We are thrilled that the first block of workshops in our second year of Creative Communities, has been very well attended.
Over ten weeks, the participants at Beeston Community Centre, Manorfield Hall and Hunslet Library and Hub have been introduced to a variety of art techniques, including pottery, wire sculpting, cyanotype printing, embroidery, lino printing, natural dyeing and more.
In many of the workshops, participants had the opportunity to make artworks to keep, collaborative work which has gone up in the host venues and work which will be part of the final exhibition at Leeds City Museum in June 2025.
All of our workshops aim to be accessible to all, regardless of how much art you’ve done before. As you can see, participants have created wonderful outcomes and discovered creative talents they may not have known they possessed.
Co-creating with the people of Hunslet
Supported by a volunteer from Hunslet, our Community Artist in Residence, Rozi Fuller, has been collecting stories, through art workshops and conversations, from local residents about places in their area which are important to them.
These stories are the research and inspiration for artworks which are being created by a group, who have been coming together on a weekly basis to the Involve community centre with Rozi.
Once completed, their artworks will be installed inside and outside Involve and in locations around Hunslet, becoming permanent features of the area, reflecting collective local knowledge, experience and creativity.
The unveiling of these artworks will take place early in 2025. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and in this newspaper for the date of this.
Coming up: Next Workshops
Our next ten week blocks of workshops start in January. This is the last block of this length before the project comes to an end in June 2025, so register your interest if you are interested in taking part.
Leeds Involve, Whitfield Avenue, Hunslet, LS10 2QE
Tuesdays 10am- 2pm
14 January – 25 March
South Leeds United Reform Church / Trinity Network, Nesfield Road, LS10 3LG
Wednesdays 10am-2pm
15 January – 26 March
Hamara Healthy Living Centre, Tempest Road, LS11 6RD
Thursdays 10am-2pm
16 January – 27 March
If you would like to take part, email creative.communities@swarthmore.org.uk or call Penny on 07438 666342.
Or complete the form via this QR code and we will get back to you.
Second Community Artist Residency in Belle Isle
We are very excited to announce that our second Community Artist in Residence, Elnaz Yazdani, will be based at BITMO’s Gate in Belle Isle from January until April 2025. There are many ways to be involved in co-creating with Elnaz, including creative sessions and sharing stories, knowledge and memories of the local area. Keep an eye out for updates about our events.
Volunteering
We have had five volunteers from the areas we work in, supporting our project this term. We are very grateful for all the support we receive from our volunteers, who add great value to the work we do. We’re keen to hear from anyone who’d like to help out and get involved.
This post was written by Honor Jeavons
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