Keighley Arts Hub is emerging as a popular grass roots community arts hub in the old Marks & Spencer building in the centre of Keighley
Jane Howie (former Chair and founding member of the successful Keighley Creative Space), took on the Management of the building on behalf of East Street Arts in February 2020. The building houses a variety of artist studio spaces, as well as a charity shop and community engagement activities.
Small World Cultural Arts Collective (est. 1999) have been based at Keighley Arts Hub since last year, providing young people with choices, opportunities and support, and using creativity as the tool with which to do that. Activities include diversionary arts activities helping to navigate the education, employment and housing pathways, as well as social and emotional support.
Sam Atkins, who runs the group, has said that using the space provided by East Street Arts has freed up her time dramatically by reducing tasks such as building management and fundraising to pay for premises, allowing her to spend more time being creative and working with with the participants.
Other activity in the space includes Jane Howie’s upholstery work, Lisa Holmes; CIC Photo Hub including darkroom, photography studio and workshops, Erzebet; a book binder and Morwenna Catt; Textile Artist, Designer & Illustrator.
The front and side windows are used to display art created by studio holders and groups using the building. Small World and Keighley Arts Hub have also recently secured some funding from the Craven Trust to run a ‘People’s Gallery’, which will open in late October 2021 at the front of the building.
You can find out more about our temporary spaces here.