A new exhibition center will feature the works of a Jewish refugee who relocated to Wales.
Warsaw-born artist Josef Herman emigrated to Belgium in 1938 before escaping to France two years later as the German invasion was drawing near.
He immigrated to Britain in 1940 after witnessing the Holocaust and losing every member of his family. He traveled to the Swansea valley for a vacation while staying at Ystradgynlais.
He stayed for more than ten years because he felt at home in the industrial town.
Soon, Sardis, a chapel in Ystradgynlais, will host an exhibition of the artist's work.
The Josef Herman Foundation was established in the welfare hall after he passed away in 2000 to foster greater participation in the arts and to foster an appreciation of his life and work.
The foundation has now acquired Sardis, a vacant chapel that it intends to transform into a gallery in order to share Mr. Herman's story and display his artwork.
The town is proud of its "adopted son," according to the foundation's chairwoman Elinor Gilbey.
"The town is proud of its adopted son, and his work reflects the local history and community," said chairwoman Elinor Gilbey.
The Welsh mining community, local working people, and coal miners themselves served as major inspirations for him. ".
The drawings of Mr. Herman are already on display in Welfare Hall's ongoing exhibition, but Ms. Gilbey promised the new one would be "bigger and better.".
The foundation's company secretary, Jackie Hankins, declared herself to be "beyond excited.".
"I kind of never imagined that we would be able to buy it. And now that I've seen it, I can see that it has enormous potential. Obviously, this will require a lot of work, fund raising, and other things, but it's still a fantastic building," she continued.
He blended in with the neighborhood residents and the miners who were out and about, according to historian Arwel Michael. They used to call him Jo Bach, which is an affectionate term in Welsh. " .
The foundation announced that the chapel purchase was a part of its 20th anniversary celebration and that it intended to submit an application for museum accreditation.
To ensure that we can realize our dream, getting a building that was suitable and big enough to store artwork and create a visitor experience was essential, according to Ms. Gilbey.
