ABSTRACT
The ‘baggy space’ concept is about touching an environment just enough, or as little as possible, to enable others to fill the gaps, to garner ownership and create a place that can be used habitually, and open up the potential of useful, meaningful experiences. At Oriel Wrecsam People’s Market in Wrexham, Wales, local people questioned the worth of a new art gallery and what it can offer them both socially and economically. This chapter describes how the project team working on the new art gallery responded by thinking deeply about the civic role of cultural organisations and challenging the traditional art gallery environment with its rigid, dedicated spaces and exhibition-led programmes in order to create a new model that offers looser and more experimental space and socially engaged programmes that surpass public expectations.
