After being shut for two years through the pandemic, it will re-open in a whole new way as a café, arts centre and venue for live music gigs.
The project of revamping the iconic 19th century Norwegian Church at the Cardiff Bay is being led by a group of people from the Norwegian Society in Cardiff who felt they could do something for this site, to protect it and secure it for the future.
“It was during the pandemic when art came to a halt. Everything stopped and I was out of work for almost a year myself. This was an opportunity that I saw, and decided to go for it”, said Gareth Roberts, the newly appointed general manager of the centre, who has a background in theatre management.
The people of the charity are completely involved in setting up the church, especially because there had been no maintenance for the past two years. The efforts began in December last year, via a dedicated Twitter page for fundraising, and members are now personally looking after tasks such as painting the walls, setting up furniture, and recruiting staff for the new on-site café.
The café, which will serve a combination of Welsh and Nordic food, will be a major source of revenue for running this place. It’ll be seen as a symbol of friendship between the Welsh and Nordics in this multicultural city.
People from Norwegian roots in Cardiff are looking forward to the re-opening of this space.
The centre will not just be limited to the members of the Nordic community, anyone is welcome to utilize and hire the space, as needed. People have the provision of hosting workshops, yoga classes, and create support groups, amongst other things, to build a strong community of people.
During the initial days of its opening, there will be an on-site crafts gift shop where people can buy items such as contemporary designed Welsh gifts, greeting cards, and glass handiworks.
The church was originally built to serve the religious needs of Norwegian sailors and expatriates. Apart from being the church where celebrated writer Roald Dahl was baptised, the Norwegian Church building is also iconic because elaborately carved wooden churches, like such, were once present in many parts of northwest Europe, but today, they are almost exclusively found only in Norway.
There is no opening date that has been fixed yet. However, Gareth hopes that they’re able to have a soft opening at some point in the beginning of April.
According to him, they will be starting with a limited menu to offer at the café. “We’ll open the doors one morning, and see what happens,” he said. However, preparations are underway for an official launch on 17 May, Norway’s Independence Day.