Say hello to our new Youth Advisory Board
Behind these rather fabulous self portraits are the members of our brand new Youth Advisory Board.
They met for the first time on Friday January 8. Topics discussed included Brazilian funk, favourite musicals, Travis Scott and tragic romance novels.
We’re excited to see what a group with such eclectic interests will produce!
The YAB will be working closely with the Tŷ Pawb team to help ensure a that a more diverse range of local young voices can be represented in the planning and development of future exhibitions and activities.
The YAB will play a key role in supporting Wrexham’s multi-award winning arts, markets and community hub to engage with wider audiences, both online and for its activities in the building.
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Introducing our new Creative Producer
The YAB is being recruited by our new freelance Creative Producer, Yasmin Begum (pictured), who will work with the group initially on evaluation of the Tŷ Pawb Open exhibition.
The group will go on to take part in a series of workshops led by artist Harold Offeh; this will be an opportunity to explore the group’s aspirations for Tŷ Pawb and its future programme, and for themselves as local citizens.
Harold Offeh (pictured) is an artist working in a range of media including performance, video, photography, learning and social arts practice. He previously offered mentoring at Tŷ Pawb as part of Wales in Venice 2019.
Yasmin Begum is a writer, researcher and creative practitioner from Cardiff. She has worked with organisations including Film Hub Wales and is a former editor of youth-led magazine The Sprout.
“We’ll be taking an active role in the planning and evaluating of Tŷ Pawb’s arts programme”
Yasmin said: “I’m really excited to be taking on this role with Tŷ Pawb. Over the last few weeks I’ve been working with the team and with partner agencies to identify young people with an interest in the arts who would like to participate and we’ve started to put together a really strong team of diverse local young voices.
“We aim to work with young people to broaden skills and boost confidence, providing unique opportunities. I’m especially interested and thrilled to be working as a Creative Producer on this project because I know, first-hand, how important and life changing initiatives like this can be, especially having been a beneficiary of projects like this historically as a young person.
“We’ll be taking an active role in the planning and evaluating of Tŷ Pawb’s arts programme, working in conjunction with local young people in and around the Wrexham area. This will include exhibitions and activities that take place in the building as well as the new digital and outreach strategy to engage with youth groups.
“There are so many exciting exhibitions and projects in the pipeline for the coming year. We are all really looking forward to getting stuck in, starting with our workshops working with Harold Offeh, a multimedia artist and educator. ”
Respond and Reimagine
The Youth Advisory Board project has been made possible thanks to a grant provided to Tŷ Pawb by Art Fund as part of the Respond and Reimagine project.
The grants aim to help museums, galleries and cultural organisations respond to immediate challenges connected to the Covid-19 crisis, and offer support to adapt and reimagine ways of working for the future.
As well as the new Youth Advisory Board, the grant has also funded a brand new doorway into Tŷ Pawb’s main gallery. This allows visitors to enter the gallery directly from the market hall, making the exhibitions more visible and accessible to the public. It has also enabled a one way system to be put in place in the gallery, making it easier for visitors to socially distance.
A ‘fantastic’ achievement
Cllr Hugh Jones, Wrexham County Borough Council’s Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, said: “The Tŷ Pawb team must be commended for their achievement in successfully securing this hugely valuable Art Fund grant. Less than 18% of the bids were successful which shows the strength of the bid Tŷ Pawb put forward and the exceptional work the team have put in to developing this innovative project.
“The Youth Advisory Board will help us to take a fresh approach as we plan our programme of exhibitions and activities in the post-Covid world. This will include prioritising our engagement with broader audiences, supporting our commitments to the Well Being of Future Generations Act and ensuring Tŷ Pawb can be welcoming and accessible for everyone.”