Unruly : E̶x̶p̶a̶n̶d̶

What happens when our creative practice is given permission to become unruly?

Unruly: Expand brings together work by artists and creative practitioners who invigilated for Cymru yn Fenis / Wales in Venice at the 2026 Venice Biennale. The invigilators were selected through an open call by Arts Council of Wales.

The work in this exhibition is not necessarily about Venice itself. Instead, it has grown out of the experience of spending time there: watching, listening, welcoming visitors, and encountering art from across the world.

As invigilators of Sownd, these artists occupied a unique position. They were both hosts and visitors, spending long periods immersed in the Biennale while living within Venice itself. In a city shaped by water, movement, history, and constant change, new perspectives began to emerge. Venice encourages us to think differently about what art can be, who it is for, and where it belongs.

Across the exhibition, boundaries become fluid. Art moves between sound and landscape, research and ritual, personal experience and shared histories. Ideas travel across disciplines, communities, and ways of working. Drawing becomes a way of thinking, archives become creative tools, and collaboration becomes a way of building connections.

Venice itself is full of contrasts. It is both a living city and a global cultural stage, shaped by migration, tourism, environmental change, history, and exchange. For many of the artists here, spending time in this environment opened up new questions, new conversations, and new possibilities for their practice.

Unruly is not simply a collection of responses to Venice. It is a collection of practices that have been influenced and transformed by the experience of being there.

To be unruly, in this context, is not simply to break the rules. It is to stay curious, embrace uncertainty, experiment, and imagine new ways of working.

Supported by the Colwinston Charitable Trust and Art Fund.’