On Wednesday (12 February 2014) Leeds’ newest art gallery, the Tetley, will host an exhibition of work produced in collaboration with local community groups from South Leeds.
The exhibition has been called Tetley Feast, inspired by the Hunslet Feast, a community festival that ran for over 100 years. The project has involved students from Leeds College of Art and local community organisations in South Leeds has been supported by the Teltey and their staff as a way of getting to know the South Leeds Community.
The project explores different ways of visually representing groups to a wider audience through documentary film, photography, creative workshops and multidisciplinary art practices. The students are responding to needs and working with the groups to design visual work to be displayed in a one-day community celebration at the Tetley.
The Tetley Feast is a collaborative project between Leeds College of Art’s BA (Hons) Visual Communication programme, The Tetley, and community organisations from South Leeds including: Vera Media, Hamara, Slate, Health for All and The Hunslet Club. It is a community engaged project focusing on participatory and social design. The Tetley Feast culminates at The Tetley on 12 February where work which was produced during the project will be exhibited.
The one-day exhibition is free and open to all members of the public and visitors are encouraged to get involved. Two sessions take place on Wednesday (12 February 2014) from 1-3.30pm and 5-8pm. The Tetley is located in the former brewery head office building. Refreshments are provided.
Pat McGeever from Health for All said: “Health for All got involved in this exciting project because we had a sense of the incredible skills and quality of work the students were capable of and we haven’t been disappointed.
“The groups have loved having such dynamic professional young people helping them make their voices heard so a big thank you.”
Francis Bailey, a student working with SLATE social enterprise said:
“Whilst their tearoom looks amazing we’re developing the visual communication elements of the tearoom. It is a vibrant community hub and we want to truly reflect that in what we do.”
The BA (Hons) Visual Communication programme supports students to engage with different audiences and encourages projects that develop students ability to be responsive designers, creative practitioners and socially responsible. The programme also supports local community organisations by linking them with students that can offer diverse and creative ways of celebrating their community. The students have been shadowing project leaders as well running workshops, teaching skills and building relationships through social and visual design. The programme’s ethos is to ‘make the world a better place’ and it does that through collaboration and project work.
Kathryn Welford from The Tetley said:
“The Tetley Feast is a fantastic opportunity for us to get to know our neighbours,
“find out more about organisations such as Hamara, Health for All, Vera Media and local schools. We see this project, conceived and delivered by the staff and students at Leeds College of Art, as a creative way of starting a conversation, and pointing the way forward to how The Tetley can potentially collaborate with and be of mutual benefit to groups and communities in South Leeds.”
