Oink Gallery, based on Victoria Road in Old Town, will close its doors for the final time on August 28, as owner Mark Pepperall looks to open a new gallery in Gloucestershire.
The Swindon Advertiser spoke to Mark at the opening of Oink Gallery back in 2016 and, speaking now to our reporter, he has reflected on an “amazing 10 years with some really cool customers.”
Oink Gallery will remain running as an online gallery, but Mark will be focusing his energy on a new gallery in Painswick, near Stroud.
The new gallery will be called Place(d) Contemporary and will focus on combining art with interior design.
Mark Pepperall is waving goodbye to his Swindon art gallery, but hello to an exciting new venture
“We’re really excited about that move into the Cotswolds,” Mark told the Adver.
“We’re just doing something slightly different.
“I’ve got an interior design company as well called Pepper & Co and so we’re kind of merging the two.
“It will have a select few pieces of furniture in there and more paintings and originals.
“My wife and I have wanted to move into the Cotswolds for a while and then we found a shop we liked the look of and it just made sense.”
Oink Gallery was named after the idea that the site would act as a “piggy bank” for people’s artwork, with their pieces going up in value through exposure on a bigger scale.
When it opened, Mark was confident that there was a gap in the market for modern, contemporary and cutting edge artwork, and the decade-long success of Oink has proved that to be true.
Oink Gallery pictured in 2021 (Image: Google Maps)
Oink Gallery on Victoria Road, Old Town
“We’ll be sad to leave Swindon. We’ve had amazing customers here,” he added.
“Lots of amazing open events and preview shows and we’ve worked with lots of local DJs.
“I’m excited for the next step. There’s really big community and lots of arts going on.”
Oink Gallery will remain open in Old Town until August 28 and is currently running a closing down sale.
As part of the sale, all artwork purchased from Oink Gallery will have the frame included, and reduced prices have been put on all of the store’s books and gifts.