George Stroud

George works across governance, finance, HR and organisational support at Oriel Davies Gallery, working to keep the many moving parts of the gallery connected and flowing. His background spans arts, training, community development, live events, technology and local government. Building systems that quietly & efficiently help creative people do what they do best is his goal.Before joining Oriel Davies, George worked across the third sector in Wales and the West Midlands, supporting projects involving young people, culture, participation and education. Along the way he has organised live music and events, played in bands, trained staff and volunteers, cooked for the circus, driven across the USA, fixed sound desks five minutes before opening, and developed enduring respect for gaffer tape and Belgian beer. Although it doesn’t have to be Belgian.He is interested in the hidden architecture behind creative spaces — the relationships, conversations, logistics and acts of care that allow art and community to happen. He believes galleries should feel welcoming, human and alive: places where people can encounter ideas that surprise, calm, and challenge.George has lived in Belgium and Slovakia, speaks Welsh and Dutch, and is happiest either engaged in café conversation or on a long walk through the hills of Mid Wales.“I like old technology, strange radio broadcasts, forests after rain, overhearing fragments of conversations, community projects that shouldn’t work but somehow do, and the moment just before audiences walk through the door.”

WHAT YOU LIKE ABOUT WHAT ORIEL DAVIES DOES:

I love that Oriel Davies feels open. You can arrive here for a coffee, for an exhibition, for an event, for a conversation, or simply because you need a quiet moment. The gallery manages to be ambitious and grounded at the same time. There’s space for experimentation, and also for warmth and humanity. Art doesn’t feel sealed away here — it feels connected to everyday life, landscape and community. Mae yna Croeso i pawb! (There’s a welcome for everyone!)