First Minister for Wales, the Rt. Hon. Rhodri Morgan AM, will officially open the multi-million pound Oriel y Parc landscape gallery, St. Davids, today (Friday).
The £3.5million gallery, visitor and education centre - showcased in a promotional DVD online at http://www.orielyparc.co.uk">www.orielyparc.co.uk - will unveil its first exhibition on the same day. It will feature treasures from the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.
Works by Picasso, Lowry and Rembrandt are among the pieces on display, along with the works of Graham Sutherland, whose art will form a permanent part of the gallery's rolling exhibitions.
Work by Pembrokeshire artist Alison Hayes - the only artwork to be displayed that is not part of the national collection - will also be shown in the gallery, capturing the essence of life on both Skomer and Grassholm islands.
Oriel y Parc is owned and managed by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru National Museum Wales.
Chairman of the Park Authority, Clr. Simon Hancock, said: "We are delighted to be welcoming the First Minister on this special day for Pembrokeshire Coast National Park residents and visitors.
"What we have developed here in St Davids is a first class facility which we hope will inspire people to go out and discover the unique landscape of their National Park for themselves."
Speaking of the new building, which received £1.6 million of EU Objective 1 funding through the Welsh Assembly Government, the First Minister said: "St. Davids is the jewel in the crown of Pembrokeshire, which ranks among the top counties in Wales and the UK as a magnet for tourists.
"Oriel y Parc is another gemstone that will attract even more tourists. It will help those tourists to appreciate the beauty of the landscape of the county and will hopefully encourage them to return time and again to go exploring and uncover more hidden gems.
"There will be world class art on display here, both by way of the visiting exhibitions and the scintillating interpretation of the Pembrokeshire coast and landscape in Graham Sutherland's paintings that will be on permanent display. It is a very unusual marriage between a National Park and a National Museum. You've got to see it to believe it!"
Paul Loveluck, president of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, added: "Oriel y Parc provides us with a wonderful opportunity to reach out to new audiences and enables many more people to be able to access and enjoy the exciting collections held by National Museum Wales.
"This is a wonderful example of partnership working, allowing people to experience the best of art and landscape in one very unique setting."
Pupils from Ysgol Dewi Sant will perform on guitars a specially commissioned piece by Pembrokeshire musician and composer, James Crisp, as part of the opening ceremony.
As well as the gallery, the centre includes a National Park Tourist Information Centre, a 50-seat café selling local produce and an education centre with a Discovery Room and Artist's Studio.
The building's first artist in residence, Brendan Stuart Burns, will work in the studio every Thursday until December 18. For more information on Brendan's work, visit his website at http://www.brendanstuartburns.co.uk">www.brendanstuartburns.co.uk.
Oriel y Parc also recently joined the ranks of Wales' greenest buildings. The centre was awarded a 'BREEAM Excellent' rating for sustainable design and construction.
The green technologies which helped achieve the excellent rating include a ground source heat pump, a rainwater harvesting system, sedum and turf roofs, photovoltaic roof cells and solar panels.