Leeds Inspired Blog

Many migrants who came from the Caribbean to Britain during the Windrush came from skilled jobs. Some found employment easily but others came up against racism and bigotry.

Each year the University invites final year students to pitch to a design brief for the end of year show. Zak Haddock, BA (Hons) Graphic Design, won the opportunity to provide the concept for branding across the Leeds Arts University Show 2020. Here Zak outlines the thinking behind his concept and how he adapted as the show moved from a physical exhibition to an online one.

After the Second World War, the British Government invited people from the Caribbean to come to Britain to help rebuild the country. They were British citizens and held British passports as their countries were still under British rule.

I’m a photographer by trade and also work as a cgi artist. I’ve always loved doodling but it wasn’t until last year that I got a tablet and stylus which allowed me to explore all sorts of styles and materials. Before lockdown I had recently got into climbing (primarily bouldering) and absolutely loved it - I hadn’t been that passionate about a pastime for years! Like everyone I am so keen to get back out exploring but, as we all know, the best thing is to stay home and stay safe! Designing the t-shirts has been my way of reminding people that the outdoor places we love will still be there when this is all over! There are a number of colours available and also long sleeved shirts. If this goes well I might launch a short run art-print for those who don’t want a T-shirt.

There will be many who remember Xero Slingsby; either in full flow with Selmer alto sax in the Adelphi, The Cardigan Arms, the Café Click Essen, the Café Damberd Ghent, or in passing; busking in the Leidesplein Amsterdam, or in Leeds, or in a string of other Northern Towns where he clocked up many arrests at a time when to play music on the streets was to break the cities bylaws.

This year we've commissioned 12 artists to create a unique set of Leeds Inspired White Rabbits and bring Leeds good luck for the whole year.

This week the Leeds Inspired website is five years old. Since 2012 we've worked with a brilliant community of event organisers who have uploaded thousands of event listings (19,526 and counting) to help us create a website that supports everyone from the big organisations through to individual artists, pop-ups and one off events. The site has grown so much that we now share our event listings with other websites across the city including Visit Leeds, Leeds Wecome, Welcome To Leeds, Southbank Leeds, The City Dashboard and Data Mill North.