Wrexham graduates take over city centre space to give community members access to contemporary art

Date: Tuesday, November 26, 2024

A new arts and cultural hub – curated by two Wrexham University Art graduates – has opened up in the run up to Christmas, giving community members access to contemporary art, free community events, and interactive workshops.

Chloe Goodwin and Ryan Saunders, who studied Fine Art at the University, have taken over the former Asda Living store on Island Green in Wrexham to open Hypha Studios and The Dispensary between now and Tuesday, December 10.

The residency, spearheaded by Chloe and Ryan and sponsored by Wrexham University, is centred around a major exhibition, featuring both local, national and international emerging artists. Featuring a variety of art forms, including paintings, ceramics, printmaking and performing arts.

Throughout the month, it will also feature a host of free interactive workshops, artist talks, and live performances, making art engaging and accessible for members of the community.

Day-to-day Chloe and Ryan are currently co-curators of the Dispensary Gallery – a curatorial platform that moves from space to space, depending on availability and location.

Hypha Studios are a national organisation, who act as a mediator between landowners and artists, breaking down traditional barriers to collaboration, in order to make short-term lets feasible for landlords and accessible to artists.

Chloe said: “We are delighted to have officially opened up this incredible space to the public, featuring an array of different art forms, with a strong emphasis on emerging artists’ work.

“We can’t thank Hypha Studios enough for providing this fantastic opportunity. When we found out we had been selected following their open call, of course we were delighted but we knew we had a lot to get done in a short space of time. We had just 40 days to put this show on – but thankfully we’ve made it happen.

“We were blown away with the response to our call to artists – and have thoughtfully curated 104 pieces of art from 55 emerging artists, some of whom are local, while others are from Brighton, Birmingham and even as far away as Bulgaria and Italy.”

Ryan said: “The response to our show since opening has been phenomenal – on opening night, we welcomed 190 people through the door, which was amazing.

“It’s important to say that none of this would be possible without the talented artists, that put themselves and their work forward to support this space, as well as Hypha Studios – their commitment to ensuring that artists have space to thrive, experiment, and connect has been invaluable, and their belief in the power of grassroots spaces is deeply appreciated.

“We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks to Wrexham University School of Art for the immense support we have consistently been given, both as students and now as alumni – and a special shout out to Paul Jones, former Programme Leader for Fine Art – who has recently left the University. He has been an enormous driver in our journey as artists and curators.”

Camilla Cole, CEO of Hypha Studios, added: “Working in Island Green in Wrexham is an exciting opportunity to find and support North Wales' best emerging creatives with free exhibition spaces in the heart of where they live and work.

“The scale of this 15,000 square foot opportunity is huge and has pulled in art lovers locally and from afar. After a call out we partnered with the brilliant Dispensary to launch a quest for artists to submit their work - all welcome!”

• Hypha Studios and The Dispensary is open to the public Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays between 10am-3pm in the former Asda Living store on Island Green in Wrexham, until Tuesday, December 10. There will be a final evening viewing that Tuesday between 5pm-7pm.