Annwn launched by Ty Pawb

Tŷ Pawb’s newly formed Youth Advisory Board (YAB) has been collaborating with artist Harold Offeh as a collective of artists, developing a manifesto.

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Annwn provides an opportunity for the YAB to showcase their collective voice, with the Board commenting:Virtual Tour

Artworks, films, performances, occupy this gallery in the form of an exhibition which focuses on themes of folklore, Welsh futurism and escapism.

From 2020 onwards, Tŷ Pawb has initiated the development of a new advisory board, using funding from Art Fund’s ‘Respond and Reimagine’ campaign. The board is to be a diverse and inclusive group of individuals aged 16-25.

A proactive effort was made to recruit young people with protected characteristics, from a range of cultural and economic backgrounds.

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The aim of the YAB is to support young people accessing experience in the arts sector, not only in Wrexham but also across Wales. The YAB also aims to create meaningful dialogue, discussion and experiences to benchmark and support good practice.

The Board will also assist in supporting Tŷ Pawb’s strategic visions and aims, engagement and programming to better support Tŷ Pawb’s youth engagement work.

Annwn

Annwn provides an opportunity for the YAB to showcase their collective voice, with the Board commenting:

“The YAB’s exhibition focuses on Welsh Futurism and its connections to language, folklore and landscape. Bridging both the future and the past, we question the potential to re-imagine Welsh culture by creating our own world – the Otherworld of Annwn.

“Inspired by early medieval Welsh mythology, we explore the concept of escapism in connection to how we as artists view the future.

“It was important that the featured artwork was curated by us as a collective, and that the creative process reflected the aims and ethos of our manifesto. Our project has consisted of holding discussions on accessibility, the politics of care and the importance of de-mystifying art.”

Within this exhibition is a display of North Wales-based painters, curated by the YAB with Jonathan Powell, Director of Elysium Gallery & the BEEP Painting Biennial.

The title of the exhibition, Annwn, which translates as ‘the Otherworld’, is inspired by Welsh mythology. The exhibition also takes its name from the title of one of Pete Jones paintings, which was selected for display by the Board.

Annwn will develop and transform in the gallery over its duration, whilst a fixed, digitally rendered virtual tour exists online. As the exhibition develops, so too will the YAB’s manifesto and vision for their Tŷ Pawb, with more events being announced throughout the exhibition.