Pembrokeshire County Council's Museums Service has been shortlisted for the UK's biggest arts prize, The Gulbenkian Museum of the Year.

The service's Varda project - a unique travelling exhibition based in a Romany Gypsy caravan - joins 12 other entries from across the nation for the £100,000 first prize.

The judges, chaired by television personality Lloyd Grossman, will announce their decision in May.

Using the Romany word for a horse-drawn wooden wagon - varda - the project is dedicated to exploring and preserving Romany Gypsy traditions, culture and history.

It tells the hidden story of the Romany people in Pembrokeshire, the county's largest ethnic minority, and takes the museum to the community.

In its first year the varda travelled to a number of sites with gypsy populations for a month at a time, as well as being on public display at the County Musuem at Scolton Manor and at Monkton Priory Primary School which has a large number of gypsy pupils.

It was also the centre point for a week of arts activities in October, culminating in a parade through Pembroke for 'One World Week'.

The initial inspiration behind the project was Beverley Stephens, a specialist teacher of gypsy pupils at Monkton Priory School, who approached the Museums Service to inquire about a possible display of children's work looking at gypsy history.

The idea was taken up by museums officer, Liz McIvor, who asked Pembrokeshire's Romany community what they would like to see in an exhibition about their culture,

The overwhelming response was to base the exhibition in a varda.

Said Beverley: "The Varda project has involved the whole community. Grandparents brought their grandchildren to see the wagon and talk about their memories of life on the road.

"It helped that there were things to see inside, as well as seeing it travel between the sites.

"Children attending the school's gypsy learning unit used it as a place to sit and think and as an alternative classroom as a treat . The exhibition actually inspired the older children to want to experience life on the road in a varda for themselves.

"Relatives and friends have come from outside Pembrokeshire to see the exhibition and the community have taken pride in the varda being their exhibition, having responsibility for it and being able to show people around in their own time. There is a real sense of community ownership."

Pembrokeshire County Council's cabinet member for culture and arts, Clr. Mrs. Pat Griffiths, said the Varda project was a great idea.

"It is unique to Wales - if not to the UK," she said. "It has fostered a sense of awareness of museum services and promoted a better understanding between two very different cultures."