Questions about the Museum:
- What is the Museum of Magic and Folklore?
- I’m not Welsh / in Wales, can I contribute?
- A Virtual Museum?
- How will you fund this?
- Who is behind the Museum?
Questions about magic:
Still got questions? Ask away!
What is the Museum of Magic and Folklore?
MOMF is a project run by the Three Eyed Circus to provide a community hub for sharing the rich culture of magic in history, folklore, and practice in Wales and the world.
We aim to inspire, inform, and illuminate, to record real stories, tackle misinformation, and promote greater understanding and appreciation of magical lore and practices.
I’m not Welsh / in Wales, can I contribute?
Yes please! We’re in Wales but still part of the world. Sometimes we’ll focus on specifically Welsh topics but magic and folklore both live in liminal spaces and cross boundaries, so you are welcome to join in, wherever in the world you are.
A Virtual Museum?
– Absolutely! This will consist of information, images, video talks, and downloadable posters, chapbooks, and items to print at home.
Here at MOMF we want to share the magic and folklore of Wales with the world, and to promote accessibility for those who can’t visit a physical venue.
So we’re holding “Virtual Exhibitions” presenting our displays on our website, online opening nights and talks, printable bonuses, and collecting community sourced stories so you can be a part of history!
Check out the plans for the first exhibition here (coming soon).
How will you fund this?
– We’re very keen to fairly compensate contributors, translators, and collaborators where we can, and platform costs, storing kit, saving for a physical venue, travel for pop up events, etc all costs money.
So some aspects of the exhibitions will be “Free Entry”, and others will have a small fee. You can also become a Patron of the Museum and get monthly news, plus bonus material for each exhibition.
Who is behind the Museum?
Behind the Scenes: The Museum of Magic and Folklore (MOMF) in Wales is run by Three Eyed Circus ltd. Our lead curator is Dr Halo Quin, a philosopher, storyteller, and magical creature who studied in Lampeter, fell in love with the land and its myths, and has lived in West Wales for the past 20 years. Halo is passionate about folklore, magic, and building community through sharing stories.
Isn’t magic the Devil’s Work?
– the short answer is no.
The longer answer is that the figure of “the devil” features in a small number of folktales, and is a being that features in some modern practices – not as evil but as a trickster or an evolution of older divine beings – but a far larger number of recent historical practitioners were Christians calling on Jesus, Mary, the Saints, and God’s grace, and today most pagans avoid any figures from Christianity, including the devil. In Wales in particular magic was often said to come from Y Tylwyth Teg, the Fairies, and had nothing to do with the devil at all.
And yes, there will be exhibitions on both the “Devil” in Welsh folklore and Y Tylwyth Teg in the future… subscribe to find out when.
