The Results Are In: Wrecsam Photomarathon Winners 2026

The results are in! We are sharing the winners of our first Wrecsam Photomarathon, hearing from the judges and looking at how young people helped shape the competition from the first idea through to choosing the winning photographs.

3 min read

The judging is finished, the decisions have been made, and we can finally share the winners of our first Wrecsam Photomarathon!

If you have never heard of a Photomarathon before, the idea is pretty simple. Participants are given a set of mystery words or prompts and a limited amount of time to go out and take one photograph inspired by each one.

There is no right answer and no set place to photograph. The interesting part is seeing what each word means to the person behind the camera.

And that was definitely one of our favourite parts of this event. A word such as Play, Youth or Unexpected might sound simple, but give it to a group of people and suddenly you get lots of completely different interpretations.

For example, here are four photographs submitted for Play by our 6–11 age group.

Pretty impressive, right?

Morgan Thomas, Wrecsam2029 Culture Bid Coordinator, summed up the standard of the entries very simply:

“They are genuinely brilliant photos.”

Judging the entries

The photographs were judged by a mixed panel including Done Together CIC directors, members of AVOW’s Young Influencers, Morgan from Wrecsam2029 and members of the Wrecsam2029 Youth Forum.

Seven of the judges were young people, including Youth Forum members Karim, Aaron, Jasmine and April.

That was important to us. Young people were not just participants in the Photomarathon. They had been involved in shaping it and were trusted to help decide which photographs stood out too.

The judging panel spent around two hours going through the entries, talking about what stood out and hearing how other people interpreted each photograph.

Done Together Director Jayne Rowe, who was involved throughout the project and judging, said:

“It was so lovely to see the creativity of the participants and also hearing other judges' interpretations of the images and how they represented the allocated words.”

She added:

“Wrexham didn't disappoint as a subject matter for the images nor as a city of talent and creativity... a true city of culture!”

Shaped by young people from the start

Some of the Done Together team had experience of running Photomarathons in previous roles, and it was something we had talked about bringing back.

When the idea came up during a Wrecsam2029 Youth Forum session, several forum members immediately wanted to get involved.

Natalie Edwards, Lead Director at Done Together CIC, said:

“Some of the forum members jumped at the idea of getting involved and, because of their passion, we were able to apply for funding. Over the six months it took to arrange, we met online, in person and discussed the competition by email so that everyone had different ways to contribute. They helped choose the words and judged the entries. It has been great for them to see the project from an idea right through to the finished event, and I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did.”

That involvement was not just behind the scenes. Youth Forum members helped shape the prompts and later came back as judges.

Karim Ossama Kheder, Wrecsam2029 City of Culture Youth Forum member and Photomarathon judge, said:

“I really enjoyed being part of the team organising the Photomarathon. As an amateur photographer, it was a great opportunity to share my passion, meet other photographers, and be part of a creative community event.”

The AVOW Young Influencers also helped to fund the Photomarathon, contributed a prompt and took part in judging the entries for Together.

Amy, Community Development Officer at AVOW, said:

“It has been fantastic to see the project build confidence, develop new skills, and provide a platform for young people's voices to be seen and heard.”

Ffion, one of the Young Influencers, added:

“It was interesting to see the interpretations of the words.”

Congratulations to our winners

The judging panel spent around two hours going through the entries and making the final decisions. There was a lot to discuss. We saw clever use of colour, props, angles and lighting, alongside photographs that simply captured a really good moment at exactly the right time. Some made us laugh. Some made us stop and think. Others took the prompts in directions none of us had expected. Choosing just one winner for each prompt was not easy.

Each winning entry received a £25 gift voucher.

6–11 winners

Play – George Thomas
Smile – Osian Young
Colourful – Grace, Dhoya and Suzana
Together – Emrys Young

11–17 winners

My Wrexham – Jayden Gibb
Unexpected – Eloise
Free – Willis Edwards
No Colour – Charlotte Hughes

18+ winners

Play – Aaliyah Miller
Nostalgic – Haroon Din
Juxtaposition – Sam Williams
Youth – Pete Leach

Done Together Director and judge Amber said the photographs submitted for Youth made her “smile and reminisce”.

She added:

“Youth is in the eye of the beholder and some of the pictures were brilliant for demonstrating that.”

That is probably one of the best examples of why the open prompts worked so well. Different people brought their own memories, experiences and ideas to the same word.

See all the entries

The winning photographs are only part of the collection.

You can view all of the Wrecsam Photomarathon entries in our online gallery and decide which are your own favourites:

https://donetogethercic18.pixieset.com/folder/POSnTXsNgcxn/

We would definitely recommend having a look through them. Seeing several photographs inspired by exactly the same word really shows how differently we all notice and interpret the world around us.

Shall we do it again?

We would really like to bring the Wrecsam Photomarathon back in 2027. Before we start planning anything, though, we would love to know what people thought about this one.

Would you take part again?

Would you change anything about the prompts or format?

Is there something you would like to see included next time?

All feedback, suggestions and ideas are welcome - hello@donetogether.co.uk

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