Leeds Arts University is delighted to announce Made It, our 2025 end of year show, celebrating the creativity and dedication of our postgraduate students.

The exhibition features a breadth of creative talent from a growing portfolio of postgraduate study at Leeds Arts University, which now includes MA Animation, MA Creative Practice, MA Digital Fashion, MA Fine Art, MA Graphic Design, MA Illustration with Graphic Novel, MA Photography, MA Worldbuilding with Creature Design.

Professor Simone Wonnacott, Vice-Chancellor Leeds Arts University said:

Pyramid, the Leeds-based arts charity supporting people with learning disabilities and/or autism to get into the arts, reveals its ambitions for the next four years. Coined the ‘Pyramid Plan’, this co-written strategy is the brainchild of the charity’s Visioning Group, made up of 10 artists with and without learning disabilities, autism, or both, who lead on the strategic direction of the organisation. 

Build to Rent developer PLATFORM_ has recently collaborated with renowned international street artist Kid Acne to create a major new landmark for Leeds. The art installation will transform the historic Commercial Inn in the heart of Sweetfields, a significant new 1.3 million sqft neighbourhood in Leeds' South Bank.

Spearheading the international Street Art movement, Yorkshire-based Kid Acne has exhibited large-scale artworks across the globe for over twenty years, from Rome and Los Angeles to Beijing and Paris. 

What, or who, do you think of when you consider the term artist? A few years ago I was asked this question, my response today is very different to the one I gave back then.

Let me introduce myself; I am Doll and I make art. I am an artist.

It has taken many years to feel comfortable saying that, and the question I posed has a lot to do with how I see myself. When I pondered the question originally my view of an artist came tangled in layers of perception, judgement and self doubt - the term evoked sterile white gallery walls and ornate gold frames holding oil paintings.

The wait is nearly over, our refurbishment is almost complete and we can’t wait to welcome you back to the Institute from 12 July 2024.

We've been closed since November 2023 for the first significant refurbishment in our thirty-year history. Working with Leeds-based Group Ginger architects, the renovations have focused on creating more welcoming spaces for visitors, with enhanced events, creativity and meeting rooms.

A new photography project from Historic England has been launched, which aims to capture Chapeltown’s African and Caribbean community.

The Chapeltown Photography Project will be led by photographer and local resident Solomon Charles-Kelly who will work with the community over the next five months to create a portrait of the North Leeds suburb. He will be supported by Lens Lab Project, a Leeds-based non-profit arts organisation.

Nearly 400 inspirational Leeds women, voted for by members of the public, are being celebrated with a new sculpture in the heart of the city’s cultural quarter.

Created by artist, Pippa Hale, Ribbons will be located at the top of the gardens between Leeds City College’s Quarry Hill campus and Leeds Playhouse at the gateway to the SOYO development at Quarry Hill, from July 2024.

The British Library and Leeds Art Gallery seek to co-commission an artis

This April the Henry Moore Institute is celebrating 30 years since it opened. They are marking the occasion with a new display in their library, A Site for Sculpture: Building the Institute, exploring the history of the building, a creative competition inviting you to reimagine the building and sharing memories from the last three decades.

A part-time artistic engagement residency has been funded to work with the restoration team and partners working at the Great North Bog site which spans large parts of northern England and their community.

As key partners in WaterLANDS, Yorkshire Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme (iCASP), at University of Leeds, will be taking part in the selection process.