This new exhibition by artist Alan Dunn celebrates the history of Wrexham’s markets and brings Wal Pawb to life in a high-tempo 40-minute film that goes beyond the surface of traders, revealing the tenderness of their hand-made crafts and the vibrancy of Tŷ Pawb
Join us for the big launch event – Friday 21st February, 6pm-8pm
Tŷ Pawb houses both market stalls and an art gallery – and it’s not easy running either!
The collaborative artworks developed by Dunn and traders celebrate all the people within Tŷ Pawb who do both really well, including the huge Wal Pawb artwork that references the Sgt Pepper sleeve, Raphael’s ‘School of Athens’ and Jeff Wall photographs to transform traders and behind-the-scenes staff into iconic stars.
All filmed on phones with some short AI clips inserted, the film is screened next to old Super 8 footage of Wrexham city centre and images of how the market used to look. The film has been soundtracked by musician Meilir Tomos who worked alongside the artist on Wal Pawb, and local artist/activist Natasha Borton, along with contributions from Leeds Beckett University students, where Dunn lectures.
Meilir collected audio recordings from around the building in Ty Pawb and combined these with individual sounds he created that have a relationship to the individual words in the images and the experience of the creation of this project. Using various synthesizers including a Moog Subharmonicon, Moog Grandmother and Microkorg, Meilir made subdivisions of tones and short arpeggios to create the music and mixed this together with the ambient sounds of Ty Pawb. To celebrate marchnad / market, a limited edition 10” record will be available featuring the soundtrack.
marchnad / market also includes a public programme co-delivered with the traders and sensory parcels developed with artist Ticky Lowe of Making Sense, the installation of a major new neon sign within the gallery/market space, new outfits for invigilators and lots of ‘super-marchnad’ merchandise including outfits for invigilators who are invited to sit outside the gallery space.
As art part of marchnad/market, Wrexham-based curatorial duo The Dispensary Gallery are proud to present a magazine and exhibition that delves into the evolving reality of market culture in Wrexham.
Developed over the span of a year in close collaboration with market traders, this project highlights the precarious conditions they navigate daily, while also reflecting on the role of collective production in sustaining meaningful, community-led cultural spaces.
The Dispensary is a curatorial duo made up of Ryan Saunders and Chloe Goodwin. They have worked collaboratively to deliver thoughtful, well-executed visual arts exhibitions that prioritise emerging artists, audience engagement, and innovative curatorial approaches.
The exhibition and publication emerge from deep-rooted conversations, shared experiences, and ongoing relationships with traders, artists, and the wider Wrexham community. It stands as both a testament to the resilience of market culture and a critical exploration of how institutions engage with grassroots economies.
With huge thanks to all the traders in Tŷ Pawb, especially Pencilcraftsman, Siop Siwan, House of Retro, Curry On The Go, Wing King, Just Desserts, Revibed Records, RTO Alterations, Smashed It, Pie’d Pie’per, Gemini Blinds, New Style Boutique, Crystal Point Piercing, DJ Carpets, Hair by Renia, Esme’s, Skellytones and Candilicious. Additional thanks to all Tŷ Pawb staff, Ryan and Chloe of Dispensary Gallery, Bom Dia Cymru and to Brigitte, Zak, Heidi, Lulu, Kora, Valentina and Joey (aged 8) who helped with the Snapchat animations!
The film is looped and the running order is:
1.45 pencilcraftsman, with murals and Mullin
3.33 Curry on the Go, with special animations made by Bethany Hewines and Hannah Nolan
6.38 Pie’d Pie’per, with origami made from one of the pie shop bags
8.15 Revibed Records, with pool and Prodigy
10.00 Siop Siwan, with special cyanotype film made by Katy Lynch
14.45 Just Desserts, behind-the-scenes!
17.40 Wal Pawb
18.30 House of Retro, digitally sketched by pencilcraftsman from Wal Pawb photo
20.25 Wal Pawb
21.15 Natasha Borton, a journey to Tŷ Pawb
23.05 Candylicious, with some filming by staff
25.20 Gemini Blinds, with tiny guest appearance by Ollie Palmer!
27.50 Origami dress made from a dollar bill by the artist’s mum, in tribute to Esme’s
28.40 The Tŷ Pawb sheep, useful space, maker space, Natasha’s The Bridge that Connects projects and the Ryan drawing
30.26 The Wing King, filmed and mirrored
31.10 Hair by Renia, with clips from their social media pages
32.45 RTO Alterations, with filming by the staff!
34.20 Wrexham Trainer Revival, customised trainers for Wal Pawb
37.15 DJ Carpets, with multi-generational patterns
38.30 Skellytones, with a purchased Violent Femmes t-shirt
39.34 The Tŷ Pawb office timelapse
40.18 New Style Boutique, with some of their social media content
41.53 The artist Alan Dunn caught on Super 8 in Christmas 1980
42.15 Crystal Point Piercing, also with some social media content
Glasgow-born artist Dr Alan Dunn devises projects using sound and digital images, collaborating with thousands of citizens, to unlock hidden stories. Alan is a Reader in Art and Design at Leeds Beckett University and has developed projects with BBC Radio, Tate Britain, ICA, National Science & Media Museum, Liverpool Art Prize, Channel 4 and recently won the inaugural Liverpool Sculpture Prize. He is based in Liverpool City Region and currently working on long-term projects exploring the use of tongue twisters within dementia care homes and underwater recording around the Isle of Man. See www.alandunn67.co.uk and @alandunn67
Gallery opening times:
Monday-Saturday
10am-4pm