The Dylan Thomas Centre is an arts centre located in the Maritime Quarter in Swansea, Wales.
Formerly the city's Guildhall, which was originally built in 1825, the Dylan Thomas Centre was restored and refurbished to host the UK Year of Literature and Writing in 1995.
It was opened in 1995 by American ex-President Jimmy Carter, and has a permanent exhibition on the life and work of Dylan Thomas, as well as a restaurant and bar, a bookshop cafe, conference rooms and a theatre.
The centre houses the permanent ‘Man and Myth’ exhibition, based on the largest collection of memorabilia of its kind in the world. It is designed to appeal to the Dylan expert and interested visitor alike. This interactive exhibition explores Dylan’s life and work through a variety of media and includes letters, books, worksheets and photographs.
The Dylan Thomas Centre is home to a year-round programme of literary events, including book launches, plays, poetry evenings, changing exhibitions and science talks. It hosts the annual Dylan Thomas Festival held between Dylan’s birth and death dates, 27 October to 9 November.
The Dylan Thomas Centre’s staff also provide a variety of talks and tours, such as talks on aspects of Dylan’s life and works, on contemporary literature, on writing poetry and on cultural tourism.
In 2012 a large part of the centre was leased by Swansea's council to the University of Wales with the prurpose of using it as a business centre for creative industries. This move was opposed by more than 200 writers and artists, including writer Russell T. Davies and Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, who believed the centre should be run as a trust.
Famous quotes containing the words dylan thomas, dylan and/or centre:
“Why silk is soft and the stone wounds
The child shall question all his days,
Why night-time rain and the breast’s blood
Both quench his thirst he’ll have a black reply.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“All this talk about equality. The only thing people really have in common is that they are all going to die.”
—Bob Dylan [Robert Allen Zimmerman] (b. 1941)
“Belief and love,—a believing love will relieve us of a vast load of care. O my brothers, God exists. There is a soul at the centre of nature, and over the will of every man, so that none of us can wrong the universe.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)