The journey is over but wow, what a ride it’s been!

Congratulations to Horniman Museum and Gardens, the winners of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022 – the largest museum prize in the world!

Tŷ Pawb was one of five museums shortlisted for the prize. The other finalists included Derby Museums, Museum of Making (Derby), Horniman Museum and Gardens (London), People’s History Museum (Manchester), The Story Museum (Oxford).

The award was presented by DJ and broadcaster Huw Stephens at a ceremony in the spectacular setting of the Design Museum, London.

The announcement was broadcast live on The One Show, BBC1, to millions watching around the UK.

Each of the finalist museums receives a £15,000 prize in recognition of their achievements.

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Environment, said: “For Tŷ Pawb to be named among the five best museums in the UK is an absolutely amazing achievement. We can feel very proud to be runners-up on a shortlist that included such outstanding museums from around the country.

“It has been wonderful to see the spotlight on Tŷ Pawb and Wrexham over the last few weeks, to see our national profile grow, and to see the team’s hard work recognised at the very highest level. I’m sure many more exciting times like this lie ahead for us.“

“Congratulations to Horniman Museum and Gardens. Our thanks to all the judges and to Art Fund for organising a superb competition. Thanks also to everyone at Tŷ Pawb, including architects’ Featherstone Young, and all the traders, artists, volunteers and team members who have helped make Tŷ Pawb’s unique vision a reality – to bring arts, markets and communities together under one roof.”

Speaking about the winners, Jenny Waldman, Art Fund director and chair of the judges, said: “The Horniman museum and gardens has now blossomed into a truly holistic museum bringing together art, nature and its myriad collections.

“Its values are woven through everything it now does, with a passionate team breathing life and meaning into every object, performance, plant and animal. In many ways it’s the perfect museum, and I would encourage everyone to go and experience all it has to offer.”

Art Fund, the UK’s national charity for art, awards Art Fund Museum of the Year annually to one outstanding museum. The 2022 edition champions organisations whose achievements tell the story of museums’ creativity and resilience, and particularly focuses on those engaging the next generation of audiences in innovative ways. Art Fund Museum of the Year is the largest museum prize in the world.

The members of this year’s judging panel, chaired by Art Fund Director Jenny Waldman, are: Dame Diane Lees, Director-General, Imperial War Museums; Harold Offeh, artist and educator; Dr Janina Ramirez, cultural historian and broadcaster, and Huw Stephens, BBC Radio 6 DJ and broadcaster.

All photo credits: Tim Rooney Photography

As part of Wrexham County Borough’s long-term ambition to become UK City of Culture, 8 schools within the County, including 6 secondary schools, St. Christopher’s School and Gorwelion Newydd Pupil Referral Unit, recently worked with the North Wales performance poet and previous Young People’s Poet Laureate for Wales Martin Daws, to develop a project called ‘My Wrexham’, exploring young people’s ideas, feelings and relationship towards their home through poetic outcomes.

Pupils from each school received fun, interactive, spoken word poetry workshops with performance poet Martin focused on the theme of ‘My Wrexham’ looking at local identity and what it means to live here. The project specifically included pupils from often marginalised and vulnerable groups in expressing their thoughts and feelings about living in Wrexham.

The content of the poems gives a diverse and honest reflection of Wrexham as a City and a County from the young people’s perspectives, while showcasing the wonderful creative writing abilities of young people across the County.

You can enjoy the young people’s poetry via the SoundCloud links below.

Ysgol St. Christopher’s School

Gorwelion Newydd/Haulfan

Ysgol Morgan Llwyd

Ysgol Clywedog

Ysgol Maelor

Ysgol Rhiwabon

Ysgol Bryn Alyn

Ysgol Y Grango

Race Council Cymru and Tŷ Pawb are pleased to announce the beginning of a new partnership to deliver an exciting pilot programme for the North Wales Multicultural Hub in Wrexham.

The Multicultural Hub will support Tŷ Pawb’s Useful Art Space to host a range of activity led by Wrexham’s diverse communities; these will be directed by participants, and will include arts and crafts, music and dance, culinary exchanges, cultural celebrations and other exciting activities.

The project is supported in part by funding from Arts Council of Wales.

Community groups will receive support from Race Council Cymru representative Iolanda Banu Viegas, who is a long-time champion of the Portuguese diaspora in Wrexham, and has a wealth of experience across both local grassroots and national projects, including Black History Wales.

The objectives of the project are to create a welcoming, inclusive space for people of all backgrounds, to celebrate the diversity of cultures in Wrexham and to empower people from minority and marginalised backgrounds to participate in creative, cultural and community experiences of their choosing.

The Multicultural Hub builds on successful work currently delivered by Race Council Cymru in partnership with Swansea Council to run The Grand Multicultural Hub based at Swansea Grand Theatre.

Professor Uzo Iwobi, OBE Race Council Cymru Chief Executive said: “Race Council Cymru is delighted to work with Tŷ Pawb to grow a North East Wales grassroots led Multicultural Hub which will mirror the Grand Multicultural Hub in Swansea, providing an exciting and community centred space for new contemporary and creative artistic programmes to thrive and grow. Showcasing the diversity, creative and cultural co-production which will enable Wrexham’s Tŷ Pawb to develop as a community space for all and add vibrancy to Wrexham.”

The project will also extend Tŷ Pawb’s ongoing work with asylum seekers and refugees (Make Yourself At Home) and engagement with Portuguese elders through Bom Dia Cymru.

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Partnerships and Community Safety, said: “As ‘Everybody’s House’ being a welcoming space where all of Wrexham’s diverse communities can feel at home central to our mission at Tŷ Pawb. We are thrilled to be working with Race Council Cymru to develop The Multicultural Hub for the benefit of Wrexham and the region. We look forward to the seeing the activities and events that users of the space will generate.”

For more information about The Multicultural Hub, please contact: iolanda@racecouncilcymru.org.uk

Image credit: Tim Rooney Photography

We are delighted to announce that Tŷ Pawb has been selected as one of the five finalists for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022, the world’s largest museum prize.

The other four shortlisted museums are:
Derby Museums, Museum of Making (Derby)
Horniman Museum and Gardens (London)
People’s History Museum (Manchester)
The Story Museum (Oxford)

Art Fund annually shortlists five outstanding museums for the Museum of the Year prize.

The 2022 edition champions organisations whose achievements tell the story museums’ creativity and resilience, and particularly focuses on those engaging the next generation of audiences in innovative ways.

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Flying the flag for Wrexham and Wales

Ian Bancroft, Wrexham Council Chief Executive, said: “This is magnificent achievement for Tŷ Pawb and we are extremely proud to be flying the flag for Wrexham and Wales on a shortlist of truly exceptional museums from around the UK.

“Since opening in 2018, Tŷ Pawb has grown to become a thriving cultural attraction which is now nationally recognised as a pioneering example of how a pre-existing building can be successfully repurposed into something new and imaginative.

“Its distinctive offer continues to evolve and expand, while always staying true to its vision of bringing arts, markets and communities together under one roof, inspired by the belief that art can be a tool for social change.”

“The news comes at a hugely exciting time for Wrexham, following our success in reaching the final shortlist of 5 areas bidding to become UK City of Culture in 2025. There is a palpable buzz around the town at the moment, with a compelling few weeks ahead of us.”

‘Superb museums tackling the vital issues of today’

Speaking on behalf of the judges, Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund said, “An abundance of applications to be Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022 shows the creativity and resilience of museums right around the country, despite the immense challenges of the last two years. The five superb finalists are all museums on a mission who are tackling the vital issues of today – from combating the climate emergency to improving literacy or exploring migration – and reaching diverse communities as they do so. Each is working hard to encourage the next generation to get involved, both to inspire them and to equip them with essential skills.”

What happens next

The winning museum will be announced at a ceremony at the Design Museum on 14 July and will receive £100,000. The other four shortlisted museums will each receive £15,000 in recognition of their achievements.

The members of this year’s judging panel, chaired by Art Fund Director Jenny Waldman, are: Dame Diane Lees, Director-General, Imperial War Museums; Harold Offeh, artist and educator; Dr Janina Ramirez, cultural historian and broadcaster, and Huw Stephens, BBC Radio 6 DJ and broadcaster. The judges will visit each of the finalists to help inform their decision-making, while each museum will make the most of being shortlisted over the summer through events and activities for both new and current visitors.

#museumoftheyear

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Are you a young person aged 16-25 with an interest in arts & culture? 

Whatever art form you’re interested in – whether that’s music, dance, film, graphics, games, fashion or something completely different – joining the Tŷ Pawb Youth Advisory Board could be your next step. 

The Tŷ Pawb Youth Advisory Board is an opportunity to:

• Work with professional artists and other creative young people
• Learn skills for a career in the creative industries
• Contribute to planning events and exhibitions
• Earn an Arts Award qualification
• Give feedback on the Tŷ Pawb programme
• Shape the future of the arts in Wrexham

For more information about the project and how to get involved email: tracy.simpson@wrexham.gov.uk 

We welcome young people from all backgrounds and all abilities who live, work or study in Wrexham County Borough. 

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Local schools enjoyed a day out at three of Wrexham’s most popular attractions recently as part of a new school visits partnership pilot project.

Pupils from Victoria Community Primary School, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School and Alexandra Community Primary School visited Tŷ Pawb, Xplore Science Discovery Centre and Wrexham Museum earlier this month for a bumper day which included tours and workshops.

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Immersive experiences in safe environments

Prior to COVID, the three venues had already started to work collaboratively on a joint project with the aim of highlighting and promoting skills based learning experiences available locally. This resulted in the creation of an introductory pilot for joint schools visits.

The aim of the visits was to give schools the opportunity to take part in an immersive experience at each venue, with the opportunity to use their imagination, explore, be curious, and problem solve in safe environments.

The visit to Tŷ Pawb included a tour of the new exhibition, Misshapes: The Making of Tatty Devine, a colourful and playful celebration of one of Britain’s most iconic design teams. Pupils were then invited to come up with their own designs in a workshop inspired by the exhibition.

The learners time at Xplore! was spent being wowed by some science demonstrations and then getting an opportunity to explore the science exhibits in the exhibition space. The pupils were given the chance to think about some of the jobs that the exhibits linked with.

Meanwhile, at Wrexham Museum pupils were given a talk about what a museum does, followed by a tour of the galleries which included a short handling session with a couple of objects.  After that they were free to explore the galleries for themselves before returning to Courtroom 2 to produce a caption for an object of their choice from the displays.

A welcome return for school visits

Cllr Hugh Jones, Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, said: “Wrexham town centre offers local schools a myriad of learning opportunities right on their doorstep, with access to the arts, heritage, culture, science and technology.

“It’s very encouraging to see school visits finally returning and I’m delighted to see three of our most popular attractions working together to provide such a rich day of learning and activities.  I hope this will open the door for more collaborative projects in future.”

Claire Evans, Senior Education Officer at Xplore! said: “Several staff commented how pleasant it was to have young people in the centre investigating the exhibits during the week again following almost 18 months of reduced opening, closures and difficulties. 

“It was a great opportunity for three of Wrexham’s attractions to work together to deliver a unique and engaging day. Following the work of Tŷ Pawb and Xplore! To bring Darganfod//Discover Science Festival to Wrexham earlier this summer it’s fantastic to see the relationship continue to be developed with the additional collaboration with Wrexham Museum.“

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Tŷ Pawb with architects Featherstone Young has received another top architecture award.

Tŷ Pawb is one of the three buildings in Wales to receive the RSAW Welsh Architecture Award 2021, part of the national Royal Society of British Architects (RIBA) Awards.

The win means Tŷ Pawb will now be eligible for the 2021 RIBA National Awards and the 2021 Stirling Prize, one of the most prestigious architectural awards in the UK.

The other two winners included a 19th century cottage known as House in North Wales and Maggie’s Cardiff, which is a cancer care centre.

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An ‘imaginatively and courageously repurposed’ community and arts venue

The jury’s report on Tŷ Pawb states: “The previously named People’s Market has been imaginatively and courageously repurposed as a Lottery-funded community and arts venue while also retaining its former functions.”

The report goes on to say: “The strength of this project undoubtedly lies in what it seeks to achieve through reuse and repurposing of town centre building stock rather than the pursuit of an architectural statement.

“Tŷ Pawb takes a new look at the provision of facilities for the arts, seeking to make it accessible to all and inject relevance into the everyday lives of those who wouldn’t otherwise be attracted to a traditional gallery.”

Read the report in full

‘A huge team effort with social value at its heart’

Sarah Featherstone, Director at Featherstone Young Architects said: “It means a great deal to us to have won an RSAW Award for Tŷ Pawb. This has been a transformative project for Wrexham. It was the result of a huge team effort with social value at its heart.

“Flexibility and experimentation were key drivers of the design and it has been immensely gratifying to see Tŷ Pawb flourishing in its full spectrum of uses. Alongside exhibition programme and the market. unplanned informal events take place – pop-up open mic, tea dances, pizza workshops, street dance to name but a few; the reciprocal benefits of sharing resources have been important to the success of Tŷ Pawb.”

One of Wrexham’s best-loved attractions

The award is one of several architectural honours Tŷ Pawb has received since opening in 2018.

Other awards received include the National Eisteddfod Gold Medal for Architecture 2019 and Architects Journal’s Retrofit of the Year 2019 and Best Cultural Building under 5m 2019

Cllr Hugh Jones, Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, said: “Thanks to incredible vision, creativity and ambition of Tŷ Pawb’s design team Wrexham now boasts a multi-award winning cultural facility which is widely recognised all over the UK as one of the finest examples of how a public building can be re-imagined into something new, innovative and exciting.”

“Since opening in 2018 Tŷ Pawb has grown to become one of our most treasured and best-loved local destinations. The atmosphere has been fantastic over the summer with live music and family activities returning, new local businesses joining the markets family and visitors returning to galleries, including the brand new Useful Art Space.

“This award is richly deserved. Huge congratulations to Featherstone Young and to the staff team for their success in bringing culture and community together under one roof.”

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We are looking for an enthusiastic, creative and organised arts practitioner, to plan, deliver and evaluate our Family Art Club, which takes place on Saturday mornings.

This contract is to deliver 23 sessions between 11^th September 2021 and 26^th March 2022.

The fixed fee for this is £5,200, inclusive of travel, materials and any other expenses.

The Family Art Club programme should be designed to engage children aged 4-11 and their families, taking inspiration from Ty Pawb’s exhibitions, wider arts programme and the market hall. We would like the sessions to reflect the Ty Pawb ethos, and the importance of Welsh language and culture.

Sessions will usually take place within the Useful Art Space at Ty Pawb, however depending on changing restrictions it will be necessary to have digital contingency plans in place.

The role includes all planning, setting-up and clean-up of session, monitoring (feedback, photo consent and an end of project evaluation report), providing marketing content and documenting each session. 

There is potential to subcontract on occasion, with the prior knowledge, participation and consent of Tŷ Pawb.

To apply please email karen.whittingham@wrexham.gov.uk:

• An up to date cv (no more than 2 pages)
• A covering letter outlining your suitability for the role

If you are invited for interview then 2 x references will be required

Deadline for applications is midnight on Wednesday 11^th August, and applicants need to be available for interview on Thursday 19^th August.