Tsunami art show plans unveiled

In Pictures: Sri Lankan children's gallery

The National Museums and Galleries of Wales says it wants to exhibit a collection of art by child survivors of the tsunami in Cardiff.

The artwork from Sri Lanka is likely to go on display in December, the first anniversary of the disaster.

The 56 paintings were given to fundraisers in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, after they raised £4,000 for victims.

"The exhibition is very much in the planning stage but we hope it will go ahead," said a spokesman.

The Welsh assembly and London's Tate Britain have also expressed an interest in exhibiting the paintings.

Fundraisers hope to eventually auction them to raise more money for relief workers and children in the north east of Sri Lanka - one of the worst hit areas.

We have a display wall available for this project Ashley McAvoy

Organisers hope the paintings will be exhibited in England later this summer.

Children, aged from five to 16, painted to help erase painful memories of the tsunami tragedy.

Ashley McAvoy, exhibitions assistant at the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, said an exhibition was being planned.

"We have a display wall available for this project during the first anniversary of the tsunami," he said.

"We have offered to help the group in Llanwrtyd Wells with advice about the state and condition of the paintings."

The paintings highlight the pain and suffering caused by the tsunami

Llanwrtyd Wells fundraiser Gwyneth Keeble said she was delighted and was now looking for help towards the framing.

"It's fantastic news and we'd like to thank the National Museums and Galleries of Wales," she said.

Mrs Keeble said the paintings were "quite harrowing" and children had used them to try and overcome painful memories.

Other Sri Lankan children's pictures were sent to the United States and are currently on show in Madrid.

The majority of the art is from a town called Kalmunai in the region of Batticola in Sri Lanka.

Money raised will be split between the child artists, their schools and an orphanage in Kathiraveli, a village in Batticola.