, Commissioning Executive BBC Cymru Wales.

"BBC Cymru Wales is committed to supporting the arts in all its forms, and this exciting and original series is the first of a wide range of TV arts output from BBC Cymru Wales this summer."

David Anderson, Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru features in the series. He says:

"This series demonstrates how art and the nation's art collection, is relevant to everyone. It is a unique opportunity for five people from Wales to fully engage with staff at the Museum and experience, first hand, the role of a curator."

Also revealed for the first time at the launch were the Exhibitionists themselves. They are:

• Julia Manser, from Swansea - a charity sector worker and keen Swansea City FC follower
• Darren Edgley, a florist from Colwyn Bay who has a keen interest in tapestry and embroidery
• Efa Thomas, a musician and Cardiff journalism student originally from Criccieth
• Richard Simmonds from Monmouthshire, a factory worker and quiz master who enjoys karaoke
• Colin Popp, a retired carpenter from Dowlais and a raconteur at the local antiques store.

The series is produced by the Gwynedd-based Cwmni Da TV company.

Previous series have seen Rhod try his hand at being a butler, tattoo artist and army recruit, but this time round he may have found something that he could seriously consider as a new career.

Though on paper his stint as a drag artist might sound closer to his current role as a stand up comedian - as Rhod says, "it's on stage, and it's making people laugh, it's entertainment, which is what I do" - it was as a teacher in the first episode that he really came into his own.

Rhod as a teacher in the first episode of Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience

Rhod spent time at Monnow Primary School in Bettws, Newport. He breached the school rules immediately by not wearing a tie, and discovered a whole new world where maths lessons are held in a forest and learning literacy involves addressing sounds to the tables and windows.

Despite struggling with this concept at first - "it was all happy clappy, modern funky teaching methods that were so different to when I was in school" - Rhod is soon overwhelmed by the inspirational attitude of the teachers, and describing the school as "one hell of a place".

The comedian said: "It was the most inspirational three days of my life by a mile. There's an element to teaching that I loved, which is imparting knowledge and information to kids, watching them learn and being hopefully a force for good in their lives. That is incredibly inspirational, moving, and the most wonderful privilege."

Rhod spent time at Monnow Primary School in Bettws, Newport for the programme

The second episode sees Rhod trying out as a zookeeper at the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay, where he's put on feeding duties, pushing quails through the bars for a tiger and hiding fruit for a bears' treasure hunt.

He said: "I think I expected to be like David Attenborough, you know, snuggling up to gorillas, having life-changing conversations with a parrot, but there's not as much of that as you might expect. Ultimately, they are wild animals - you don't get in with chimps if you want to live."

Other episodes in the series see the comedian joining the police, in which he enjoys a taste of their training, and Rhod even transforms into woman as he tries a stint as a drag artist.

Download the Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience doll pdf (4.59MB)

Of his performance he says: "You couldn't say it was entertainment; the crowd was probably enjoying my humiliation more than anything. I was leading guys round by the tie and flirting with the audience. It only lasted two minutes, but it was the longest two minutes of my life!"

Get involved

You can stage your own performance - and maybe give Rhod a better experience - by downloading the Rhod doll to stiff paper, cutting him out, and dressing him up in the costumes from this series. And you can use the clothing template to make your own designs - maybe in the uniform of the jobs you'd like to see him do next.

Take a picture of Rhod in the costumes you've made and send it to us at wales.arts@bbc.co.uk and we'll feature the best ones in a photo gallery. The closing date for entries is 28 May 2012.

Don't forget to watch the series, which starts this Monday, 7 May, at 10.25pm on BBC One Wales.

The paintings, which were created for the series, feature Rolf's attempts at creating a work in the styles of the four featured artists - Sir Kyffin Williams, Graham Sutherland, Josef Herman and Shani Rhys James.

Each episode of the four-part series sees Rolf visiting the areas where the artists worked, hearing about them and their work through friends, family and experts, and putting into practice what he learns to commit his own tribute to canvas.

Rolf Harris

Rolf had to tackle challenges he had never faced in his artistic life before, including:

• painting entirely with a palette knife in the style of Sir Kyffin
• viewing himself in a hand mirror to paint, as Shani Rhys James does
• picking up objects from Pembrokeshire to incorporate into his interpretation of Graham Sutherland
• redoing his version of his Josef Herman as his first effort wasn't "monumental" enough

You can see how he fares with the differing styles in the series Rolf on Welsh Art, which begins on BBC One Wales on Wednesday 16 February at 7.30pm.

BBC Cymru Wales has worked in partnership with the four museums and galleries to enable audiences across Wales to come face to face with Rolf's work.

The paintings can be viewed at the following partnership venues:

• Oriel Ynys Mon, Llangefni, from 4 February
• Glynn Vivian Gallery, Swansea, from 7 February
• Oriel Y Parc, St Davids, from 11 February
• National Museum Cardiff, from 16 February

Each gallery contains the original most closely associated with their area and some will also display reproductions of the others. Glynn Vivian will display two originals in the style of Josef Herman - a first watercolour attempt, which Rolf declared "a good representation" but not like Herman's, and a second painted in oils, which he is most satisfied with of all the four tributes.

Rolf Harris himself will be visiting National Museum Cardiff on Wednesday 16 February to talk about the series and answer questions in conversation with BBC Radio Wales Arts Programme presenter Nicola Heywood-Thomas. The session is free and begins at 2pm.

Read a story about Rolf's painting of Bryn Terfel's father Hefin Jones, on display at Oriel Ynys Mon, on the BBC Wales News website.

In the series Rolf, whose own family hail from Merthyr Tydfil, looks at the landscapes and the people who inspired the late great Sir Kyffin Williams, Graham Sutherland, Josef Herman and Shani Rhys James - like Rolf, an Australian who has long lived in Britain.

And in each of the four episodes, Rolf tackles a tricky challenge - trying to paint a picture in the style of each of the artists.

"I think everybody looks at something in a different way. You've got to enjoy the end result and just wonder how you'd go about painting it if you had the chance. Would you be able to tackle it?" says Rolf of his attempts to capture the essence of each of the four's styles on canvas. "But it's really a shock when you try and paint something as someone else does it. They have been doing it for years and years and you try it for the first time, and if it doesn't work, that's such a shock," he says.

Of the several styles he tried out, he believes his most successful was his tribute to Josef Herman, a Polish émigré who set up a studio in Ystradgynlais in the 1940s to paint some of the most enduring images of the working man ever seen.

His subject was the Welsh miners, who he portrayed as mighty figures, similar, Rolf feels, to the statues on Easter Island.

"He painted them as heroic figures because that's the way he saw Welsh miners - as heroes," says Rolf of Herman. "I think it was the first time that most people had ever had that pointed out to them, that these men were so heroic, so courageous and gutsy, braving possible death underground at every step. He had nothing but admiration for them and that came out in his paintings."

The series starts with a look at the life and work of Sir Kyffin on his beloved Anglesey. The painter was a personal friend of Rolf, who reminisces about the artist as he finds his sitter for his Sir Kyffin-style painting, farmer Hefin Jones - otherwise known as the father of opera star Bryn Terfel.

"That was one of my favourite moments - painting Hefin," says Rolf. "I managed to get a really good likeness, but it didn't finish up anywhere near as good as the many palette knife portraits Kyffin had made of so many Welsh people.

"I found I was using the tip of the palette knife to paint a lot of things in tiny detail, whereas he seemed to use the great flat areas of the knife blade to smooth things across. The more I painted, or tried to paint in his style, the more I realised just how absolutely brilliant he was, just so incredibly good!"

In this first programme, Rolf also takes a trip up the Snowdonia Mountain Railway and visits Oriel Ynys Mon in Llangefni, where many of Sir Kyffin's paintings are now housed. And the gallery is taking delivery of Rolf's own original picture of Hefin Jones which will be on public display from today.

And there's a chance to catch up with even more Welsh art in a companion series, Framing Wales, which starts on 24 February on BBC Two Wales. Kim Howells presents his personal view of the abundance of great painters and paintings that emerged from Wales during the 20th century.

The iSteddfod was developed by computer programmer Ambrose Choy and graphic designer Edryd Sharp, both of Llanberis.

"I got the idea at last year's Eisteddfod in Bala," Choy told the Daily Post. "I wanted something that would have all the information about activities without having to carry the programme around.

"The Eisteddfod were quite happy for me to do it and provided the information. It has taken months to develop it so far and I'm hoping it will be successful.

"I think it's the first app for Welsh speakers. There was one launched last year for Welsh learners. I hope iSteddfod will develop with more features being added."

The app contains a detailed map of the Maes, as well as times and locations for events. This year's National Eisteddfod takes place in Ebbw Vale in August.

Sheen, famous for roles in The Queen, Frost/Nixon and The Damned United, is working with National Theatre Wales in their first year of production. Together they aim to revive the tradition of the community Passion Play.

Michael Sheen will star in and direct the production, which will be written by Welsh poet Owen Sheers. The play is set to open in April 2011, and will be inspired by a year of story-gathering from local people. Watch the interview to see Michael speak on how people can get involved with the project.

Photograph of the 2009 Hay Festival site © Finn Beales

The festival, in it's 23rd year, will run from 27 May to 6 June, and will feature popular authors such as 2009 Man Booker Prize-winner Hilary Mantel, Bill Bryson, Phillip Pullman, Martin Amis and Roddy Doyle.

Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf is set to appear, as is Welsh comedian and broadcaster Rob Brydon, while musical artists will include Christy Moore, Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club and Laura Marling.

Read more on the story on the BBC Wales News website and visit the Hay Festival website for further information.

Aneurin Barnard and Iwan Rheon with their Laurence Olivier Awards © Charlie Hopkinson

Iwan Rheon, recognisable to fans of E4's hit show Misfits, won his Olivier Award in the category of best supporting performance in a musical or entertainment for his role of Moritz Stiefel. He triumphed over Sheila Hancock, Maureen Lipman and Kelly Price for the coveted gong.

Read more on the Welsh winners and browse the full list of winners on the BBC News website.

Karen Gillan as Amy Pond and Matt Smith as the Doctor. Photo: BBC/Todd Antony.

The new 13-part series will be shown on BBC One Wales from Saturday 3 April. Read more about the premiere on the BBC News website and browse the Doctor Who site for further news and features.

Aneurin Barnard with Spring Awakening co-star (and fellow Olivier nominee) Charlotte Wakefield at the Laurence Olivier Awards nominees lunch held earlier this month.

Barnard, originally from the Ogmore Vale, is up for a coveted gong in the best actor in a musical or entertainment category for his performance as Melchior Gabor in Spring Awakening - a musical adaptation of German playwright Frank Wedekind's controversial play.

His co-star and fellow Welsh actor Iwan Rheon starred opposite him in the production, staged at the Novello Theatre in Aldwych, London, as Moritz Stiefel. Rheon is up for the award of best supporting performance in a musical or entertainment.

Iwan Rheon as Moritz Stiefel in Spring Awakening © Helen Maybanks.

Live coverage of the awards ceremony will be streamed on the London Theatre Guide website on Sunday evening from 6.30pm. We'll bring you news if either of the young Welsh hopefuls are successful.