Wrexham independent gallery branches out into second site

An independent gallery in Wrexham has branched out to a new site – marking the launch of its open exhibition.

The Wrexham Independent Gallery (tWIG) launched back in September 2016 in the main hall of former Peoples Market, before relocating to the South Arcade in March this year.

Now the gallery has expanded further and with the help of Wrexham Council has taken over a second venue in the South Arcade.

The move also marks the start of the group’s Open Exhibition, which allows any artist in Wrexham to submit their work for display.

As well as providing aspiring artists with a place to showcase their work, tWIG also provides technical and educational arts workshop. The gallery holds regular exhibitions of arts and crafts, and is open to the public free of charge, from 10am until 5pm from Monday to Saturday.

Keith Evans, chairman of tWIG, is a former teacher and longstanding photographer and artist.

He said: “There’s a very keen appetite for art among the people of Wrexham, and we want to help those who might normally have considered themselves artistically talented to get some training and give them the chance to unlock their potential.

“Our ultimate goal is to be able to provide free workshops for any interested people, so that we can develop their creativity and skills – and some of the workshops we’ve offered so far range from have-a-go sessions, to more formal teaching sessions led by experienced artists and crafters.

“We also provide materials – people don’t need to be put off by cost. The whole aim of our offering is to ensure people don’t experience any obstacles when it comes to trying out art.”

Keith added: “We work a lot with Oriel Wrecsam in order to promote the arts – we can help round off the arts offering in town by giving dedicated amateurs and aspiring community artists a place to show their work.”

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, said: “The work done by tWIG is excellent, as they’ve helped to encourage amateur artists in Wrexham to display their work, and given them somewhere where they can work on their artistic skills through workshops and tutoring.

“Their extension into a new site is good news, and I hope this gives them the opportunity to expand their work further.

“I would encourage anyone interested in the arts to visit the gallery.”

More information on tWIG and its work can be found on its website.