Wakefield Exchange set to open next month

Wakefield Exchange (WX) is an exciting new space hosting events, street food, studios and more, opening soon in the heart of Wakefield city centre.

The building is set to open to the public for the Rhubarb Festival weekend on Friday 21 February, with a market, live music, activities and more.

As well as creating jobs in the food and drink sector, there will also be spaces on offer to small and medium-sized digital and creative businesses. The tenants, local residents and the wider economy will benefit from a programme of skills development, training and business support opportunities.   

Open seven days a week, the building will be home to five street food vendors and a bar. It will allow visitors to enjoy a casual dining experience throughout the day and into the evening. 

WX will officially open on 21-23 February with a full weekend of Rhubarb Festival activity. Head over to WX as the famous food and drink market extends along Union Street and under the canopy, for even more rhubarb-themed treats and live music. Head inside for some family craft activity and warm-up with a hot drink as you experience Sentinel, by Studio Vertigo, a light artwork based on the district’s mining heritage. 

To be first to know about unmissable events and openings at Wakefield Exchange, sign up for e-newsletter updates at www.wxwakefield.co.uk 
  
Wakefield Exchange has been funded by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, through the Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England, and by Wakefield Council. 

Other confirmed events at Wakefield Exchange include:

•   21 Feb – 2 March: Sentinel & the Heritage Commissions: Launching in WX alongside the opening weekend and Rhubarb Festival, Sentinel was commissioned by Wakefield Council as part of Light Up 2024. This unique light sculpture by Studio Vertigo is inspired by the district coal’s mining heritage and will form the centrepiece of a magical display in WX. It will be accompanied by sound installation Coal Lines, mixed reality experience RevealedTriptych and digital game Roller Bird, all created by local artists in response to Sentinel, creating a captivating and immersive storytelling experience for visitors.
• 8-9 March – Game’s weekend: Hosted by Games Republic, this free 2-day games event will feature exciting modern and retro console games to play, old-school arcade games and brand-new games developed by indie games companies based in Yorkshire and the North of England.
• 14-23 March – This Was Our Year: Our Year – Wakefield District 2024 was a celebration of the amazing culture, heritage and community of our district. This Was Our Year will be an opportunity to reflect and celebrate. Our Year is supported with funding from West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Arts Council England.
• 4 – 21 April: The Sleeping Tree: The Sleeping Tree is a long form, durational, sound experience by Invisible Flock, connecting audiences with the distant and fragile ecosystem of North Sumatra. Audiences will be invited into the Sumatran ecosystem, to lay and be absorbed into the enveloping soundscape of the rainforest.
•  20 June – 7 September: Jason Wilsher-Mills exhibition: Born and raised in Wakefield, Jason Wilsher-Mills’s work celebrates disability, his northern working-class heritage and popular culture, through cutting edge technologies and brightly coloured, large-scale humorous, but challenging art. His summer exhibition at WX will showcase brand new artworks alongside a mentoring programme for local disabled artists.
• 21-23 November: Ships of the Gods: As part of Light Up Wakefield 2025, WX welcomes Heinrich & Palmer’s light installation Ships of Gods. The breath-taking artwork is inspired by the Norse myth of Skidbladnir, a magical shape-shifting vessel which was large enough to carry all the gods and their equipment yet could be folded up small enough to fit inside a pocket.