Leeds Print Workshop were based at 130 Vicar Lane for the last four years, where they’ve built up a vibrant community of 160 members and have run over 150 creative workshops and courses, as well as holding regular exhibitions and providing residency opportunities for recent printmaking graduates.
A lot has changed in six months! Back in March they had no choice but to suspend memberships, cancel their public course programme and close their doors due to Covid-19.
With the Vicar Lane site being in an area earmarked for redevelopment they always knew it would be a temporary home and so wanted to look for somewhere more permanent.
The decision was made to utilise the time they were closed and bring forward a move to Patrick Studios, thanks to East Street Arts support and encouragement.
Financially this has been a tough time for the organisation with a loss of all income but they were successful in securing some emergency funding from Arts Council England which has been a massive help through this period.
Packing down and moving a vast amount of heavy equipment to the new space took a couple of months, especially as staff and volunteers all had to practise social distancing and work in shifts!.
They are now all set up in the new space and are welcoming members back into the workshop (with social distancing and Covid measures in place obviously!) It’s fantastic to see some printmaking happening and the community coming back together.
The next challenge is getting going with the public workshop and course programme again.
There are new dates in the calendar for various workshops in the autumn/winter terms.
If you’d like to immerse yourself in a little creativity you can find full details about new courses and book places on the Leeds Print Workshop website.
They are also now able to accept new membership applications again, so if you’d like to get involved and use the facilities you can find out more and sign up online.
Other things!
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Artists
I'm Gonna Find You White Rabbit! by Silvia Liebig
Silvia Liebig's artist book I'm Gonna Find You White Rabbit!: Being Beeston Projekt 2019-2023 is now available to buy.
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Event
Reproductive Futures: Creative Workshop
Join artist Herfa Thompson and academic Zoe Tongue to explore your reproductive health experiences, responding to the duo's Reproductive Futures exhibition, in this visual art workshop.
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News
Welcome to our new trustees
We’re thrilled to welcome two new trustees to our Board following a recent round of open recruitment.
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News
Artist selected for Taipei artist residency
Leeds-based artist James Thompson has been selected for a sought-after six-week residency at Treasure Hill Artist Village in Taiwan, from August to September 2024.
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Commission
Making Public Art - a new interview series
We worked with some wonderful artists throughout 2023 to bring large-scale mural pieces to various locations across Leeds. We’ve been catching up with the artists, in a new series that looks at working with communities, sustainability, and their working process in creating public art.
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Artist support
No Going Back: exploring the archives
Here are some of our favourite images from last month's No Going Back exhibition, for anyone who may have missed it.