Can you believe it? Tŷ Pawb is five years old!

And what a five years it’s been! Since that wet, wonderful Bank Holiday Monday back in 2018, when 10,000 people came out to see us to open our doors for the first time, Tŷ Pawb has grown to become a thriving, multi-award winning markets, arts and community facility, an Art Fund Museum of the Year finalist, and a nationally recognised, pioneering example of how to reimagine a public building.

These achievements would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of the community of traders, artists, staff, volunteers and all the other countless groups and individuals who form part of our Tŷ Pawb family.

So, to celebrate this milestone, we’ve been delving through our short (but sizable) archives to pick out some of the best moments from our first five years. Moments that sum up what Tŷ Pawb is all about.

Summing up our story in a short space has been quite the task! A lot has happened since 2018….

• We’ve welcomed over 1,240,400 people through our doors.
• We’ve displayed 31 exhibitions, featuring over 700 artists.
• We’ve hosted over 300 performances.
• We’ve become home to  over 30 traders offering a wide range of exciting products and homemade food.
• We’ve won awards, including the Gold Medal for Architecture at the Llangollen Eisteddfod, Architects Journal Retrofit of the Year & Best Cultural Building under £5m.
• In 2022, we reached the final five shortlist for Art Fund’s Museum of The Year – the biggest museum prize in the World!

‘A brilliant and brave idea’

Cllr Hugh Jones said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved with Tŷ Pawb for their contribution in creating something, unique, ground breaking and truly special in Wrexham city centre.

“Over five years, Tŷ Pawb’s distinctive cultural and commercial offer has grown and evolved into a fantastic facility, loved locally and recognised nationally and internationally as a leading example of how to reimagine an existing building into a thriving community space. It has also shown enormous resilience, innovation, and creativity to meet the challenges of a turbulent world, when required; the superb Arts At Home programme, delivered during lockdown, being a perfect example of this.”

“Throughout all of this, the team have stayed true to Tŷ Pawb’s core vision of bringing arts, markets and communities together under one roof, inspired by the belief that art can be a tool for social change.

“Tŷ Pawb has also made an invaluable contribution to Wrexham’s burgeoning cultural scene. As well as drawing national and international coverage and acclaim in its own right, it played a key role in helping us to reach the final shortlist for City of Culture in 2022.”

“Art Fund’s Museum of the Year judges described Tŷ Pawb as: ‘A brilliant and brave idea’. Everyone in Wrexham can be very proud to have this on our doorstep. We are all excited to see what exciting times lie in the years ahead.”

Five years of Tŷ Pawb

Here’s a look back at some of the best moments from our first five years…

Markets

Tŷ Pawb’s Market and Food Court are a celebration and continuation of Wrexham’s rich, market town heritage.

We are home to over 30 local businesses – the heart and soul of daily life at Tŷ Pawb.

These businesses have helped to make Tŷ Pawb a joyful and inspired shopping experience for visitors, and a treasure trove of unique gift ideas for all interests and ages.

Here’s a photo that quite beautifully sums up the story of markets in Wrexham. Three generations of a local family business in one image. Starting with Edgar Jones, photographed here with his wife, Nancy, at Wrexham’s Vegetable Market in 1946. The baton was passed on to daughter, Esme, and, most recently, onto Jeanette. Esme’s children’s clothing shop traded at The People’s Market, before it was transformed into Tŷ Pawb. It’s still going strong now, thanks to the dedication of this proud Wrexham family.

This photo was taken to create Alan Dunn’s dazzling Wal Pawb FOUR WORDS RECIPE murals , now on show in our market hall!

Arts

Since 2018, we’ve displayed 31 exhibitions, featuring over 700 artists, including Greyson Perry, Sean Edwards, Bedwyr Williams, Helen Sear, Anya Paintsil and Alessendra Savoritti.

Hundreds of artists from all over the UK and beyond have submitted artworks to be part of our ever popular open call exhibitions.

Through our arts programme, we’ve endeavoured to provide inclusive exhibitions, public programme events and socially engaged projects, emphasising skills and craft, and working with emerging and established artists from all backgrounds.

Performance

In our first five years, we’ve hosted over 300 performances, including live music, film showings and theatre productions, featuring performers such as Gwenno, Adwaith and The Trials of Cato.

Our Comedy Night has become one of our most popular fixtures and is often sold out well in advance!

Families

We love seeing happy families! Thousands of you have attended hundreds of our learning activities over our first 5 years. As well as our ever popular holiday activities, we’ve also offered masterclasses for young people through our Criw Celf & Portffolio programmes, and our Family Art Club continues to grow every Saturday!

Community

Our final birthday highlight is all about you – the wonderful communities that bring Tŷ Pawb to life. Seeing the building buzzing with people is a wonderful experience for all of us, and one we just can’t get enough of! There is simply no place like it on a busy day. We are so proud to be at the heart of this incredible city. Thank you to all of you for your amazing support. Roll on the next five years!