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The large-scale artwork at Eagles Meadow, led by local arts collective Avant Cymru, has been created as part of the annual ‘Paint Jam’.
It features bold graffiti, with unique characters and striking imagery painted by artists from across Wales.
The art spans the walls of the shopping centre’s car park, covering level -2, continuing up the ramp to level -1, and extending across part of the level -1 wall.
Rachel Pedley, founding director of Avant Cymru, said the project grew out of a desire to create meaningful creative opportunities in everyday public spaces.
“We recognised that the car park was quite a bland, empty space with no real personality,” she said. “It created the perfect opportunity to add colour and give people something unexpected to engage with while going about their day.”
Avant Cymru, which is based at The Lab inside Eagles Meadow, is a neurodivergent-led organisation using hip-hop, theatre, dance and visual arts to support young people and communities who may not feel represented in traditional arts settings.
“For a lot of people, there just weren’t spaces where they felt they could socialise or learn skills in a way that suited them,” Rachel explained.
“Hip-hop is a big part of the projects because it’s naturally inclusive, people can dance, DJ, paint, rap, there’s something for everyone, and everyone learns from each other.”
The graffiti project is deliberately artist-led, with participants choosing what they want to paint rather than being given a set brief.
“We don’t decide anything,” Rachel said. “It’s about freedom of expression. That’s really important, especially for young people, it’s not about targets or outcomes, it’s about being part of something bigger and feeling confident enough to have a go.”
Josh Price, centre manager at Eagles Meadow, said the project has had a positive impact not only visually, but practically.
“Since we started this in 2023, we’ve seen a massive reduction in graffiti incidents across the site,” he said. “It’s saved us money, but more importantly it’s turned the space into something people actually enjoy passing through.”
Josh added that the artwork has encouraged more visitors to use the lower level of the car park, which had previously been overlooked.
“It’s brighter, it’s more interesting than a white wall,” he said. “People stop, look at it, take pictures. It gives people another reason to come down here.”
The Wrexham Paint Jam sees dozens of artists give up their time to work collaboratively over a short period, with walls refreshed annually to make way for new artwork.
This year’s display was completed over two days with around 30 artists painting together. The artwork stays up until it is painted over for a fresh design the following year.
Young people are also invited to take part through workshops, learning alongside experienced graffiti artists in a safe, supervised environment.
“We’ve got dedicated spaces where community groups can come down and spray paint with kids,” Josh said. “That’s what this is all about, the collaboration, learning skills, and being creative together.”
Rachel believes the project has helped change perceptions around graffiti and street art.
“Years ago, people associated graffiti with rough areas,” she said. “Now it’s seen as a skill, something that adds value, colour and personality to a place.”
She hopes that anyone encountering the artwork leaves feeling inspired.
“If someone parks their car and sees this, I hope it sparks something,” she said. “That they go home and feel inspired to create something themselves and maybe even come and join us.”
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